Servicios de Asesoría Legal

General Practice.-

The firm offers to the their clients a wide change of juridical services in accordance with their specific needs. We rely on a team of lawyers to assist you in negotiating real estate, in managements such as sales contracts or successions. Serrano Puig tries every day to maintain direct communication with his its clients. Our function is to protect your investments and businesses, managing and advising you in all juridical aspects of your relations with private persons and governmental entities, We do our best for our clients to feel safe.

Oil and Gas.-

This is one of the most important areas of the firm. Serrano Puig Abogados has participated jointly with several clients in the most recent oil fields bidding processes. Ecuador is ready to exploit these sectors. For this reason it has initiated legal reforms of to interest to investors, especially in tax labor fields and has initiated a promotion campaign in order to overcome the crisis and develop in the country’s most productive areas. Promoting the technological development through the investment in systems that will adapt and apply to each of the major interest systems is sought, giving special attention to energetic planning technology, transferring and quality standards adoption in the projects with the greatest economic, technological, and social impact of our country. For this, we expected to count with participation and whole financing between the private sector and especially international cooperation. The Ecuadorian oil fields contain a stock of approximately 4 billion oil barrels in all categories (proved, probable and possible.) The current production is of 130 million barrels per year, or annually less than 4% of the base reserve. The Government controls 65% of the current production, and the remaining 35% is private. However The state production decreases 12% yearly, while the private production increments from 20% to 25% yearly, limited only by the current lack of transport. There are only 6 private consortiums or individual companies that are operating in oil exploitation in Ecuadorian jungle. The transport capacity is below the 400.000 bpd (oil barrels per day), approximately 60,000 bpd less that the proved, but 15,000 bpd better than the end of the last year’s production levels.

Mining and Power.-

The firm has important experience in the mining sector. Through lately incorporated legal reforms, the Ecuadorian Government wants to promote and support research and innovation to apply more science and technology in all mining and energy sector activities, and to do the proper transfer to the social and productive agents that require it, by permanently seeking development. Having a productive, modern and competitive mining-energy sector, with performance rates over the average international parameters is sought. With this objective, internal legal normative has established equal standards for all investors, regulating and foreign trade and direct investment, and with that, integration. In this matter, the Government has adopted as policy to guarantee a reliable and efficient investment, protecting investors with general guaranties and specific guarantees in favor of foreign investment, especially bringing tributary stability, and grating clear standards as for duties and rights related with licenses and royalties. Regarding the environment refers, the creation of incentives for rational use of mining resources is being promoted, by means of the adequate exploration and exploitation systems. Among the main minerals that we can find in our territory, first of all there is gold, silver, cooper, and platinum. Located in various zones of our country, among the most productive are the coastal and oriental regions because of innumerable sandbanks and rivers located there. Our Firm has had important experience assisting foreign mining companies, especially from Canada, in the whole operation they are developing on Ecuadorian territory.

There is no doubt that mining in Ecuador is about to take off.

Corporate Law.-

Our dedication is broad in all company advising aspects, not only relation to the establishment of their operations in Ecuador, but also to their interventions and investment in foreign countries. In general, we give assistance to local and foreign companies for associations, mergers and acquisitions. We also perform an active role on the formation of local and subsidiary companies, as well as the establishment of foreign enterprise subsidiaries. We give assistance in the daily operation of many corporations, preparing their general board meetings, maintains their corporate records participating as board directors or as juridical representatives. We offer our advising for the creation of foreign companies and help our clients decide their adequate base.

Administrative Law.-

We assist our clients in their relationship with public entities, especially in the application of standards, regulations, decrees and sentences, emanated from such entities. The clients also receive legal assistance in the field of regular procedures before the national state and municipal administrative entities.

Litigation.-

Our lawyers have a broad experience in judicial litigation on civil, commercial, fiscal and administrative matters, as well as situations involving litigation at any judicial level, including the Supreme Court of justice and other courts. Our advisement and representation also involve the foreign sentences validation in Ecuador, before the Supreme Court, obtaining the corresponding “exequatur”.

Alternatives Of Dispute Resolution.-

Due to litigation cost and it’s delay in Ecuador, we recommend to our client’s alternatives of Dispute Resolution to resolve their conflicts. When pertinent, instead of litigation, we try to resolve the matters by means of negotiation, mediation and arbitration. In the last year we have obtained excellent results for our clients using these alternative methods. Some of our lawyers also act like arbitrators, Arbitral Courts secretaries, mediators, and even as Alternatives of Dispute Resolution instructors.

