FERRERE is pleased to announce the addition of two new partners to the firm: Carlos Codas in Paraguay and Pablo Ordoñez in Bolivia, as of September 1, 2016.

With the arrival of Codas, former Chief Legal Officer of the Central Bank of Paraguay, FERRERE Paraguay consolidates its practice in financial, bankruptcy, administrative, procurement and litigation issues.

Meanwhile, with Ordoñez, one of Bolivia’s main tax referents, with lengthy international commodities experience, the firm will strengthen its presence concerning tax issues, as well as in oil and gas, litigation and Administrative and Constitutional Law.

Carlos Codas

Carlos Codas, who received his law degree from the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion with honors for outstanding average, has had a brilliant career in the public sector, where he was appointed manager of the Legal Unit of the Central Bank of Paraguay at the age of 32.

In the academic field, additionally, he obtained a master degree from the University of Pennsylvania (LLM) and he is a master candidate from the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain). Carlos also completed graduate studies at Wharton. In the Central Bank, he led a team of over 40 lawyers in all matters relating to the control and regulation of the entities subject to the institution’s supervision, and he participated as a sponsor and legal representative in judicial and administrative proceedings, leading the processes for the issuance of legal opinions (concerning labor, administrative and procurement matters) and drafting administrative, civil and financial contracts.

During his tenure, the Legal Unit became the first Central Bank of Paraguay division and one of the first units in the Paraguayan government to obtain the ISO 9001 certification for their opinion and litigation processes. Codas also led specialist groups in the drafting of projects and bills for the modification of important financial laws, such as reforms to the Charter of the Central Bank of Paraguay and to the Banking Law, and he also participated in the drafting of legislative bills related to pension fund supervision and the implementation of a system for providing credit information.

Pablo Ordoñez

Pablo Ordoñez led the practice of tax advice and litigation practice at Repsol in Bolivia (2014-2016), after having been international tax advisor for the same company at its Spain headquarters (2008-2014). Earlier he was tax advisor for Telefonica at its main office in Madrid (Spain), and led a tax boutique in Bolivia. Previously he had been tax advisor for Bolivia’s National Customs Office and its National Tax Service.

Ordoñez graduated as attorney from Universidad Católica Boliviana (Bolivia). He holds a Master’s in Taxes from Centro de Estudios Garrigues (Spain), a specialization in Comparative Tax Policy from the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University (USA), and has undertaken graduate studies at Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (Bolivia) and Centro de Estudios Financieros (Madrid).

This news is set in the context of expansion of FERRERE Bolivia, following the recent opening of its third office in the country in the city of Cochabamba, the move of its La Paz office, quadrupling its size, and announcement of the Santa Cruz office’s move to the city’s most emblematic building, whose construction will be completed in a few weeks.

Ordoñez’s joining the firm follows a series of lateral promotions that include the 2015 appointment as partner of Gerardo Villagómez, former Secretary General of COTAS, the Santa Cruz telecom, and of Diego Bört, former legal advisor to the oil and gas, energy and telecommunications regulatory agencies, as senior counsel.

FERRERE’s director, Andrés Cerisola, said: "We are pleased to appoint Carlos Codas and Pablo Ordoñez as partners, two new signs of FERRERE’s strong expansion in the region. In recent years, we had been following Carlos Codas’ career with admiration and his incorporation to the regional finance group at FERRERE brings further strength to a team that is already involved in many of the major operations in the four countries where we operate. In addition, given his professional and human characteristics, we are certain that he will soon become a fully integrated team player in the activities and leadership of the firm.”

He added: “The impact of Pablo’s addition will go beyond the immediate objective of putting the firm fully in first rank in Bolivia in the tax area as well. FERRERE has defined taxes as one of its strategic priorities regionally. A practitioner with Pablo Ordoñez’s experience and international prestige will make a difference, not only in Bolivia, but also in Ecuador, where we will put his experience in oil and gas taxation to good use as of day one, and in general throughout our region as part of the leadership of our extraordinary and rapidly growing tax group”.

About FERRERE

FERRERE is the only multi-jurisdictional South American law firm. It has +200 attorneys in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay, and stands out for its US-style structure, methodologies and policies.

The firm has developed international standards and homogeneous service across all its offices, guaranteed by integrated, vertical practice groups and procedures, and a firm-wide training program.

FERRERE is a rarity in the jurisdictions in which it operates. It is a fully merit-based organization. It has an early mandatory retirement policy and great emphasis has been placed on promoting diversity, with women making up 30% of the partnership.