Juan Carlos Castillo Chacón

Leaders in Law endorses Juan Carlos Castillo Chacón as our exclusively recommended Energy Law expert in Guatemala. If you wish to get in touch with Juan please use the contact information provided above.

Partner serving as head of the Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking, and Finance departments of the firm.

Ranked amongst the three top lawyers in Guatemala for mergers and acquisitions by Latin American Corporate Counsel Association – LACCA.

Currently recognized as a top practitioner in the Guatemalan and Central American legal market.

Juan Carlos has participated in some of the largest and most important transactions in Guatemala.

He has a wide experience in counselling non-profit organizations.

Education

• 1991 – Master of Laws by Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1991 – Bachelor of Law and Social Sciences, Magna Cum Laude, by Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala, Guatemala.

Professional Experience

• 2007 – present Partner at Aguilar Castillo Love
• 1999 – 2007 President of the Guatemalan Stock Exchange Market.
• 1998 – Legal Advisor to the Government of Guatemala in the Privatization of Guatemala’s Seaports and Airports.
• 1996 – Legal Advisor to the Government of Guatemala in the Privatization of Electric Power Generation and Distribution Companies.
• 1993 – 2001 Head Professor of Public International Law at Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala.

Publications

Judicial Independence in Guatemala: A Critical Analysis, published in Harvard Law School, 1991.

Awards and Recognition

Ranked as one of the three top lawyers in Guatemala for mergers and acquisitions by Latin American Corporate Counsel Association – LACCA.

Skills

Juan Carlos serves as “trusted advisor” to his clients. His comprehensive knowledge in business and Law gives his clients security and confidence that they will receive an accurate and honest legal advice. He invests time and effort understanding the priorities and needs of the client’s transaction and, as a result, obtains his clients’ loyalty. His experience and knowledge characterize him. Juan Carlos has successfully led the regional firm in a broad scope of Due Diligence Transactions.

The legal advices provided by Juan Carlos do not stop in making a profound analysis of the transaction to understand the Law’s implications, but they also comprise the context of the client’s transaction in order to provide a comprehensive solution.

He is a practical and efficient attorney, with great ability to critical analysis, an above-average analytical capacity, and the necessary tools to convey knowledge to the client. He is intuitive, attentive to detail, accurate, and has the ability to anticipate the needs and risks of the client.

Mr. Castillo is constantly described by clients as “the lawyer with the most capacity in this area in all of Central America” (speaking of the Finance area of practice, Legal500).

The integrity, knowledge and skills that characterize Juan Carlos has allowed him to participate in some of the biggest acquisitions in the history of Guatemala, such as the sale of Generation Assets of Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala, S.A.; the Sale of Shares (80%) of the same company; the acquisition of all the assets of Shell in Central America; and a percentage of the entity Royal Forest Holding (RFH) and its subsidiaries in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, among many other projects. He has also advised on some of the largest financing deals in Guatemala, recently, in the issuance of bonds by two companies in the energy industry for US$ 300M and US$ 450 M.

Languages

• Spanish
• English

Memberships

• Guatemalan Bar Association
• International Bar Association -IBA-
• Harvard Law School Alumni Association

Firm Description:

Aguilar Castillo Love has always been at the forefront of legal change and landmark legal cases across Latin America. We have consistently redefined what it means to be a leading law firm and continue to provide the highest level of customer service and quality legal advice to a prestigious client base, domestic, regional and international.

We are one of the leading law firms in Latin America as recognized by directories such as Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500,  Latin Lawyer 250, and Latin Lawyer Elite. Our position is reflected in the fact that we work with some of the most highly regarded global law firms including many of the Global Elite and Magic Circle law firms such as Cravath, Linklaters, Freshfields, Slaughter and May, Wachtell Lipton and White & Case, among others.

Clients expect the best from us. We have built a reputation of providing the highest quality of legal advice as well as the highest level of personalized service. In addition, our reputation for transparency and business integrity through the law sets us apart from our competitors and continues to attract top talent to the firm.

History

Aguilar Castillo Love is the product of business and legal traditions that reach back for several centuries beginning in Guatemala and Costa Rica. We combine the best of what tradition and longevity has to offer with the innovative approaches and fresh perspectives of the new generations of lawyers at the firm. Our philosophy and culture have evolved over many generations. Bufete Aguilar was the first law firm in Costa Rica, founded by Don Manuel Aguilar Chacón in the 1820s. Don Manuel was known as the “the first Costa Rican lawyer”, making the name Aguilar the oldest still active in the Central American legal community. Castillo took part in the foundation of Guatemala, and the family created one of the region’s biggest business conglomerates.

The modern law firms that were the immediate predecessors of Aguilar Castillo Love were established in the 1960s: John Aguilar & Asociados, (a re-establishment of Bufete Aguilar by John Aguilar Osborne in Costa Rica), and Bufete Castillo Love (founded by Francisco J. Castillo Love in Guatemala). By the time they came together, both firms already had a long history of serving major regional and international businesses in complex commercial transactions and dispute resolution in Central America.

An agreement to embark on a joint regional venture was made between the current senior partners, John Aguilar Quesada and Juan Carlos Castillo Chacón, whilst at Harvard Law School where they both obtained their LLM degree. This journey began in 1991 and evolved into the first truly Central American initiative and law firm. It concluded with a formal integration in February 2006.  Aguilar Castillo Love has consistently championed women in the legal profession being one of the first firms to name a female partner in Nicaragua, and subsequently in other countries of the region.

Our vision for our role as a law firm is born of our above described heritage, a continued emphasis across the years on ensuring we lead the industry, leveraging our longevity and trust in the market and with clients, to introduce new ideas and concepts that address current day challenges. Our ethos is drawn from many models, realities, and lessons. It has been long tested. The decisions we make in the present have a direct impact on our clients’ futures. In a world of noise, distraction, short-termism and volatility, in a world that demands ‘modernity’ for modernity’s sake, we know the value of knowing who we are and the value we bring. It doesn’t mean we don’t move with the times. Quite the opposite, it qualifies us to lead. Proof of the foregoing is the many recognitions the law firm has received over the past few years including, the recognition by the Women Economic Forum 2019, Latin America, as one of the “Iconic Companies Creating a Better World for All”, for the work the firm hands for the non-profit She Is (www.she-is.org)  in Central America. She Is works with high-risk women in severe economic need- helping to turn crafts and services into businesses.