Competition and antitrust

ECIJA Colombia

Client Satisfaction

ECIJA Colombia is distinguished by its ‘professionalism, competitiveness and application of new technologies’, according to clients. Competition and antitrust is a key pillar of the firm’s Bogotá offering and its practice expertise encompasses a wide range of merger reviews, administrative investigations and competition litigation. A former Deputy Superintendent of the SIC, department co-head Pablo Márquez ’understands the functioning of competition authorities’; he successfully represented Colombia Telecomunicaciones in a business integration with Colombia’s second-largest telecoms company, UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones. Fellow group co-head Julio Castañeda is also a highly regarded competition specialist, with extensive expertise in contentious administrative law cases. The group additionally benefits from the experience of merger review-focused counsel Pablo Onofre, who co-ordinates the competition and merger control team, and intermediate associate Camila Cadavid. Associate Jorge Mario González left in June 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘When deciding on ECIJA to represent our interests we took into account its specialty in this area of law; the proven experience of the team, especially Julio Castañeda; the positioning of the firm in different industries; references from colleagues; and the organised way in which it presents its proposals.’
‘Although we have had contact with several lawyers from the firm, we highlight the qualities of Julio Castañeda and Camila Cadavid. Julio has a great ability to define the legal strategy, explain it to the client in a clear and concrete way, build it with the client and put the entire defined strategy on paper.’
‘Knowledge, experience and ethics are definitely strong points of the firm.’
‘The ECIJA team is distinguished by its professionalism, competitiveness and application of new technologies and AI — it is a pioneer in the use of digital tools. It balances its practice in litigation with the teaching and training of new talent.’
‘Partners ensure inclusive participation of young people without distinction of their preferences or ideologies, nourishing the team with diverse and progressive views. Communication and integration of interns, paralegals and junior students is encouraged to contribute to their effective training.’
‘The outstanding partner is Pablo Márquez. In addition to being an excellent lawyer, knowledgeable about regulations in Colombia and the world, he is a person who understands markets from an economic perspective and understands the functioning of competition authorities.’
‘The team is very professional and has technical expertise superior to other firms. Always looks for a different angle to the problem and proposes "outside of the box" solutions, which allows the generation of alternative and novel solutions.’
‘Each of the partners has specialised knowledge and together they generate very great value for us. Pablo Márquez is an expert in regulation, economic law and technical aspects of the communications area. Julio Castañeda has the broadest knowledge of competition and regulation issues.’

Key clients

Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Telefónica)
Dispresco
División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (DIMAYOR), Tigres Fútbol Club, Bogotá Fútbol Club, Real Cartagena Fútbol Club, Fortaleza Fútbol Club, Cúcuta Deportivo Fútbol Club, Club Atlético Bucaramanga and others
OPP Graneles, Datacontrol Portuario, Asociación Colombiana de Operadores Portuarios (ACOP) and others.
Biomax Biocombustibles
Team Trainer Sports
Bavaria
Talma Servicios Aereoportuarios

Work highlights

Successfully represented Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Telefónica) in a business integration with Colombia’s second-largest telecommunications company, UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones (TIGO).
Successfully represented OPP Graneles in an appeal before the Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá against Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura (SPRBUN), the administrator of Colombia's primary port on the Pacific Ocean.
Represented nine out of the thirty-six football teams and individuals under investigation by the SIC for alleged anti-competitive practices in Colombia's professional women's football league.