Melo, Martínez & Contín Abogados > Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic > Firm Profile

Melo, Martínez & Contín Abogados > Firm Profile

Founded in 1992, Melo, Martínez & Contín Abogados is one of the leading firms in business law in the Dominican Republic. Backed by our renowned trajectory, the firm provides legal advice in all areas of business law.

The team of more than 70 highly qualified specialists provides assistance in over 12 practice areas and ten areas of specialization to represent national and international investors in the Dominican Republic.

Our lawyers have deep sectoral knowledge of the main industries of the Dominican economy, having assisted clients such as Banco Popular (leading private bank in the Dominican Republic), Bank of Nova Scotia (reference bank in Canada), the Coordinating Body of the National Interconnected Electric System of the Dominican Republic, among others.

Being aware of the impact of innovation and new technologies on the development of markets worldwide, we have quickly adapted to this new panorama in a firm commitment to technological progress. For this reason, MMC has the appropriate technology and human capital to successfully face all the challenges posed by this new competitive environment. Finally, the intensity and consistency of communication flows with the client are our great added value, allowing us to offer the optimal legal solutions in each case.

Practice areas:

Banking and Finance

MMC advises and represents corporate clients as a national benchmark in Banking and Financial Law. To optimize the results obtained in each project, we work in absolute coordination with our Corporate Law area, which allows us to maximize the efficiency of transactions such as capital increases, public acquisition offers, or securities issues. We advise banks, financial entities, and companies from different industries to explore new investment opportunities in the Dominican Republic, assisting them in finding the appropriate financing channels for the development.

• Negotiation of agreements for the financing of real estate assets
• Project financing
• Structuring of collateral securities
• Capital restructurings
• Loan negotiation
• Operations with derivative products
• Design of leasing contracts, factoring and confirming
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Debt issues

Corporate

We advise national and international companies with operations in the Dominican Republic on corporate matters, handling their daily legal matters and their more extensive corporate operations. Our services in corporate affairs include:

• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
• Joint Ventures
• Sale of assets
• Dissolution and liquidation of companies
• Due Diligence
• Restructuring of companies in crisis
• Insurance and reinsurance law
• Bankruptcy
• Competition law
• Incorporation of business corporations and drafting of bylaws

Our legal advice extends to all phases of each operation, from the preliminary legal and technical feasibility studies to the transaction’s closing, through all the preparation and negotiation phases. Thus, at MMC, we always defend the client’s interests, anticipating all legal contingencies as well as the risks that may arise in each case.

Business Trust

MMC has vast experience in Business Trust, advising national and international companies interested in taking advantage of a business trust in the Dominican Republic to benefit their operations. Among the services that our team offers are those of designing, structuring, developing, and constituting the following types of trusts:

• Real Estate Investment Trusts
• Investment Trust
• Tourism Trusts
• Estate Planning Trust
• Trusts in Administration
• Guarantee Trusts
• Specialized Trusts

Tax

We are entirely aware of the great importance of optimizing the fiscal impact in business development to maximize competitiveness in the market. This is why we possess the aptitude to optimize any process involving corporate taxes, transactions, and tax disputes related to tributary law. Under this premise, carrying out each transaction most transparently and efficiently becomes a fundamental objective for the client and a priority for us.

Our services in the field of tax include:
• Advice on tax management, verification, and collection procedures
• Aid before, during, and after a tax audit by the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII)
• Dispute Resolution for tax law in administrative headquarters and judicial
• Taxation planning
• General tax planning and analysis of the impact of legislative changes on business taxation
• Accounting and advising for declaration of taxes
• Tax planning of mergers and acquisitions operations of companies and assets, transmission, division and restructuring, and corporate internationalization
• Design a taxation strategy for real estate projects
• Remuneration planning in the field of taxes
• Due Diligence for buying and selling assets, loans, and investments in stocks

Dispute Resolution

In all judicial or arbitration proceedings, the goals and interests of our clients are a priority for our firm; this is why we are dedicated to designing procedural strategies aligned with the needs and objectives of each client, both in the short and long term. MMC has a long history in the legal defense of essential clients, both in arbitrations and traditional judicial procedures, advising leading companies in different industries.

