HEAD OFFICE
Torre La Castellana, Piso 6, Avenida Principal, La Castellana.
Caracas 1060 - Venezuela.
Teléfono (+58 212) 918 33 33
Telefax (+58 212) 918 33 34
Email: legal@traviesoevans.com
FIRM OVERVIEW
Managing Partner (s): Eduardo Travieso
Senior Partner (s): Francisco Paz Parra
Olga Nass de Massiani
Benner C. Turner
Number of partners (worldwide if applicable): 15
Number of other lawyers (worldwide if applicable): 32
THE FIRM: Established in 1928, Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz (Travieso Evans) is one of the most relevant law firms in Venezuela. The firm originally specialized in petroleum and mining law. Although the firm continues to have an extremely prestigious portfolio of energy clients, it has been just as strong in general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, arbitration and other alternate means for dispute resolution, antitrust and antidumping, banking and capital markets, consumer protection, contracting and trade, customs, taxation, labor Law electronic commerce and computer law, financing, foreign investments and joint ventures, insurance, real estate, telecommunications, maritime law, mining, public, regulatory and environmental law areas.
dTravieso Evans consists of 47 lawyers some of whom have more than 30 years of practice, with great experience in all aspects of Venezuelan law, as well as young dynamic attorneys that are able to respond to our clients' needs consistent with international standards. This gives our firm a balanced practice that is extremely useful for our clients during the current times in Venezuela.
The firm has a complete staff of clerks, paralegal and assistants who are fluent in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. Together with the administrative personnel, it has a professional staff of over one hundred. Given that many of our clients are multinational companies, Travieso Evans offers the services of in-house translators (who are also Certified Public Interpreters).
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE: Please provide a paragraph detailing each of your main
areas of practice in Latin America, giving details of recent transactions where possible.
Please use sub-headings for each practice area, e.g.
Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions : Travieso Evans provides corporate services to its clients which include general corporate compliance issues as well as contractual issues related to their normal operations. The firm assists our clients in qualifying for bids, preparing offers, negotiating governmental contracts, following governmental contractual regulations and resolving operational and contractual disputes. Additionally, Travieso Evans has developed an excellent team which performs due diligence investigations in a thorough, efficient and expedite manner.
Energy: Travieso Evans was born as an oil and mining firm in the 1920s and has advised clients with respect to energy issues ever since. During the 1990s it represented clients in the Oil Industry Opening that included the negotiation and implementation of Profit Sharing Agreements, Operating Services Agreements and Strategic Associations for the Exploitation of Extra Heavy Crude from the Orinoco Oil Basin. Subsequently, the firm focused on the migration of these agreements into Mixed Company Structures and continued to advise clients in this regard. In parallel the firm represented clients in bidding rounds for granting of offshore gas licenses and other energy infrastructure projects. The advice ranges from analysis of the regulatory, contractual and corporate requirements to the implementation of all required permits, authorizations and contracts for the operation of the projects including the financing thereof. In addition one of the strongest practice of the firm is related to the assistance of a great variety of oil service contractors
Employment Law: Our employment law division is formed by attorneys with experience in collective bargaining agreements, negotiations, litigation, work environment regulations, interpretation of the labor norms and also administrative litigation and procedures. Litigation in Labor Law is one of the strongest areas of the division; our lawyers are very experimented in litigating reinstatement lawsuits as well as ordinary lawsuits and are also used to attending procedures before the labors inspectorates throughout the country.
Tax Law, Customs Law: Tax services provided by Travieso Evans may be divided in tax litigation and general tax advisory services. The tax unit has more than three hundred tax litigation cases before tax courts in Venezuela, as well as a substantial number of cases that are currently in administrative proceedings before the tax authorities both at the national and municipal level. The firm also provides general tax advisory services to clients including the analysis of tax implications of investment vehicles and structures, use of Treaties to avoid Double Taxation, asset management, tax planning for large industrial projects including oil and gas ventures, and analysis of tax implications of new rules and regulations that have impact on investments.
Litigation and Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution :
Travieso Evans represents clients in civil and commercial litigation, including lawsuits and arbitration proceedings related to international agreements, engineering, procurement and construction agreements (EPC contracts); agency, distribution, and association agreements, product liability, and supply agreements, as well as the enforcement of any type of contracts and guaranties, leases, collections, bankruptcies and moratorium; claims on unfair competition, defective products and damages and losses in general, among others. Travieso Evans' experience is extended to International and Domestic Arbitration, specially under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Center for Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Business Center of Conciliation and Arbitration (CEDCA) and the Caracas Chamber of Commerce (CCC). Our attorneys are also experienced in negotiations to reach extrajudicial agreements, as well as other alternative means of dispute resolution such as mediation and conciliation.
