Indacochea & Asociados

The firm: Built on a unique model of collaboration, innovation, and efficiency, Indacochea & Asociados (IA) since 1991 delivers strategic and innovative legal and business solutions for clients, wherever their business takes them. IA advises on complex and significant matters offering clients access to unparalleled legal talent, practice experience, and deep knowledge of the industries driving the Bolivian and global economies.

With offices in Santa Cruz de la Sierra a major commercial center in Bolivia and with collaborators in all the country the firm provides  legal advice in corporate, banking and finance, energy and hydrocarbons, labor, intellectual property, disputes resolution, and tax law. With a fully integrated team, lawyers work seamlessly across practice areas, representing major nationals and international clients.

As Bolivia’s most innovative law firm, IA has led advancements in the legal profession and effectively adapted to changing client needs. The firm continues to revolutionize and restructure legal service delivery, driving value for clients through customized legal advice, alternative fee arrangements, creative staffing solutions, and process restructuring. IA has developed a series of digital solutions for its sole objective  to generate business opportunities for its clients.

Dedicated to investing in its people and clients IA has an ambitious plan to accelerate the professional performance of its lawyers. Undoubtedly, few firms can match IA’s extraordinary client service offered by its talented lawyers with solid academic backgrounds, and top-level advice, while offering a challenging work environment and equal opportunities for all employees.

Main areas of practice
Corporate and commercial: This is the core business practice of the firm. The team represents international and local companies in a broad range of transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate turnaround and restructuring, foreign investments, due diligence processes, incorporations, and liquidations; as well as day-to-day legal matters.

The team also advises companies in the negotiation and drafting of ordinary and complex commercial agreements, including distribution, franchise, license and sponsorship, and other contracts related to the ordinary course of business.

International and domestic contracts: The team drafts and negotiates contracts, both international and domestic, always taking into consideration the clients' needs regarding the business while applying experience in dispute resolution, tax, antitrust, labor, and civil law. Our legal counsel is essential from the perspective of preventing legal contingencies, or successfully overcome them should they arise.

Energy and natural resources: The lawyers at the firm have wide experience and specialized knowledge in oil and gas law and electricity law, allowing lawyers to counsel clients whose activities are along the production chain starting with exploration through marketing of production of hydrocarbons, including transportation, and from generation to distribution in the electricity sector.

Legal assistance to clients in the above-mentioned sectors for which purpose it negotiates and drafts agreements, including the sale of energy resources, services agreements, gas transportation agreements, easement, and right-of-way agreements, among others.

Real estate: The firm has become a preferred reference in real estate counseling due to local and foreign investments mainly regarding malls, hotels, and (rural and urban land) acquisitions advise clients in every necessary aspect of real estate contracts and foreign investment law related thereto, for them to have a sound corporate structure and undergo profitable transactions in this area. Complex corporate and financing deals are smoothly handled by IA since the firm also focuses on obtaining all municipal licenses, territorial planning, investment projects, drafting of horizontal property contracts, urban map approval, and all requirements to convey ownership rights to interested parties. Sell-purchase agreements, agrarian title analysis, corporate restructuring and financing, companies buy-offs, and share-pledge agreements are day-to-day legal assistance as well.

Banking and finance: Lawyers provide legal counsel to both local and foreign companies with major financing institutions. IA gives the utmost importance to the issue of conflict of interest, confidentiality, and foreign corrupt practice regulations. Likewise, the firm has counseled top-notch local and international companies in debt reorganization, leasing and loan agreements, credit lines, bond placing, and public offerings.

Labor and immigration: With specialized and experienced lawyers, the firm provides counsel to local and foreign corporations in compliance with labor and social security regulations, being in charge of negotiating and drafting labor agreements, collective bargaining contracts, lawsuits, and in-house working regulations. When the client deals with expatriate personnel, IA provides full legal support on all immigration processes and regulatory matters.

Arbitration and dispute resolution: The arbitration and dispute resolution department is highly experienced in arbitration and alternative dispute regulations and has successfully structured the defense of important cases as well as drafted legal arguments in complex processes which have taken place abroad but are subject to Bolivian Law. IA has also acted as counsel for plaintiffs in complex cases in areas such as insurance and civil law, amongst others. Furthermore, IA represents clients in executory proceedings for the recovery of Bad Debts Portfolio, with efficiency and discretion, offering comprehensive and effective legal counsel regarding the execution of debts and obligations not fulfilled by their respective debtors.

Tax: The firm’s specialized tax department advises international and local clients on possible tax contingencies in any specific operation, as well as on tax planning for companies to be incorporated, new firms or projects with long experience which plan further investment or economic deals besides the tax effects on mergers, acquisitions, and international operations, tax impacts on financial products and other operations of similar scope.

Founding partner: Ricardo Indacochea S.M. +
Managing partner: Alonso Indacochea P. de Z.
Partners: Mariana Pereira N., Andere Indacochea P. de Z., Anwar El Farah M. and Ana Carola Muñoz A.
Total number of legal practitioners: 20