Buffet Aguirre ® Soc Civ

For a number of years now the firm’s services have expanded to litigation in association with the leading independent litigation firm of Peres & Mendoza. Since June of 2009 another association with independent tax expert Ramon Servia, who headed the Bolivian IRS’ national department for Large Contributors, has considerably strengthen the firm’s taxation group coordinated by partner Dra. Milenka Saavedra. Eight professionals now constitute the firm’s service team, assisted by nine support staff.

In 2009 its IP group, headed by partner Perla Koziner (LLM in Intellectual Property, Queen Mary College, London, and lecturer of Intelectual Property Law at various Bolivian universities and programs), celebrated ten years of intensive practice, which has placed the firm amongst the five leading IP firms of Bolivia.

Its arbitration practice is coordinated by senior partner Dr. Fernando Aguirre B. (Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Oxford University), an arbitrator at the National Chamber of Commerce, La Paz and past arbitrator in the panel of arbitrators of ICSID and who has been professor of ADR and Arbitration at the 2009 Master’s Degree Program in International and Diplomatic Law at the Catholic University of La Paz. He has contributed to various arbitration publications, including, together with partner M. Carolina Aguirre U. (Specialized Master in Corporate and Fiscal law at the Managing and Administration School – EADA of Spain) the Bolivian chapter for a Spanish book on International Commercial Arbitration in Latin America.

Partner Ignacio M. Aguirre U. (LLM in Law and Development at the London School of Economics) has been professor of Environmental Law, one of his specialties, at the Catholic University of La Paz.

The firm’s portfolio of regular clients includes both national and international corporations with permanent activity in Bolivia in mining, oil and gas, industry and commerce, energy, banking and financing, pension funds, services, consulting, investment holding, transport and communications and forestry, as well as various small and medium enterprises, in addition to various local and international NGOs. Case by case the firm also advices on specific transactions including services to international cooperation entities and their related local contractors. Partner Fernando Aguirre is the honorary legal advisor to the British Ambassador in Bolivia, continuing a tradition which started with Dr. Carlos Aguirre R. 

As part of its corporate social responsibility the firm provides full or partial pro bono services to various NGOs and non for profit institutions, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It supports a Volley Ball club, with various teams which carry the firm’s name, participants at the official championships in Cochabamba and regularly donates to various charities.

In August 2010 the firm opened its new offices in La Paz and October witnessed the firm’s sponsorship of an exhibition of Bolivian renowned painter Yolanda Bastos de Aguirre, widower of founder Dr. Carlos Aguirre, all as part of its 70th Anniversary celebrations.

Membership in the IBA, ABA, INTA, ABPI, ASIPI, AIPN, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and other professional and commercial organizations, allows its members to be active participants at national and international conferences, at some of which and at other conferences by invitation (PDAC, Canadian Law and Financing and others) some have been panel participants contributing with various papers on Bolivian legal issues of international interest. Contributions to specialized publications include the Year in Review of the ABA. Fernando has contributed to local publications on Constitutional reform and other subjects.

On an extraordinary basis its partners do accept board positions or administrative representation for selected clients. Amongst others, Fernando is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Coca Cola bottlers in Bolivia and Sindico at Minera San Cristobal S.A., a Sumitomo Bolivian subsidiary. Ignacio is member of the Board of Directors of Trenes Continentales S.A., the majority shareholder of Ferroviaria Oriental S.A., of Electricidad de La Paz S.A. and Empresa de Luz y Fuerza Electrica de Oruro S.A., both majority owned by the Iberdrola of Spain group of companies. As from 2010 Fernando acts as Board member of the American Chamber of Commerce of Bolivia, of which he was President during the 70s. During 1993-96 Fernando was elected and served as outside Director of the Bolivian Central Bank.

The firm publishes a bimonthly newsletter with a summary of important legal developments relating to business law and occasional special legal analysis, under the edition of Carolina.

Specialized legal research publications include Bufete Aguirre amongst the leading business and financing law firms of Bolivia.  Fernando has been ranked amongst the leading mining lawyers in the world.