Foreign Investment: Because the majority of our clients are multinational entities our firm has vast experience in all matters related to foreign investments. Our attorneys provide assistance in drafting licensing and other technology agreements, reviewing and obtaining government approvals, and structuring the transfer of technology in the manner most advantageous for tax purposes and other considerations. Travieso Evans' attorneys are experts in the structuring, negotiation, drafting and implementation of joint ventures, both for the establishment of long-term activities and for particular projects.
Banking and Finance: Travieso Evans assists foreign banking and insurance institutions in all aspects of their operations in Venezuela as well as registering representative offices for international banks. Additionally Travieso Evans assists clients in their transactions with local and foreign banking institutions with respect to loan agreements, structuring and drafting security arrangements, debt financing transaction, and related private, public or equity financing. The work involves preparation of prospectus and registrations of public offerings in the Venezuelan stock market as well as foreign ADRs.
Public and Regulatory Law: With a team of attorneys specialized in Constitutional and Administrative Law, our firm advises our clientele in many regulatory issues proceedings, and lawsuits, including, for example, consumer protection, product liability, exchange control claims, compliance, Anti-Corruption Law issues, matters related to the Public Contracting Law, regulations on advertisement of products and services, expropriation procedures, constitutional injunctions, etc. In addition to the analysis and interpretation of the regulations, we conduct legal audits aimed to the verification of compliance by companies with regulatory frameworks; and undertake administrative appeals, appeals before Administrative and Constitutional Courts, including appeals before the Supreme Court, etc.
Antitrust/Competition: In addition to advising clients in conforming mergers and acquisitions to the antitrust legislation, the firm has been actively involved in unfair competition cases tried before the antitrust governmental agency, Procompetencia. Travieso Evans also advises clients with respect to exclusive distributorship, franchise and non-compete agreements and manages consultations and requests to administrative authorities regarding the application and interpretation of the law to particular situations, transactions or documents.
Environmental Law :
Travieso Evans has ample expertise in the performance of environmental reviews, often requested by our clients in order to verify the compliance with their procedures, plants and facilities with the environmental regulations. Our environmental division is fully prepared to provide counseling and assistance in a wide variety of environmental matters such as: Environmental Impact Studies and Assessments, Handling and Disposal of Hazardous and Non-Hazardous Waste, Liquid Effluents and Atmospheric Emissions, Environmental Audits (Phase I & II), Oil & Gas operational environmental authorizations and permits, Environmental Civil and Criminal liability, Environmental Damages, Land and Natural Resources Development, ISO 14001 compliance and self-certification, Urban and Rural Land Zoning, Marine and Intercoastal development, as well as environmental litigation.
Telecommunications: Travieso Evans's attorneys participated in the drafting of the Venezuelan Telecommunications Law and have been greatly involved in the review of new legislation deriving therefrom. As a result, Travieso Evans is prepared to advise clients on all aspects of regulatory, commercial and operative issues related with telecommunications such as preparation of applications for administrative authorizations (licenses); negotiation and drafting of interconnection agreements; analysis of new laws and regulations and their implication on established/new operators; drafting of service agreements, etc.
Intellectual Property: Travieso has an affiliated office denominated TEHAR, s.c., which is dedicated to the registration, management and protection of intellectual property. It registers trademarks, copyrights and patents and maintains them by handling the necessary renewals. TEHAR's attorneys perform trademark searches, and prepare and file trademark license agreements.
INTERNATIONAL WORK: Travieso Evans corresponds with major US law firms, law firms in Latin America and Europe and is a member of the prestigious "Club de Abogados". Several of our partners are also members of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
CLIENTS : Most of the firm's clients are multinational companies doing business in or related to Venezuela mainly in the following areas: Energy, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacture, Consumers´Goods, Engineering and Infrastructure.
BRANCH OFFICES :
Travieso Evans has offices in the cities of Valencia, Maracaibo, Maturín, and Puerto La Cruz, covering practically all of Venezuela, which allows Travieso Evans to directly advise clients on site and resolve local issues quickly and efficiently. Having this network of offices has proven to be an important asset for our clients that have operations in several parts of the country.