Finding a good corporate attorney in Colombia is a key step if you are planning to do business in the country. Because, while it is known for being one of the most investment-friendly in Latin America, market entry and doing business involves a number of legal and administrative hurdles, which your legal firm in Colombia should be able to help you negotiate with the minimum of fuss.
You can find a good attorney in Colombia by contracting a traditional corporate law firm, however you may find that a more cost-effective and convenient approach is to have your legal services handled by a back-office services provider.
Because in the event you will also be seeking support with the likes of accounting and taxation, visa processing, or recruitment, a back-office services provider will be able to cover any of those needs, including legal support, under one services agreement. That will often cost less overall and mean you are only ever dealing with one provider.
SEE ALSO: Find a Dependable Corporate Accounting Firm in Colombia
Colombia is one of the most popular destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America, with investors encouraged by the country’s close political ties with the United States, long democratic tradition, and a security situation that has improved remarkably over recent decades.
The country’s strategic geographic location is also a factor, with the country located between the largest economies in North and South America, as well as having high-volume ports on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts to serve Asia and Europe respectively.
Famed for being the source of some of the world’s best coffee, Colombia is the third-largest producer of coffee beans globally. However, the crop is only it’s second-most valuable export commodity, with $2.38 billion in annual coffee exports dwarfed by over $20 billion in hydrocarbon exports – more than half of which is crude petroleum.
While coffee is the country’s most well-known agricultural commodity, Colombia produces an abundance of other goods, and is among the global top 10 producers of the likes of avocados, bananas, and cocoa, as well as being the second-largest producer of cut flowers in the world, behind the Netherlands.
Beyond that, Colombia counts on rich deposits of gems and precious metals, with gold a major export commodity and the country being the world’s largest producer of emeralds, with Colombian emeralds famed for their quality.
The country is also home to a services sector that has grown to be increasingly important to the economy over the past decade, and in 2020 accounted for almost 60% of gross domestic product (GDP). As such you can find a corporate attorney in Colombia with relative ease, however your choice could be limited by your and their language skills.
As services and skilled employment have grown, so too has the country’s reputation as a hub for innovation and tech talent, with second-largest city Medellin declared one of Latin America’s new ‘Silicon Valleys,’ while some of the biggest companies in Latin America, as well as many major foreign corporations, have a large presence in capital city Bogota.
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What will your legal firm in Colombia do for your business?
A corporate attorney in Colombia will provide specialized support and help you overcome administrative obstacles through every step of your company formation, as well as offering ongoing assistance in your operations.
That will mean that you can rest assured that you will remain in compliance with all local legislation and regulations, thereby avoiding any financial penalties or other inconveniences associated with non-compliance – which is a risk in an unfamiliar market.
Your attorney or legal firm in Colombia will also be able to represent you in front of local authorities, as well as providing a bridge across the cultural and linguistic divides you may encounter when doing business in the country.
The legal firm in Colombia that you contract will also be able to draw up and process a wide range of legal documentation that will be required as you register your company and do business.
Key benefits of working with a good corporate attorney in Colombia
Some of the key benefits of working with a good corporate attorney in Colombia include:
IP protection: A good corporate attorney will understand current intellectual property legislation and will make sure your trademark, product, or service is registered and protected from imitation in the shortest time possible.
Local network: Your legal firm in Colombia will have an established name in the local business and legal community, enjoying connections that could prove valuable to your business.
Key decisions: Your attorney or legal firm in Colombia will be able to help you to make key decisions with regards to the type of company you will set up, and how you will structure the organization, based on local corporate law.
Risk management: A reputable legal firm in Colombia will work on the basis of guaranteed compliance with all local norms, mitigating the risk of penalties or reputational damage that could negatively impact your business.
How to find a good corporate attorney in Colombia
When seeking out a corporate attorney in Colombia who will be able to meet your needs, it is worth keeping the following in mind:
Language skills: Although most professionals will have a conversational level of English, unless you are able to communicate effectively in Spanish, you will need to find an attorney in Colombia with a strong grasp of the language, or any other language that you speak with proficiency.
Past feedback: You can find feedback online from previous clients of any legal firm in Colombia that you are considering working with, which should give you a general idea of how they have been with the provider’s service.
Communication management: If you are going to be communicating with your attorney in Colombia from overseas, you may wish to make sure they they are comfortable working with online platforms, through which you will be able to keep abreast of the work they are doing and progress they are making.
Legal knowledge: While your legal firm in Colombia will obviously have a firm grounding in corporate law, in the event your business will involve more specialist legal codes, such in in mining, international commerce, or the oil and gas industry, you will want to make sure that they have an attorney on staff able to cater to those needs.
Biz Latin Hub can be your legal firm in Colombia
At Biz Latin Hub, we offer corporate legal services as part of a comprehensive portfolio of back-office services that also includes accounting & taxation, due diligence, hiring & PEO, and visa processing, among others.
Our legal team includes specialists in many areas of corporate law, meaning that whatever business you are doing, we have an attorney in Colombia able to assist you.
We also have offices in 15 other markets around Latin America and the Caribbean, meaning that we are ideally placed to support multi-jurisdiction market entries and cross-border operations.
If you are looking for a corporate legal firm in Colombia, or a provider of a broader array of professional support services, contact us now to find out more about how we can assist you.
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