BLP

More informationMore information

The powerhouse team at BLP remains a market leader, leveraging the bench strength of offices in San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste (with a new fourth location in Marina Flamingo which opened in January 2023), in addition to branches across Latin America and Europe, to advise banks, sponsors, non-bank lenders, contractors and operators involved involved in major energy and transportation projects, including hydro, wind and solar plants and toll road, airport and port concessions. The practice’s comprehensive service extends to project finance and development, as well as public-private partnerships (PPPs), public procurement, public debt and governmental budget issues. The team is led by Luis M Castro, who specialises in energy contracts and dealing with governmental entities; David Gutiérrez, who handles cross-border purchases and operations; and Luis Ortiz, who brings over 20 years of experience to public procurement processes. Other key figures include Julio Castellanos, who advises national and international and multilateral financial entities on multi-jurisdictional credit operations, and Pablo Umaña, whose practice focuses on corporate, infrastructure, energy and multilateral-related financing in emerging markets.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'A highly trained team and an organisation that cares about its clients' businesses. They stay constantly up to date and take services to a higher level for the full satisfaction of their clients.'
  • 'The firm stands out for its experience, prestige and training.'

Key clients

  • IDB Invest
  • Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica
  • Liberty Latin America
  • Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI)
  • Globalvía Inversiones
  • Citigroup Global Markets
  • Bancolombia
  • Santander
  • Banco Internacional de Costa Rica (BICSA)

Work highlights

  • Advised Citigroup Global Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities on the issuance of $700m in secured notes with a fixed rate of 6.250% by Investment Energy Resources in Costa Rica.
  • Advised Celsia, part of Grupo Argos, on the placement of corporate bonds issued through its Panamanian subsidiary Alterenergy, which was the second part of a deal finalised in 2014 when Celsia acquired GDF Suez's assets in Panama.
  • Advising a group of creditors who funded the Pacífico 3 and Altos del Río Magdalena 2 Colombian 4G highway concessions during disbursement.

Lawyers

Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Julio Castellanos
Partner

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

LuísM Castro, Luis Ortiz , David Gutiérrez