Leticia Ossa-Daza joins Paul, Weiss to expand Latin America Practice  

May 3, 2024

Colombian M&A lawyer Maria Leticia Ossa has left Willkie Farr & Gallagher to head Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison’s newly formed Latin America practice group.

Maria Leticia joins as a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice in the Corporate Department, based in New York.

Ossa Daza brings a wealth of experience to her new firm, having spent 21 years at Willkie Farr.
 
She has represented Latin America-based companies in a wide range of cross-border and domestic transactions, as well as companies in the financial services, technology, infrastructure and consumer goods sectors in their investments in Latin America.

Her recent work includes representing Expofaro in the sale of certain assets to Levi Strauss Colombia S.A.S.; Ferrara Candy Company in the acquisition of Dori Alimentos; Zurich Insurance Group in several transactions, including the sale of a portfolio of annuity reserves held in Chile to Ohio National Seguros de Vida S.A.; and Odinsa S.A., among others, Odinsa S.A. in its infrastructure partnership with Macquarie Asset Management to manage its toll road assets in Colombia; and América Móvil in its sale of TracFone Wireless to Verizon.

According to Scott A. Barshay, chair of Paul Weiss’ Corporate Department, "Leticia has worked on many of the most important deals in Latin America in recent years. She has deep relationships in the Latin American market and an exceptional understanding of the deal landscape. "We are thrilled to have her join our team," he added.
 
Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp added: "We are delighted to welcome Leticia, one of the leading M&A advisors focused on Latin America, to our firm. "Her arrival will greatly enhance our ability to serve both public and private companies based in Latin America, as well as international companies investing in Latin America."

Maria Leticia has received numerous awards from prestigious benchmarking publications, including Latinvex, Crain’s New York Business, The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and others. Notably, the International Committee of Women Together honoured Leticia with its coveted Women Together Award, while she was celebrated as one of LatinoJustice’s "Latina Trailblazers".
 
Ossa Daza holds a J.D. from The Paris Institute of Political Studies, a Master of Law from The Paris Institute of Political Studies/Sorbonne University, and an LL.M. from Fordham University School of Law.
 
The Paul, Weiss Mergers & Acquisitions practice works with leading private equity firms and many of the world’s largest and most prominent public and private companies, as well as financial advisors and other financial institutions and investors, on the full range of business-critical transactions.
 
About Paul, Weiss
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is a leading law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas and interests who provide innovative and effective solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges.

The firm represents many of the world’s largest and most important public and private companies, asset managers and financial institutions, as well as clients in need of pro bono assistance.
 
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