About
Galindo, Arias & López is a Panamanian full-service law firm with a 50- year tradition of excellence and a commitment to providing legal services of the highest quality and ethical standards. The firm has built long-term relationships with a high-profile, local and international client base, with business interests in Panama and abroad. GALA stands out due to its expertise in complex regulatory issues, local and cross-border transactions, complex asset and project financing transactions from highly regulated industries, and a stellar dispute resolution track record, servicing clients throughout Panama’s key business sectors: aviation, energy, telecommunications, banking, finance, infrastructure, real estate, transportation and logistics, tourism, and commerce. - Main areas of practice Banking, insurance and capital markets: The firm has a long and impressive trajectory in the Panamanian market and boasts one of Panama’s largest banking and finance teams. The team focuses on project finance, financial services regulatory advice, day-to-day advice to full licensed banks and financial institutions. GALA’s expertise also includes high-end financing for precedent-setting energy and natural resources projects, as well as advice on growing areas such as aviation finance. GALA’s robust capital market practice handles a diversified portfolio of domestic, regional, and international clients mostly from highly regulated industries, on complex and innovative security offerings and regulatory compliance. Corporate mergers and acquisitions: GALA advises on domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and reorganizations. The firm has been involved in many of the region’s most significant M&A transactions, including the acquisition of Cable Onda, S.A. by Millicom International Cellular, S.A., Panavicola, S.A. by Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI), the acquisition of Grupo Machetazo by Grupo Mays, the strategic alliance between Copa Airlines and United Airlines, and the sale by Goldwind International Penonome, S.a.r.l. of its equity interest in the first wind farm in Panama. Litigation and dispute resolution: The firm has a long-standing and highly accomplished litigation practice. GALA’s litigation attorneys have successfully argued on behalf of clients in a broad range of industries, including energy sector leaders Petroterminal de Panamá and Naturgy Panama. Most recent achievements include advising the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)’s international legal team on issues of Panamanian law in the ACP’s recent arbitration victory over the contractor responsible for the Panama Canal Expansion Project. Project and asset finance: GALA has offered legal counsel on innovative finance structures for the acquisition of assets and the development of some of the largest projects in Panamanian history. Among the most notable transactions are advising the (1) Panama Canal Authority’s international team on the financing of the US$5.25bn Panama Canal Expansion Project, (2) developers and financial institutions in financing energy projects of multiple technologies, including hydro, thermal, and natural gas generation, the first wind, and solar farms in the Republic of Panama, and the (3) construction, redeployment, and expansion of the trans-isthmian pipeline. Real estate: The practice focuses on complex real estate development projects, zoning and condominium (horizontal property regime) incorporation, and other regulatory matters. The team is actively involved in advising the developer of the 1,400-hectare project known as Ciudad Costa Verde in all legal matters, including regulatory, transactional, and tax matters. Tax (local and international): The firm advises clients on the tax implications arising from cross-border transactions and structuring, guiding them on the best way to manage available tax incentives and regimes, including the application of double tax conventions. GALA also represents its clients before the Tax Administration and the Administrative Tax Court in complex litigation cases, including transfer pricing and cross-border investment. The firm complements its portfolio with experienced legal professionals in practice areas such as aviation, data protection and security, intellectual property, government contracts and public procurement, labor and immigration, and regulatory. All services are delivered in compliance with GALA’s core values: excellence, integrity, respect, loyalty, empathy, confidentiality. - Highlighted industries of expertise Aviation: GALA provides expert counsel to clients in the aviation industry, focusing on aircraft acquisition, finance and leasing, corporate, regulatory, and dispute resolution. Recent transactions include advising Copa Airlines on the US$2.6bn order placed for the acquisition of 32 Boeing 737-800 Next-Generation aircraft, the acquisition of the first 13 Boeing 737-MAX 9 aircraft, delivered between 2018 and 2021, part of the US$6.6bn order of 61 737-MAX and the sale of 14 EMB 190 aircraft, spare engines, and spare parts to Alliance. Energy: With experienced lawyers in the heavily regulated industry, GALA advises an international clientele on the full range of energy-related matters. The team comprises lawyers within M&A, regulatory, project financing, and dispute resolution practice groups, safeguarding clients’ interests in every possible way. Working in the development of the largest solar, wind, and hydroelectric projects settled in Panama and the region, and counseling two of the three energy-distribution companies in the country has made Galindo, Arias & López the go-to firm in the industry. Clients: Academia Latinoamericana