Intellectual Property.-

The worldwide significance of that trademarks, inventions and royalty guardianships has turned this field into one of the most dynamic fields of our profession. We rely on legal personnel and infrastructure to offer competitive services on trademark registry on an international level, start and reply of oppositions, searches, and trials before the Andean Community Justice Court, with its headquarters in Quito. Our Specific job is to help to obtain licenses, as will as to check descriptive memories, from a legal as much as a technical point of view. Our group of professionals has ability enough to research cases for the Industrial Property Office, and to defend licenses and models at administrative and juridical levels. Either by the creation of a new trademark or the protection of any already established, we assume full responsibility for all the aspects of safeguarding our client’s trademarks. This includes the conduction of registry reports and background searching. We also do follow ups in relation to trademark registry, commercial names, service trademark, and applications at administrative and judicial levels. Once the rights are recognized, we continue acting in all the necessary instances to assert them, proceeding to demand transgressors whenever it is necessary.

Copy Rights.-

We deeply know the Copyrights law, as well as the treaties and agreements in relation to copyrights to which Ecuador is signatory. For this purpose we are able to schedule and protect our clients copyrights. As for protection, besides the redaction of each material description under preservation, we also work in function of already published materials, from books to computer software, attacking problems like plagiarism and other kinds of Copyrights transgressions. Whenever is necessary, our specialist lawyers work as a team with the firms litigants in order to resolve without bigger problems the Copyrights transgression matters at court or even at the Justice Supreme Court.

Licenses and Franchising.-

Our advisement involves giving legal to our clients, in relation to fiscal laws and restrictive clauses that could affect their company or business. In the same way, we help them draft technology contracts that are acceptable for the company and for the state, if this is the case. We make sure the contracts are registered before the competent authorities, according to the situation.

International Business.-

As we know, Ecuador is now taking decisive steps in order to encourage foreign investment. For that effect, our lawyers are working closely with bi-national chambers of commerce to achieve this purpose. The companies that are dedicated to create associations or to establish branches in our country need to carry out several steps for which we offer representation and advisement to our clients before the governmental authorities. For that purpose we rely on a worldwide level correspondent legal offices.

The economic opening of Ecuador to international trade and the strengthening of the integration process in which the country participates offer multiple business opportunities. We give advisement in various aspects of this activity. This advisement submits to the field of international trade ruling standards, to the defense against disloyal practices, and international hiring of goods buying and selling or the rendering of services.

Telecommunications.-

The telecommunications legal regime in Ecuador has been the object of substantial changes during the last year. The creation of public services regulating entity, along with the new telecommunications law, were the first steps to modernize this sector. The firm has been involved from the beginning in this sector’s legal restructuring and has assisted clients whose role in the environment is preponderant, as much as from the public sector as from the private sector. The vast experience acquired by the firm in telecommunications matters, is in the service of the new legal field that grows every day in this aspect.

Tourism.-

Ecuador is catalogued as one of the countries with the biggest biological diversity worldwide, which, joined with its unique geographical position, turns it into a world rank tourist attraction. A LatinAmerican economies comparative advantages study published at the Harvard University points out that Ecuador has its major growth potential in the tourist sector. The firm has done reports about legislation in this matter and it is in capacity has the ability to advice the clients in the planning of tourist companies to give an adequate utilization of the legislation gives.

Labor Law.-

Our practice with labor activity includes all the aspects of the relationship between employer and employee. In this field we have acted in the fields of conciliation and litigation. On the other hand, in agreement with the Ecuadorian labor laws, we assist foreign companies with operations in the local market and we advice them about the way to avoid difficulties with the relationships with their workers, our even, whenever it is necessary, we help them to confront and resolve these problems. We also participate in the contracts with labor unions, and represent our clients in the special labor proceedings.

Public Contracting and Privatization’s.-

Ecuador doesn’t stay away from the worldwide tendency of privatizing a series of activities that the state has traditionally performed, which presents interesting opportunities of national and foreign investments. We advice our clients in their relationships with the Government, relating to privatization’s, concessions, bids, contests and contract negotiations. We have effectively participated in the most important privatization’s processes that have been carried out in Ecuador, advising not only the interested private companies, but also the involved governmental institutions.

Tax Law.-

By giving our services to our clients in their commercial transactions, negotiations, documentation and construction, we also take care of their fiscal aspects. To offer a better service, the lawyers at Serrano Puig Abogados keep informed about the changes that occur on laws related to taxation that can affect their client’s businesses. The relationship between the taxpayer and the Government require a serious and high quality juridical management. We offer advisement services on fair payment and settlement of taxes to the central government or sectional institutions. Our lawyers and associated auditors are properly interpenetrated with the fiscal issues and they keep permanently updated, in order to offer to our clients a complete advisement that brings them the required knowledge for the appropriate laws fulfillment and better utilization of benefits contemplated in those laws.

Constitutional Law.-

The political Constitution of 1998 establishes new constitutional guarantees. We have had an enormous success in the defense of our clients rights through the intervention of constitutional protection and other figures. Our specialty in this field includes courts of first instance, the Constitutional Court, and Ombudsman.

Migration.-

We have experience in visa procedures for executives and technicians, not only in nom-immigrant or immigrant categories, but also in foreigner naturalization. Within this area we negotiate for our clients all documentation related to his entrance and departure of the country, as well as the regularization of their migratory status and of their families.