The Latin American Lawyer September 2018 LATAM MAGAZINE SEPT18 | Page 19

Law firm profile
García says. She
adds that global
managing partner
Diaz launched
his practice in
Venezuela 20
years ago after
a period spent
working there.
“For the last thirty
years he has been
representing not
only Venezuelan
individuals with
businesses and
interests in the
US, Europe or
throughout the
world, but also the
government itself,”
Colomar García
says. “But we don’t
take sides, we
don’t get involved
in politics, we do
not represent the
current President
or his close allies,
but institutions and government
entities such as the central bank,
advising on compliance with the
applicable US regulations.”
‘Political enemies’
The sanctions imposed on
Venezuela have been effective,
according to Colomar García.
“These economic sanctions work,”
she says. “They are a powerful tool,
and I don’t know how much more
the government can take.” Colomar
García adds that the US is targeting
governments and “political
enemies” via such measures. “It
is effective intelligence gathering
and economic sanctions that
weakens governments, no longer
military threats,” she says. Indeed,
legal work related to economic
sanctions is expected to be a
significant growth area for the firm,
particularly in Latin America, but
also in other parts of the world.
In addition to Venezuela, Diaz,
Reus & Targ is active in other
Latin American markets, such
as Honduras and Guatemala,
where there is growing demand
for advice related to white-collar
crime. Meanwhile, the firm has
also now extended its reach to the
Russian Federation. “We have also
www.iberianlawyer.com/latin-america
just opened an office in Moscow,
where we gave a presentation on
‘delisting’ in relation to sanction
lists – the event was sold out and
a great success,” Colomar García
says. But the firm’s expansion plans
do not end there – the opening of
an office in Ecuador is also under
consideration as it is another Latin
American country where demand
for lawyers specialising in white-
collar crime is on the rise.
The firm has also been involved
in a major corruption case brought
against Brazilian construction
conglomerate Odebrecht in
Panama. Odebrecht left a trail of
corruption – which was uncovered
in 2016 – when it admitted it had
paid bribes to secure contracts
in Argentina, Brazil, Dominican
Republic, Guatemala, Ecuador,
Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. “The
scandal was all over Latin America,
and is one of the biggest I have
seen,” Colomar García says. “I think
there will be further consequences
as what the public sees is just the
tip of the iceberg – investigations
are still being conducted and being
reopened.” The matters being dealt
with are extremely complicated and
need to be handled with care given
the parties involved, according to
Colomar García. “These corruption
and kickback schemes are very
complex – our firm is in the
middle of all of these government
investigations and sensitive
political issues.” Meanwhile,
Central America is a region that is
generating an increasing number
of opportunities for the firm. “We
are always looking to open offices
in new markets where our clients
might have business needs,”
Colomar García says.
However, operating in many
markets does bring significant
challenges, Colomar García adds.
“The biggest challenge has been
to inform our clients in a timely
fashion about the US’ rapidly
increasing sanctions programmes,
as there is a lot of misinformation
and misperceptions out there,” she
explains. “Indeed, we have spoken
in several jurisdictions about the
myths and truths of the sanctions
programmes, including Moscow,
Cambridge, and Bogotá.” Given
that economic sanctions cause
considerable confusion among
clients, it is certain that there will
be a high demand for lawyers
specialising in this field for the
foreseeable future.
September 2018 • THE LATIN AMERICAN LAWYER • 17