About

Number of years practice: 15 Law school attended: Fordham University School of Law (LLM), Sciences Po Paris/Sorbonne University (Master of Law), Sciences Po Paris (JD) Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish Principal practice areas: Corporate, Financial Services, Securities Admissions: New York

Maria-Leticia Ossa Daza is a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s corporate and financial services department and heads the firm’s growing Latin American practice. A native Colombian who began her career as an associate in Willkie’s Paris office, she is fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and has been widely recognized as among the finest US-based lawyers working in Latin America. On the contentious side, standout matters include representing Pemex in its lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard related to alleged bribes paid by Hewlett-Packard to certain Pemex officials in a bid to influence the hydrocarbons giant on its software acquisition process. Representing one the biggest Mexican state-owned companies in a sensitive matter such as bribery is not easy, but after an 11-month process the parties were able to reach a deal at the end of 2015. She was also part of the team that represented the board of Citigroup in an internal investigation into the loans made to Oceanografia by Citigroup’s Mexican subsidiary, Banamex, in the run up to Oceanografia’s collapse. This investigation required interdisciplinary work and a seamless coordination between US and Mexican counsels. On the corporate and commercial side she has also advised on some very significant matters, including the 2011 joint venture between Zurich Financial and Santander to enter into a 25-year strategic distribution arrangement in Latin America, a deal which required counsel to coordinate and anticipate different legal challenges in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.