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He highlights his advisory work in laws such as hydrocarbons, mining, and the tax code...

ISSUE 134 | 2024

Raúl Serrano

1Aguirre Soc. Civ. and Quintanilla, Soria & Nishizawa Soc. Civ. are two law firms that merged in 2018. What is your assessment of this merger?

The merger process has been very successful, primarily because our experience working together allowed us to have confidence in the great synergy between the two firms. The merger was made possible based on mutual trust and a shared vision for the development of the legal profession in a world undergoing significant changes, and its role in commitment to the country. We were aware that this would enable us to be a "full-service" firm, capable of serving clients in various areas of law with specialized professionals and extensive academic training.

2What are the most in-demand topics for a law firm like yours?

There are issues that are fundamental to the institutional life of the country, such as traditional areas of corporate and commercial law in the international arena, including tax, labor, intellectual property, and social responsibility aspects. Our team of lawyers, trained in prestigious academic institutions around the world, allows us to participate in some of the most important investment projects in the country, as well as other areas intrinsic to the country's economy, such as mining and natural resources.

THE FIRM BUFETE AGUIRRE, QUINTANILLA, SORIA & NISHIZAWA – BAQSN

It is a full-service law firm composed of a team of lawyers with extensive experience and a proven track record in the Bolivian legal field, specializing in the main areas of law, and graduates from the most prestigious universities, both nationally and internationally.

Furthermore, based on the regulatory framework primarily established in the 1990s in the country, we have contributed to the creation and development of financial and credit institutions. For example, entities such as Banco Solidario, the first commercial microcredit bank in the world, which became a driving force for the subsequent development of various microcredit institutions in the country and the continent.

The law firms Bufete Aguirre Soc. Civ. and Quintanilla, Soria & Nishizawa Soc. Civ., two of the most traditional and internationally prestigious firms with over fifty years of existence in Bolivia, merged their professional practices in 2018. This merger marked the first such consolidation in the country, providing comprehensive specialized services across various areas of law.

However, as a result of the development of universal dispute resolution mechanisms and their incorporation into the country through sector-specific regulations, our departments of conciliation and arbitration, as well as the litigation area, have seen significant growth in recent years.

3The partners have also participated in the drafting of various legal projects. Which of these would you highlight as having the most significant impact on the regulation of the country?

As one of the oldest firms in the country, our partners have over the years served as consultants for the Bolivian state in the development of legal projects in various areas, such as the Mining Law, the Hydrocarbons Law, the Tax Code, the Sectoral Regulation Law, and various projects to update the Commercial Code. Some of the regulations that remain in effect and in which we have had the opportunity to participate include the Securities Law and the Central Bank of Bolivia Law. These laws constitute the institutional foundation for defining the state's political economy and the development of the securities market in the country.

4Which sectors does BA-QSN serve most regularly, and what specific issues do you address?

As mentioned, one of the objectives of the merger was to have specialized departments in different areas of law. While there is generally a systematic integrated development of the various departments, some of the services we provide regularly and specifically include advisory services in corporate and commercial law, financial and banking law, mining law, with tax, social, and intellectual property variables, as well as litigation and arbitration services.