BLP promotes three partners in Costa Rica

BLP has announced the promotion of three associates to partner status at its San José, Costa Rica office, Adelina Villalobos, Andrea González and Juan Carlos Tristán, bringing the number of partners in the firm across Central America to 33.

In addition, the promotion of Adelina and Andrea brings the number of female partners at BLP to 11. In addition to Costa Rica, the firm has offices in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Spain.

Adelina Villalobos (pictured) is specialised in free trade zones, Andrea González in real estate and hospitality, and Juan Carlos Tristán in compliance and anti-corruption.

Commenting on the promotion, BLP senior partner David Gutiérrez said, “promoting three new partners at BLP Costa Rica allows us to advise our clients in a greater variety of practice areas in the face of the growing demand and economic expansion that the country is experiencing”.

Adelina Villalobos joined BLP in 2003 as a legal assistant, advancing to associate in 2005. She has a master’s degree in Business Legal Advice from the Carlos III University of Madrid. In addition to free trade zones, Adelina’s practice includes business law, in which she has advised national and transnational enterprises on daily issues, as well as participated in complex transactions such as mergers and acquisitions.

In her role as a free trade zones counsel, she has advised a variety of companies in the establishment of their operations in Costa Rica.

Andrea González (pictured, below left) earned a master’s degree in International Law from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and is a member of the International Bar Association. In real estate and hospitality, she has advised on the development, structuring, financing, and purchase and sale of real estate projects in the residential, tourism, commercial and hotel segments in the urban and coastal areas of Costa Rica.

She has been named a Star Associate in Real Estate Law by Chambers & Partners.

Juan Carlos Tristán (pictured, below) holds a master’s degree in American Law and International Business from Boston University School of Law. In 2012 he became an international associate at Greenberg Traurig’s Miami office, where he specialised in the application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the implementation of anti-corruption programs in the region. He has since become an expert in the supervision of anti-corruption control policies in Central America and Mexico.

In addition, he currently serves as president of the Anticorruption Commission – Costa Rica Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and is a member of the Ibero-American Group of Compliance Lawyers and a Costa Rican representative on the International Bar Association’s Anticorruption Commission.