Hughes & Hughes — Uruguay

About

Hughes & Hughes is a prestigious full-service firm, with more than a century of activity, widely respected for its solid experience in general corporate work and legal advice to foreign investors and multinational clients. The business-oriented firm has had considerable growth during recent years and has successfully encompassed the long-term expertise with a modern, sophisticated and practical approach. The firm’s professionals have been recognized as leading and outstanding practitioners by most reputable legal publications. ### Areas of practice Corporate and M&A: the firm has participated in most of the major M&A transactions in Uruguay. Hughes & Hughes has been directly involved in structuring these transactions, advising clients during the decision-making process and in assessing any existing contingencies. Banking and finance: Hughes & Hughes provides regulatory advice to commercial and investment banks and financial institutions, and regularly participates in the structuring and reviewing of financial instruments. As part of its practice, the firm works alongside clients in the process of becoming a regulated entity of the capital market (ie financial adviser, broker, etc). The firm has participated in several bond issues, including the largest issue of commercial papers in Uruguay. Infrastructure and government procurement: the firm has been involved in all major bidding, procurement and privatization processes, PPPs, government concessions, and the negotiation and execution of major infrastructure concessions. Energy, natural resources and environment: the firm has provided significant assistance in projects related to renewable energy, wind farms, gas pipelines, combined-cycle power plants, LNG plants, hydrocarbons exploration and other infrastructures related to energy. Advice includes all aspects of environmental law matters, including regulatory aspects pertaining to EIA, environmental authorizations and land planning and uses. Labor and employment: the firm manages all labor legal aspects of its clients, including regulatory advice and litigation. Hughes & Hughes has successfully accomplished reorganization and restructuring schemes and represents major employers in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements. Litigation and arbitration: the team is known for being practical, strategic and diligent, with a focus on contentious matters. The team is deeply specialized in sophisticated litigation and arbitration, covering all industries and procedures, routinely involved in high-profile cases with excellent results for the clients. Asset recovery, insolvency and restructuring: the team is widely respected for it success assisting clients regarding bankruptcy proceedings, including financial institutions and brokers and has the Uruguayan membership of the ICC’s Fraudnet. The team’s experience in this field involves dealing with several jurisdictions and thousands of creditors. This activity has led to an organized structure prepared to efficiently deal with complex asset recoveries, including those generated by business crime. Real estate: the firm regularly advises international and local clients in real estate developments, industrial complexes, housing projects, real estate investment fund formation, structuring and joint ventures, and real estate mergers and acquisitions. In respect of rural land, the firm is probably the most experienced firm in the market, purchasing over 200,000 hectares of land during the last decade. Accounting and tax: the firm regularly advises on devising appropriate legal structures in the light of the applicable taxation and regulatory requirements. It is selected by clients for the outsourcing of their work. ### Staffing Figures - 30 Other fee-earners - 55 Total staff

Office locations

Practice areas

Lawyers in this office

Agustina Silva

Senior Associate · Litigation

Alfredo Taullard

Partner. Complex Litigation/ Asset Recovery and Insolvency/ Arbitration/ Commercial Law/ Mining Law · Complex Litigation

Bernardo Porras

Partner. Co-head of the Hughes & Hughes Dispute Resolution Department. He is specialized in Dispute Resolution, Asset Recovery and Insolvency, Arbitration, Administrative Law, Private-Public Projects, and Banking Law. · Dispute Resolution

Clara Villaamil

Senior Associate · Corporate / M&A

Felipe Riva

Associate · Dispute Resolution

Inés Melgar

Associate · Notarial

Magdalena Castagno

Associate · Notarial

Magela Ramon

Senior Associate · Dispute Resolution

Marcela Severi

Associate · Notarial

Mariana Estradé

Partner. Specialized in the fields of Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate and International Law advising local and foreign companies, to set up and develop their businesses in our country. Ample experience in Project Finance, participating in the financing of projects, in particular the Energy sector. During the last years has been largely devoted to the environmental area, assisting clients with all environmental compliance/regulatory issues, such as authorizations processes and environmental impact assessments, with the performance of legal environmental audits and with respect to environmental aspects related to land planning and uses’ regulations. Has advised clients during judicial claims involving environmental matters. Author of several articles on Environmental Law in different specialized newsletters and publications and has been speaker at conferences and seminars in this subject. · Corporate / M&A

Ornella Balarini

Associate · Corporate / M&A

Patricia Villalba

Associate · Notarial