de Aviación Superior S.A.; Altra Investments; América Móvil; ASSA Compañía de Seguros, S.A; Banco Ficohsa; BAC International Bank, Inc., Banco General SA; Banco Industrial, SA; Banco Santander Central Hispano, SA (NY Branch); Beaumont & Son Aviation at Clyde & Co.; Cable Onda, S.A.; Cargolux Airlines; Casa Comfort, S.A.; Citibank International PLC; Clínica Hospital San Fernando, SA; Condon & Forsyth LLP; Copa Airlines; Copa Holdings, S.A.; Credomatic de Panamá, SA; Deloitte; Emirates; El Machetazo, S.A.; GBM de Panamá, SA; Goldwind Americas; Grupo Pellas; Grupo Mays; Hospital Punta Pacífica; Hoteles Decameron; Grupo REY; International Finance Corporation (IFC); Los Castillos Real Estate, Inc.; Mayer Brown; MED Centroamérica, SA; Mercantil Banco, S.A; Mercantil Servicios de Inversión, S.A.; Metrobank, SA; Millicom International Cellular, S.A.; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group; Motta International, S.A.; MTU Maintenance Hannover GmbH; Naturgy Panama; Panama Air Cargo Termminal Inc.; Panama Canal Authority; Petroterminal de Panamá, S.A.; Sherman & Sterling LLP; Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Uber, B.V. ### Languages - English (fluent) - Spanish - Japanese - French - Italian - Hebrew - Hindi ### Memberships - TAGLaw - A Worldwide Alliance of Independent Law Firms ### Staffing Figures - 11 Partners - 21 Other Lawyers
Practice areas
Lawyers in this office
Anna Cristina Valdes
Senior Associate. Ms. Valdes focuses on Tax Law (local and international). · Tax
Beatriz Cabal
Partner Ms. Cabal has vast experience in the areas of Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT), Administrative Law, Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions. · Telecommunications
Carlos Lucas López Tejada (R.I.P.)
Partner. Mr. López Tejada focused his practice on Administrative, Procedural, and Banking Law. He was an expert on labor and immigration. · Administrative
Cristina Lewis de la Guardia
Partner. Ms. Lewis' practice focuses on commercial and administrative law, particularly in the areas of aviation, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and energy. · Aviation
Diego De La Guardia
Partner. Mr. De la Guardia specializes on Disputes Resolution, with an emphasis on Litigation. He is a clear expert on Civil Procedural Law, Administrative Law, and Government Contracts. · Dispute Resolution
Diego Herrera
Partner. Mr. Herrera focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions; serving key players in the financial and industrial sectors. · Corporate / M&A
Edgar Herrera
Edgar Herrera has been part of the GALA team since 2004, specializing in domestic and international Tax Law. He was a correspondent for the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) based in Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands. His professional commitment led him to be founder of the Panamanian Chapter of the International Fiscal Association (IFA), of which he was its first president and is currently honorary president. In addition, he was the organizer of the Regional Meeting of this organization in Panama City, in 2019. He is a recognized expert in the practical application of Treaties to Avoid Double Taxation, as well as a consultant and litigator lawyer in cases of international taxation and transfer pricing. He stands out as an international speaker on International Taxation in countries such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States of America. · Tax
Gabriela Vásquez
Senior Associate. Ms. Vásquez focuses on Labor Law, Administrative Law, Administrative Procedural Law, and Civil Procedural Law. · Labor & Employment
Jaime Arias Calderón
Partner. Mr. Arias Calderón is an expert on Taxation and Commercial Law with emphasis on Corporate and Banking Law. · Tax Law
Jose Luis Sosa
Partner. Mr. Sosa focuses his practice on commercial law, corporate law, project finance, and tax law, with emphasis on domestic and international business transactions, merger and acquisition transactions. · Corporate / M&A
Mario Galindo
Consultant. Mr. Galindo's areas of practice include Constitutional, Civil, Tax and Commercial Law (with special emphasis on Corporate and Securities), as well as Banking Law · Constitutional
María Montserrat Dorado
Associate. Ms. Dorado focuses on Labor & Inmigration, Litigation & Dispute Resolution. · Labor & Employment
Ramón Ricardo Arias Porras
Partner. Mr. Arias Porras focuses his practice on regulatory, tax law, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and corporate and commercial law. He is also a leading expert on Real Estate. · Regulatory
Raúl Morales
Partner · Corporate / M&A
Ricardo Alberto Arias Arias
Partner. Mr. Arias Arias is an expert on Administrative, International and Commercial Law with emphasis on Banking and Corporate Law. · Administrative
Roberto de Araujo López
Partner. Mr. De Araujo provides legal advise to numerous companies as a specialist in Commercial and Corporate Law, with special emphasis on Capital Markets, Banking Law, as well as on mergers and acquisitions. · Banking & Finance
Salomón Behar
Of Counsel. Mr. behar is an expert on commercial law, corporate law, hospitality, project financing, power generation industry regulation, and administrative law. · Corporate / M&A
Selva Quintero
Partner. Ms. Quintero specializes on procedural civil, constitutional and administrative law, with particular emphasis on the legal representation of multinational corporations operating in the power generation and public utilities sectors. · Dispute Resolution
Tomás Herrera Díaz
Partner. Mr. Herrera is an expert on Banking and Corporate Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. · Banking & Finance