Guzmán Ariza appoints Marianne Olivares and Pamela Benzán Arbaje as Partners  

Guzmán Ariza has named attorneys Marianne Olivares and Pamela Benzán Arbaje new partners, following a successful career at the Dominican firm for both of them. These promotions consolidate the firm’s commitment to the recognition of the talent of its female lawyers and diversity in the work environment.

With these appointments, Guzmán Ariza consolidates its offer in the areas of litigation, tourism and corporate law, while recognizing professional excellence and the importance of gender equality and diversity in its team.

In her professional practice Marianne Olivares has excelled for ten years in the areas of litigation, real estate and tourism in the firm’s offices in Bávaro-Punta Cana, Casa de Campo and La Romana, advising the most important real estate developers, hotels, condominiums and resorts in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic. At the same time, she is a professor of Civil Law and Civil Procedural Law at the Universidad Central del Este (UCE).

Marianne is a graduate of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), where she obtained her law degree, magna cum laude, with a master’s degree in Civil Law and Civil Procedure from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD).

Pamela Benzán Arbaje has excelled in the practice of corporate law in the Santo Domingo office, participating in important mergers and acquisitions transactions, project financing and, especially, in matters of commercial restructuring and liquidation, a field in which she has excelled, participating in most of the cases of commercial restructuring and insolvency that are pending in the Dominican courts. She is coordinator of the Observatory of Restructuring Procedures of the Dominican Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FEDOCAMARAS) and advises the Restructuring Commission and the Legal Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo on commercial restructuring. She is co-author of the Restructuring and Insolvency publication of Getting the Deal Through since 2018, as well as the Dominican Chapter of America’s Restructuring Review of Global Restructuring Review (GRR).

Pamela is a graduate of Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE), where she obtained her law degree, summa cum laude, with a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, UK, in Commercial Law.

Recently, Pamela and Marianne were jointly recognized as the best students of the tenth promotion of the Master of Laws in Law and Management of the International Institute of Law and Business (INIDEM). Both have also been recognized as outstanding lawyers by the legal directories Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.

The announcement of their promotion was made by Mr. Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza, Chairman of the firm, who commented: "Throughout their years with us, Marianne and Pamela have greatly demonstrated their commitment with the values of integrity, client service, excellence, teamwork and innovation, values that for almost a century have characterized the practice of law at Guzmán Ariza. Their promotions are a reward for this, as well as for their hard work and dedication in their respective areas of expertise: litigation and tourism for Marianne Olivares, and corporate and commercial law for Pamela Benzán Arbaje. It fills us with enthusiasm and illusion to look forward to the centennial of our firm counting on our new partners".