LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION
CORPORATE & BUSINESS
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION
TECHNOLOGY
ASSET RECOVERY AND INSOLVENCY/BANKRUPTCY
INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL COOPERATION
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION
REAL ESTATE LAW
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION
BORA is essentially a litigation force, composed of lawyers with decades of successful litigation experience. The skills developed in daily and prolonged judicial practice are complemented by the highest level of legal knowledge, based on extensive academic activity in the best universities in Venezuela and Latin America.
Our focus is to achieve the best result for the client as quickly and economically as possible. We know when it makes sense to negotiate and when it is necessary to litigate. But negotiation and litigation are not mutually exclusive; they usually combine and complement each other. The best negotiation strategies involve assessing and sometimes activating litigation processes.
We handle litigation in all its phases, from counseling and pre-suit investigations to trials in all its stages. We take legal battles to the end or to negotiation on satisfactory terms for our clients. The commitments undertaken by BORA at all times receive the direct personal attention of the partners, who have recognized experience and expertise.
BORA’s litigation area has a special focus on civil and commercial matters. Within these areas, the members of BORA are recognized for having successfully handled legal proceedings related to real estate and corporate law.
BORA’s litigation practice also includes family law, divorce, inheritance, partition of assets, and other complex family law matters. The expertise component in transnational litigation allows BORA to plan more successful strategies, given that family estates that give rise to complex cases tend to be located in more than one jurisdiction. Our expertise and experience in the activation of precautionary or «investigative» measures in other States has allowed us to resolve the cases we handle with a higher level of success and speed.
BORA has one of the most qualified teams of professionals in Latin America in transnational litigation, which tends to be particularly complex. BORA has one of the most qualified teams of professionals in Latin America in transnational litigation, which tends to be particularly complex. This profile has provided us with a large network of contacts in professional, governmental and academic institutions, in the most important areas of the world.
The globalized reality forces us to take special account of the international and transnational implications of litigation.
BORA is also dedicated to the development and management of litigation strategies in several States, combining its experience in local litigation with its expertise and track record in the transnational context.
The skill and experience in simultaneous legal proceedings in several jurisdictions, combining main actions with other types of actions, such as injunctions or evidentiary actions in other States, allow us to better resolve our clients’ disputes.
In this area of specialization we also provide advice and consultation to other law firms and groups of lawyers in Venezuela and abroad.
Some of the specialized actions and procedures developed in this area are: 1) Exequatur of judgments and enforcement of arbitral awards; 2) International child return proceedings; and, 3) Judicial proceedings on the jurisdiction of Venezuelan courts.
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION
Our team of lawyers is highly specialized and trained to practice in the different areas of arbitration and other means of dispute resolution at the local and international level. In this area, too, the objective is always to defend the client and achieve results as quickly as possible. State-of-the-art negotiation strategies and specialized arbitration litigation capabilities enable us to successfully and quickly resolve disputes submitted to arbitration.
Some of BORA’s partners are part of the lists of arbitrators of the Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce and CEDCA, and also participate in the teaching of arbitration and other means of dispute resolution, within the most important Venezuelan universities, give lectures locally and internationally, and have published scientific articles in the area.
In combination with our experience in judicial proceedings, we are recognized for effectively handling all judicial implications of arbitration, such as recognition and enforcement of awards, nullity proceedings, enforcement of injunctive relief, among others.
Our experience in national and international arbitration encompasses numerous sectors and economic areas, such as commerce, corporations, technology, real estate leasing, banking and insurance, energy and mining, construction and investments.
ASSET RECOVERY AND INSOLVENCY
ASSET RECOVERY
Asset recovery is a complex area of specialization in law that brings together aspects of civil and criminal law. It consists of tracing, securing, executing and repatriating assets that for various reasons are scattered and hidden in different jurisdictions.
The causes of the concealment of the assets to be recovered are initially acts of fraud or corruption, however, this practice has been extended to other activities such as the recovery of marital assets concealed by one of the spouses or business assets concealed by some of the administrators, among others.
Its autonomy as an independent area of law is being progressively recognized globally, however, there are few specialists in the field.
The most recognized specialists in asset recovery worldwide are grouped in a network created under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, called ICC Fraudnet, recognized by Chambers and Partners and Who’s Who Legal, as the leading legal network for asset recovery in the world.
Mario Brando, founding partner of BORA, is the sole representative for Venezuela of ICC Fraudnet and through the expertise and contacts generated by this network, he can assist fraud victims, governments, bankruptcy trustees, receivers and anyone who needs to recover assets that have been stolen and hidden.
INSOLVENCY
BORA members have successfully litigated local and international bankruptcy and insolvency cases. We can advise national and international clients on all aspects of a transnational insolvency case, such as the conclusion of out-of-court financial settlements, corporate reorganizations, tracing, recovery and sale of assets, detection of fraud or money laundering at the origin of the insolvency, enforcement of credit rights and seeking compensation for creditors or victims in the event of a fraudulent bankruptcy.
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION
BORA’s members are highly specialized and qualified to act as mediators and party counsel in mediation processes, since they handle from a practical and academic point of view the most advanced negotiation techniques adapted to the Latin American idiosyncrasy.
The BORA team has actively participated in the founding of the Venezuelan Mediation Association (AVEME) and has conducted advanced studies on comparative legislation in this area in order to promote a draft law to enhance this important means of conflict resolution.
