With offices in nine countries across Latin America, the powerhouse compliance and investigations team at Aguilar Castillo Love continues to be a market leader, taking a multidisciplinary approach to advising public figures (including former Costa Rican presidents Carlos Alvarado Quesada and Oscar Arias Sánchez) and major global corporates in the automotive, tech, medical device, food, logistics and pharmaceutical industries, such as BMW, Hewlett Packard, Synthes, Dos Pinos and DHL. The practice provides a comprehensive service, assisting clients with compliance, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption investigations, risk management and corporate crime defence strategy. Veteran criminal litigator Rodolfo Brenes Vargas leads the team, along with Tatiana Rojas Hernández, an expert in corporate compliance. Support is provided by white-collar crime specialist Sergio Herra Rodríguez, who serves as the president of the Costa Rican chapter of the World Compliance Association.

The team at BLP remains a force in the marketplace, developing comprehensive regulatory compliance programmes and risk management strategies to advise local corporates and global household names, including Microsoft, Pfizer and Colgate-Palmolive, on day-to-day operations and transactional matters. Team head Juan Carlos Tristán has extensive experience in the drafting and implementation of ethics and anti-corruption training throughout Mexico and Central America. Uri Weinstok, a former member of the Costa Rican antitrust authority (COPROCOM), specialises in conducting audits for clients in regulated industries like media, food and beverages, tobacco, advertising and pharmaceuticals. Support is provided by special counsel Alejandro Rojas, whose focus is dispute resolution, and San José office director and data privacy expert León Weinstok.

At the San José office of regional firm Arias, an experienced team designs complex compliance programmes for multinational corporates like Coca-Cola FEMSA, Dos Pinos and Essay, across such sectors as tech, food, personal care products, chemicals and software. Headed by two special counsels – litigation practice leader German Rojas and judicial and arbitration procedure specialist Abraham Balzer – the group’s comprehensive services range from risk identification, risk mitigation and drafting of regulatory compliance policies, to preparation of compliance assessments, staff training and advice on anti-money laundering and anti-corruption policies. In addition, associate Natalia Granados brings industrial development expertise to the team, assisting with regulatory follow-ups, approvals and modifications.

Co-ordinating with offices in Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, the compliance team at Dentons Muñoz utilises its regional presence to develop corporate governance programmes and risk assessment strategies for multinationals operating in the logistics, pharmaceuticals, health, tourism and telecoms industries. Tatiana Reuben leads the practice, with experience in the building and implementation of ethics compliance training and communication plans. Associate Jose Manuel Guerra  (who joined in June 2021 from ARA Law Abogados) provides regulatory guidance to corporates, investors and start-ups seeking to establish a national foothold.