Bado Kuster Zerbino & Rachetti

Firm Details: 

Managing Partners: Richard Iturria and Alvaro Carrau

Number of professionals: 30

Firm Overview: 

Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti law firm was established in 1941, and since then it has been at the forefront of the legal service sector of Uruguay. The quality and efficiency of the services provided have positioned Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti as a highly recommended firm both in local and international transactions. Its modern, efficient and dynamic structure guarantees comprehensive services in every area of professional practice with a high level of updating, excellence and commitment. Innovative ideas, personal attention and a strong commitment to its clients’ interests have always been milestones that position this law firm as a leading firm in the country. The main strengths of Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti are the prominent multidisciplinary team of professionals, including lawyers, public notaries and accountants, the values they promote, and more than 70 years’ experience. The firm’s mission and vision demands its team to be permanently up-to-date, and in this regard most of the professionals are professors and have postgraduate degrees from local and international universities. The recent considerable growth of the firm’s clientele was the trigger to create specialised departments in the firm such as the tax and accounting, the agribusiness, and the environmental, mining and energy departments.Main Areas of Practice:

Although at its start the firm developed as a typical corporate law firm, during all its years of experience the firm has switched into a full-service international firm.

Corporate & M&A:  

The firm offers advisory services to national and international companies in incorporation under the most suitable legal structure, drafting and amendment of by-laws and shareholders’ agreements. The vast experience in the negotiation and implementation of corporate concentrations, deconcentrations and reorganisations was the reason the firm was chosen to participate in many important transactions.

Labour Law: 

Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti’s labour department is one of the biggest in the firm. It offers advice in this area to both natural persons and legal entities, comprising: negotiation in collective and individual disputes, policies for dispute prevention, labour relationships, wage policies, labour contracts, judicial and extra-judicial defence in individual and collective disputes, assistance in the multiparty wage councils and social security.

Litigation:  

Since its founding in 1941, the firm has always been distinguished in litigation and it is one of the strongest areas of practice in the firm. Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti’s litigation department specialises in matters concerning family, succession, civil, commercial, intellectual property, labour and administrative law, allowing it to handle all kinds of proceedings before the ordinary justice and the Arbitration Courts carried out within the country. This legal department is especially effective and efficient in the area concerning the management of delinquent portfolios.

Tax & Accounting: 

Due to its multidisciplinary team, including lawyers and accountants, the firm has developed the tax and financial area, strengthening the firm’s capacity to provide a comprehensive service both to individuals and companies, including consultancy services and local and international tax planning, as well as the analysis of tax impact on companies’ acquisitions, mergers or any other commercial operation. The tax department specialises, among other matters, on: tax planning and engineering, tax consultancy, tax auditing, filing and payment of national and departmental taxes and defence in tax administrative proceedings.

Intellectual Property: 

The firm offers counselling in the wording of contracts involving intellectual and industrial property law, in compliance with the national and international regulations in force regarding this matter. It likewise represents the rights of the client in legal proceedings against piracy and violation of copyrights, trademarks and patents. In recent years Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti has assisted various clients in many big and important cases involving this area of practice.

Telecommunications: 

Being counsel of one of the main television broadcasters in the country since its inception, the firm has developed a strong expertise in this area. The firm also assists cable TV companies.

Agriculture & Forestry: 

Following the incorporation of the main agricultural law professor in Uruguay as well as the great development of the agricultural and forestry business in the country, Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti created this department. The main areas of work are: counselling several companies engaged in the farming industry, assistance in the negotiation of agrarian agreements, agrarian commercialisation contracts, forestation agreements, irrigation agreements, pledge of forests, incorporation of agrarian companies, Agrarian Associations, non-trading companies with agrarian purposes, agrarian cooperative societies and businesses in general with agrarian purposes.

Environmental: 

With specially trained professionals in this area, the firm has developed a practice area that is highly requested these days. It offers counselling in the development of commercial and industrial proceedings regarding compliance of the legal regulations in force within the country and abroad, environmental due diligence and litigation.

Mining & Energy: 

Bado, Kuster, Zerbino & Rachetti represents national and international companies on all the stages of the mining process before the mining and environmental authorities. The firm has also advised clients in projects related to clean and renewable energies, particularly working with wind projects.

Clients: 

An interesting mixture of international and local clients, the most representative are: Agritec SA, Alstom UK Limited, Bacardi-Martini Uruguay SA, Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo, Canal 12, Cementos del Plata SA, Cementos Pacasmayo, Compañia Cibeles SA, Compañía Cervecerías Unidas, Compañía Industrial Cervecera SA, Conexión Ganadera SRL, Dapama Uruguay SA, Devoto Hnos. SA, Eli Lilly do Brasil Ltda (Animal Health Elanco Division), Emi Music de Uruguay SA, Forestal Atlántico Sur, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Gerardo Zambrano & Cía SA, Grupo Cepas, Grupo Martinelli, Grupo Pramer, Hipermercado Géant, Havas Worldwide, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Jas Forwarding Worldwide, Lesaffre Uruguay SA, Lowe Ginkgo, Maltería Oriental SA, Marubeni Corporation, Mercado a Término de Buenos Aires (MATba), Milotur, NH Hotels, Nuevo Siglo Cable TV, Oil Test International, Pepsico Foods (Uruguay), Petroken Petroquímica Ensenada SA, Pike & Cía, Supermercados Disco del Uruguay SA, UPS-SCS (URUGUAY) SRL, UPS (United Parcel Service Inc, USA), Vidriería Argentina SA, Warner Music Spain.