- Managing Partner: Ignacio M Aguirre U
- Senior Partner: Fernando Aguirre B
- Number of partners: 5
- Number of other lawyers: 1 (associate)
THE FIRM: 2010 marked the 70th Anniversary of this La Paz based full service specialized business law firm. Founded in 1940 by Dr Carlos Aguirre R (OBE) who practiced law for 50 years, of which he spent a year and a half as Justice of the Bolivian Supreme Court, the firm was reorganized and recognised by the La Paz Bar Association as a civil corporation in May of 1998. It has five partners, Fernando Aguirre B, Ignacio M Aguirre U, Perla R Koziner, M Carolina Aguirre U and Milenka Saavedra M, who became a partner in 2010. Pilar Salazar G has been recently re-incorporated as an Associate. For a number of years now the firm’s services have expanded to litigation in association with the leading independent litigation firm of Peres &Mendoza. Since June of 2009 another association with independent tax expert Ramon Servia, who for many years headed the Bolivian IRS’national department for Large Contributors, has considerably strengthened the firm’s taxation group coordinated by partner Dra Milenka Saavedra.Nine professionals now constitute the firm’s service team, assisted by seven support staff, one to complete his education as a lawyer during 2011. In 2010 its IP group, headed by partner Perla Koziner (LLM in Intellectual Property,Queen Mary College, London), celebrated eleven years of intensive practice,which has placed the firm amongst the five leading IP firms of Bolivia. Its arbitration practice is coordinated by senior partner Dr. Fernando Aguirre B (Postgraduate Diploma in Law,Oxford University), an arbitrator at the National Chamber of Commerce, La Paz and past arbitrator in the panel of arbitrators of ICSID and who has been professor of ADR and Arbitration at the 2009 Master’s Degree Program in International and Diplomatic Law at the Catholic University of La Paz.He has contributed to various arbitration publications, including, togetherwith partner Carolina Aguirre U (Master of Corporate and Fiscal law at the Managing and Administration School – EADA of Spain) the Bolivian chapter for a Spanish book on International Commercial Arbitration in Latin America. Partner Ignacio M Aguirre U (LLM in Law and Development at the London School of Economics) has been professor of Environmental Law, one of his specialties, at the same Catholic University.As part of its corporate social responsibility the firm provides full or partial pro bono services to various NGOs and non for profit institutions, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It supports a Volley Ball club, with five teams which carry the firm’s name, participants at the official championships in Cochabamba and regularly donates to various charities. In August 2010 the firm opened its new offices in La Paz and the same year witnessed the firm’s sponsorship of an exhibition of Bolivian renowned painter Yolanda Bastos de Aguirre,widower of founder Dr Carlos Aguirre, all as part of its 70th Anniversary celebrations. Membership in the IBA, ABA, INTA, AIPN, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and other professional and commercial organisations, allows its members to be active participants at national and international conferences, at some of which and at other conferences by invitation (PDAC,Canadian Law and Financing and others) some have been panel participants contributing with various papers on Bolivian legal issues of international interest. Contributions to specialised publications include the Year in Review of the ABA. F Aguirre has contributed to local publications on Constitutional reform and other subjects. A member of Globalaw, a non exclusive network of around ninety law firms scattered around all regions of the globe, it’s also the Bolivian exclusive member of lexuniversal.com,a provider of legal services through the internet.
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
General Commercial, Corporate & Business: Incorporation of companies, general aspects of companies and corporations legal framework, corporate governance, commercial contracts and operations mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, bankruptcy, companies’ reorganisation and restructuring and commercial procedures.
Banking & Finance: Securities and stock transactions, corporate finance, project finance and general finance, international contracts involving foreign investments and activities in Bolivia, credit and banking operations.
Labour: General advisory on labor matters, labor conflicts, administrative and judicial actions and procedures.
Tax: Taxes and general fiscal obligations, administrative and judicial actions and procedures. Technical specialised advisory in association with expert Ramón Servia.
Civil Law: General civil law, civil contracts and obligations, inheritance law, property law, liens and privilegios, incorporation of associations, foundations and non-governmental-organisations (NGOs), civil procedures. Administrative, Antitrust, Competition & Regulation: General regulatory matters, administrative actions and procedures, antitrust and competition matters.
Mining & Hydrocarbons: General aspects of mining and hydrocarbons companies and investments, contracts and joint ventures.
IP & IT: General intellectual property, patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, industrial secrets, slogans, collective trademarks, certification marks, commercial names, labels and emblems, appellations of origin,well-known marks, notorious marks, domain names, e-commerce; registrations, renewals, oppositions or defenses, annulment or cancellation or other infractions and representations of local and foreign companies. General legal advisory, due diligence in intellectual property matters.
Arbitration: Bolivian and international, focused on a diversity of matters.
Litigation: In association with attorneys Gonzalo Peres Arenas y Evert Mendoza Suárez and other specialised attorneys, the firm offers litigation services on civil, commercial, administrative and penal areas.
LANGUAGES: English, French, German and Spanish.