Our services include:
• Collection Claims
• Litigations of all nature
• Labor litigation
• Resolution of collective disputes
• Contract disputes
• Disputes related to corporate agreements
• Disputes over commercial contracts
• Corporate arbitration
• Litigation on intellectual property
• Conflicts with the Public Administration

Labor

Human resources is a crucial element for business administration, and we understand that designing a preventive labor strategy is essential to avoid and mitigate unnecessary risks. Our services include:

• Designing and implementing prevention strategies in matters of labor and social security
• Special labor relations
• Compensation system
• Senior management contracts, special agreements, protection clauses and non-competition, dismissal of senior executives, compensation packages
• Negotiation of collective agreements
• Suspensions and terminations of individual labor relations
• Collective dismissals
• Union relations
• Draft of internal protocols and corporate policies
• Training and equality plans
• Representation and defense before the labor courts of the country

Intellectual Property

We have a department focused on assessing the protection of intangible assets for important national and international companies.
Some of the services we offer regarding intellectual property are:
• Trademark registration
• Obtaining patents
• Protection of artistic works, scientific creations, audiovisual projects, and graphic designs
• Image rights
• Collaboration contracts for the joint development of projects
• Agreements for technology transfer
• Studies on similar products and technologies legally protected in the market.
• Copyright
• Protection of the development of advertising campaigns
• Product design protection

Energy

As energy law specialists at MMC, we assess everything related to the exploration and development of generating, transmitting, supplying, and distributing electrical energy. We assist our clients throughout the entire investment process, from creating a project to processing and obtaining concessions and negotiation, all the way up to structuring contracts associated with purchasing and selling energy, auxiliary services, and fuels.

Our specialists in energy work in complete coordination with our dispute resolution department, making it one of our specialties the solution to controversies between companies, user claims, and contests against administrative decisions issued by regulatory bodies.

Environment

A defining feature of our environmental practice is the remarkable expertise in the legal framework apposite in transactions carried out by companies in regulated industries. We assist our clients in obtaining permits and administrative authorizations to develop their operations, defending their interests within judicial and administrative procedures of an environmental nature.

Our assessment in the field of environmental law includes the following topics:
• Climate change
• Corporate responsibility
• Protection of natural spaces
• Sustainable practices
• Contaminated soils
• Water resources management
• Waste management
• Renewable energy

Tourism

The Dominican Republic is best known for being one of the top tourist destinations, with plenty of unique investment opportunities for tourists across the globe. Our team is trained to create a seamless experience for national or international companies and individuals looking to expand their horizons.

Some services we offer for developing tourism projects include due diligence, construction permits, planning and assessing taxes, and any permits needed for projects of this nature. Our experience in environmental law helps us evaluate our client’s projects to ensure no protected areas are harmed.

Compliance

We have the human assets and the necessary technical means to anticipate all legal risks that could derive from compliance with current regulations, designing policies that adjust to the reality of a company and its market, and always keeping them aligned with the objectives and corporate identity of the client.

The possibility of incurring in sanctions, suffering losses of assets, or damaging its corporate image due to an infringement of the law entails the need to shield against any possible risk safely and effectively, anticipating and avoiding any contingency.

Our portfolio of services in compliance includes:
• Comprehensive management of the client’s regulatory compliance policy and design of programs for the different branches of Law
• Drafting and elaborating on penal compliance or penal responsibility of a legal person
• IT Compliance: privacy, data management and protection, electronic signature, intellectual property, cybersecurity
• Ethical standards, good professional practices
• Diagnostics, reports, and compliance audits
• Legal defense in criminal proceedings
• Elaborating and developing training schemes for compliance programs
• Systems for controlling, detecting, and preventing non-compliance on an operational level.