Some of BORA’s partners are involved in teaching mediation and other means of dispute resolution within the most important Venezuelan universities and lecturing locally and internationally. In this regard, several of the firm’s members have conducted research and given international conferences on the new international instrument that will regulate the matter («United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from Mediation», also called the Singapore Convention on Mediation).
CORPORATE & BUSINESS
In the area of corporate and business advisory, BORA’s professionals have extensive experience and are prepared to advise their clients in the negotiation of purchase and sale transactions, mergers and transformations of financial institutions, insurance companies, real estate companies, and commercial and industrial enterprises. They are also solidly trained in the preparation of all the required documentation and legal paperwork.
BORA’s mission in this area is to offer tailored solutions for each business based on an appropriate knowledge of each economic business activity and its corresponding technological advances.
In addition to classical contractual advice, BORA offers a dispute prevention service, through conflict analysis of contracts. This type of consultancy represents a much broader scheme, which prevents the materialization of conflicts by performing a contractual audit, the purpose of which is to detect potential risks of disputes and review previous or ongoing conflict situations, presenting recommendations and suggestions, in order to deal with them in a constructive manner.
TECHNOLOGY
New technological advances pose challenges in all professional fields, including the legal field. The management of personal and business information, communications through electronic media, Blockchain technology (especially smart contracts and cryptoassets), the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence, among others, entail increasing complexities and needs. BORA dedicates efforts to combine its litigation experience and legal expertise with the world of technology.
Technology is one of BORA’s main focuses. For this reason, it created a division called BoraTech, with the purpose of offering technological services related to the legal area, such as electronic signature services, time stamping in Blockchain, electronic management of contracts, etc.
The legal services of the world must not only have an advanced conduction of new technologies, but must be provided from the same technological tools. These services will be increasingly oriented towards the technological context, requiring from legal professionals adequate and updated handling of digital records (before state courts or arbitration), electronic evidence, electronic discovery procedure (E-Discovery), digital «notarization», Blockchain registry, etc.
Partners of BORA are founders of the Venezuelan Institute of Law and Technology (INVEDET) and have participated as representatives in the Working Group on Electronic Commerce (Group IV) of UNCITRAL.
INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL COOPERATION
The mechanisms of cooperation or assistance between judicial and administrative authorities of States is one of the most important areas of international litigation. BORA has extensive professional experience and recognized expertise in this area.
BORA’s partners play a leading role in professional and academic institutions in the field of international legal cooperation. They also collaborate with international governmental organizations and institutions.
We are familiar with the applicable international conventions and the various local and international authorities involved in these procedures. There are various mechanisms or channels for processing acts of cooperation (diplomatic, consular, Central Authorities, direct cooperation, postal, etc.), depending on the subject matter and the countries involved. Good knowledge and experience in this field allows us to know which is the best way to meet the needs of the case.
– Subpoenas and notifications of persons located in Venezuela for proceedings abroad. The firm not only provides legal assistance in the administrative and judicial processing of these acts, but also facilitates the work of locating and tracing people.
– Subpoenas and notifications of persons who are abroad for proceedings taking place in Venezuela. The firm not only provides legal assistance in the administrative and judicial processing of these acts before the Venezuelan authorities, but also manages the hiring of lawyers abroad for the procedures to be carried out outside Venezuela.
– Obtaining evidence abroad to be used in legal proceedings in Venezuela. In this area Venezuela is a party to important international treaties that facilitate the process of obtaining evidence abroad. It is necessary to have an expert handling of these conventions and other current standards in order to properly evacuate the evidence in a process. The firm not only provides support in the local processing of the corresponding letters rogatory, but can also manage the hiring of lawyers abroad for the proper execution of the same.
– Obtaining and processing of evidence in Venezuela for proceedings abroadThe firm’s experience and its litigation profile provide it with important advantages to manage these processes, from the determination of the way to be implemented to its final execution in Venezuela and its submission to the Court or requesting authority. The firm not only provides legal advice and support before Venezuelan courts, but can also manage the hiring of lawyers abroad for the enforcement of such measures.
– Execution of precautionary measures in Venezuela to secure judicial or arbitral litigation abroad: The partners of the firm have participated in matters where this need has been raised. Venezuelan law does not establish clear ways to enable the execution in Venezuela of precautionary measures dictated by foreign courts, a situation that is only out of the question in cases for which international treaties apply. Outside the application of the treaties, jurisprudence has not advanced in the acceptance of these measures. The firm has been defending in different discussion forums the appropriateness of such measures in accordance with the legal and constitutional principles in force in Venezuela.
– Request for precautionary measures before Venezuelan courts to be enforced abroad: BORA has participated in litigation where Venezuelan courts have granted precautionary measures to be enforced abroad. Not only do we provide legal advice and support for the application of these measures, but we can also manage the hiring of lawyers abroad for the execution of such measures.
REAL ESTATE LAW
Members of BORA are recognized for their extensive experience advising and defending real estate players. They have earned this recognition not only for their relentless judicial defense of property rights in Venezuelan courts, but also for offering creative solutions in the negotiation of all types of contracts necessary to generate real estate developments.
In this same sense, we can affirm that eviction trials are part of BORA’s specialty, since by combining the expertise of real estate law with judicial expertise, members of BORA have resolved many of the most complex lease cases that have reached the Venezuelan courts.
For this reason, BORA is one of the best options in the Venezuelan market if you are looking for advice on leasing law, real estate purchase and sale transactions, construction-related contracts, among others.