On 5 April 2019, the leading Venezuelan law firms of LEĜA and Imery Urdaneta executed a merger agreement that incorporates the partners and the whole team of Imery Urdaneta from its three offices in Caracas, Valencia and Barquisimeto, into LEĜA, consolidating the latter as the leading Venezuelan law firm.
Imery Urdaneta was founded in 1997, specializing in corporate law, tax law, regulatory, labor law, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. The firm has consistently been ranked as one of the best law firms in Venezuela by the leading legal directories.
Imery Urdaneta will bring to LEĜA a wide and varied clientele consisting mainly of domestic and transnational companies, participating in various industries relating to both goods and services, including technology, construction, telecommunications, oil & gas, food, mass consumption, automotive, franchising and pharmaceuticals.
LEĜA is a leading law firm in the Venezuelan market and of international renown, with a modern approach to the practice of law. The firm has 15 practice areas, covering all branches of law, and 23 industry areas, created on the basis of the experience of our team, thereby guaranteeing a practical and successful approach to each industry. LEĜA is the largest and one of the most prestigious law firms in Venezuela, with numerous individual awards and the highest recognition for all its areas of practice from the world’s most important legal directories.
LEĜA is an exclusive member of Lex Mundi, World Service Group, PRAC, and ELA, among several other international networks that oblige it to maintain the highest standards of service to domestic and foreign clients. In Venezuela, LEĜA has been a key participant in academic associations and its lawyers have been involved in leadership roles in many of them. After this historical merger, the first of its kind in Venezuela, LEĜA will have a team of more than 50 legal professionals of the highest quality committed to the provision of outstanding services to its clients, located in Caracas and offices in the cities of Barquisimeto and Valencia.
In total, LEĜA will have 26 partners, of which 10 will be senior partners. The highly impressive roster comprises leading lawyers in their respective areas of practice, namely Luis López-Durán, Carlos Domínguez, Miguel Rivero, José Gregorio Torrealba, Jesús Sol Gil, John Tucker, Pedro Urdaneta, Gabriel Calleja, Faustino Flamarique and Pedro Jedlicka. Marcel Imery incorporates as a counsel, and Imery Urdaneta’s Carlos García Soto and Luis Azuaje will become partner and junior partner, respectively. Luis López-Durán and Carlos Domínguez will still be the co-managing partners of LEĜA.
Luis López-Durán, co-managing partner of LEĜA said: “The combination with Imery Urdaneta is part of our vision of consolidation of the legal market in Venezuela for the continuous support of our clients. It reflects a growth in line with the challenges we are experiencing as well as our vision of the future of Venezuela. We are reinforcing our platform of high-quality legal services, incorporating talented lawyers who are both locally and internationally recognized. The merger also expands our client base, with leading national and multinational corporations, and we are incorporating teams in Valencia and Barquisimeto. All this significantly strengthens our positioning in the market, with an innovative vision focused on multidisciplinary work and specialization by industrial sector. We are very pleased with this new step and challenge for the future.”
Pedro Urdaneta, managing partner of Imery Urdaneta, added: “We are very excited to combine forces, talents and offices with LEĜA, to provide our clients with added value, more practice areas and more hours of experience. With our new partners we share values, quality standards, organizational culture and a deep love for Venezuela. This combination also catapults us internationally, since LEĜA belongs to the most important networks of independent law firms: Lex Mundi, World Services Group, Pacific Rim Advisory Council, Cathay Associates, Employment Law Alliance and the International Network of Boutique & Independent Law Firms.”
