Damma Legal Advisors

Managing Partner: Iván Chu

Senior Partners: Walther Belaúnde, Rocío Liu, Juan José Cárdenas, Germán Lora and Álvaro Castro.

Number of partners: 6

Number of other lawyers: 21

Firm Overview:

Our Firm started operating on April 2019. It provides advice to both companies in diverse sectors (including mining, oil & gas. telecom, cosmetics, energy, agriculture, food industry, pharmaceutical, construction, real estate, among others) and individuals on tax and wealth advisory matters ranging from consultancy, planning, auditing and restructuring to administration and litigation. The firm also participates regularly in handling issues pertaining M&A deals and other transactional mandates. It was founded by Walther Belaúnde and Iván Chu, tax practitioners with experience in several local large firms (e.g. they worked as tax partners and in some cases lead the tax practices of Santivanez, Payet, Rey & Cauvi, and Rebaza, Alcazar & De las Casas). In 2020 the team gained additional respect and reputation with the hire of Rocío Liu, former Head of Miranda & Amado Abogados tax practice and one of the most reputed local experts in handling litigation with the Peruvian tax authorities. The Firm is currently seen by clients and peers as one of the strongest tax practices in the country. During the last years, our partners have been constantly mentioned in rankings prepared by international publications. At the end of 2019, German Lora, former head of the Labor practice of Payet, Rey & Cauvi and at the beginning of this year (2022), Juan José Cárdenas, former head of the M&A and Projects & Infrastructure practices of EY and Rebaza, Alcazar & De las Casas, both joined Damma Legal Advisors with their teams. Considering the links and synergies between these areas of specialization and our original tax expertise, Damma Legal Advisors gained even more respect in the market, from clients and peers.

Main Areas of Practice:

Tax advisory: 30%

Tax litigation: 20%

Private clients: 10%

Corporate: 10%

Labour: 30%

Tax:

The firm provides general tax advisory and consulting, assisting its clients in the analysis of their business decisions from a tax standpoint, also carrying out due diligence procedures and representing clients in reviews and litigation procedures against the Peruvian tax authorities. Most of the firm’s partners have extensive experience and knowledge in tax-related matters pertaining real estate, construction, pharmaceutical, retail, banking and finance, investment funds, cosmetics, agricultural and food industry, logistics, energy, oil & gas (downstream and upstream) and mining.

Private clients:

The firm offers tax and general legal advisory to high net worth individuals and their families, with respect to wealth preservation, including asset protection, corporate governance, succession planning, family protocols, and general family structuring including assets located inside and outside Peru.

Corporate:

The firm provides general corporate advisory to Peruvian companies, including the design and implementation of corporate vehicles and more complex structures, corporate governance documents, financial structuring and M&A transactions.

Labour:

The firm provides specialized advisory on individual labor rights matters within the common regime of the private sector and other special regimes, the main ones being those related to the mining, fishing, non-traditional exports and agricultural industries. Furthermore, the firm provides advisory in collective labor rights matters and negotiations with unions and employees. The team also carries out due diligence procedures and represents clients in reviews and litigation procedures against the Peruvian labor authorities.

INTERNATIONAL WORK:

In addition to some of the partners having both studied and worked outside of Peru, the team has a vast experience in handling M&A transactions with international ramifications as well as in the provision of legal advisory for the purpose of inbound and outbound new investments from a tax and labor viewpoints.

LANGUAGES: English, Portuguese and Spanish.

CLIENTS

The firm's clients include most of the largest Peruvian and foreign companies carrying out business activities in the country, involved in the construction, manufacturing, education, energy, mining, financial services, private equity, food, agricultural, pharmaceutical,