Arias & Muñoz is honored to name associates Ana Mercedes Lopez, Julio Valdes Rank and Roberta Gallardo as junior partners at its El Salvador office and associate Jose Bernard Pallais as junior partner in its Nicaragua office. They joined our legal team a few yeas ago, and each of them, has shown exceptional dedication, commitment, and professionalism to our firm and its clients.

Ana Mercedes López joined Arias & Muñoz in 1999. Her areas of expertise are Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, International Trade, International Contracts and Energy Law. She graduated from Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado, El Salvador and obtained a Degree in Law (1997). She has a Masters Degree in Entrepreneurial Law from Universidad de Navarra, Spain (1999) and is authorized as practicing Attorney and Notary Public. In recent years Ana Mercedes has participated in project financing and mergers and acquisitions transactions that amount to several billion US dollars.
                                                     
Julio Valdes Rank joined Arias & Muñoz in 2003. He has general legal practice with emphasis in Corporate Law, Mercantile Law, Banking Law, Mergers and Acquisitions and International Contracts. He obtained his Law Degree from the Universidad José Matías Delgado, El Salvador. He attended the Program of Instruction for Lawyers (PIL) at Harvard University (2004). He also completed courses of International Commercial Arbitration and Comparative Corporate Law in Paris, France (2005) at the Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Summer Institute, by Cornell Law School, Cornell University. He advises to the corporate, financial and banking sector of local and international companies. In 2005 and 2006 Julio advised the sellers of the two largest banks in El Salvador, in two separate transactions; represented the Government of El Salvador in the issuance of Notes for an amount exceeding US $600 million; advised DHL in the acquisition of local operations, and also the sellers of the largest Central American PVC company, with operations in Central and South America, Mexico and Panama, among others.

Roberta Gallardo joined Arias & Muñoz in 1999. She specializes in Corporate Law, Mercantile Law, International Contracts and Mergers and Acquisitions. She received her Law Degree from the Universidad José Matías Delgado, El Salvador (2003) and has pursued studies in Notary Law at the Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador. She attended the Program of Instruction for Lawyers (PIL) at Harvard University (2004). She has experience in advising local and international companies in the Central American region, and has also worked on mergers, acquisitions and project financings of significance in El Salvador and the Central American region, among them, recently, the acquisition of the largest cable TV company in the region, with operations in all Central American countries, in 2006; and the acquisition of 80% of an aircraft heavy maintenance operation in El Salvador,by ACTS, an Air Canada affiliate, also in 2006, and the sale of the largest bank in El Salvador.

José Bernard Pallais H. joined Arias & Muñoz in 2000. His legal practice is centered in Corporate Law, International Trade and Investment, Banking Law, Project Financing, and Civil and Mercantile Litigation.  He obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M) Degree on International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center (with distinction, 2003), and his law degree from Universidad Americana UAM (magna cum laude, 2001). He is authorized as a Practicing Attorney and Notary Public by the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua. José Bernard held the position of legal advisor at the Central Bank of Nicaragua, where he was part of the Nicaraguan team that negotiated the U.S.—Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), for the financial services sector. He additionally advised on Nicaragua foreign debt reduction agreements and operations under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries´ (HIPC) Initiative.