Holland & Knight adds veteran tax partner

Holland & Knight adds veteran tax partner

The Florida-based firm's focus on Latin American investments results in the latest addition to its network

This year, Holland & Knight has hired its second lateral partner in Columbia following the incorporation of tax expert Gustavo Pardo Ardila.

He joins the firm at its Bogotá office from Gustavo Pardo y Asociados, where he has been managing the firm since 2013. Tax litigation, social security contributions, corporate and foreign exchange matters are among his specialties. At Holland & Knight, he is joined by associate José Alejandro Vivas Velásquez.

He is the second partner to join the company's 40-lawyer Bogotá office this year following Camilo Gantiva Hidalgo's arrival from Spanish firm Garrigues last February.

Enrique Gómez-Pinzón, executive partner of Holland & Knight's Colombia office, commented: "Pardo's services complement what we have previously offered in the tax area, thus providing our clients with a more comprehensive service." "We strive to develop our local lawyers in the best way possible, and the entry of Gustavo and José Alejandro is just one more example of that strategy."

After spending more than 30 years at consulting firms such as KPMG, EY, Arthur Andersen and Andersen Legal, Pardo founded his own firm.

Also joining Holland & Knight, Pardo will work with Bogotá tax partners Juan Carlos Valencia Márquez and Rafael Lafont Castillo. In January, Lafont Castillo was promoted to the position of partner.

The benefits of having a team of three partners in our tax practice include the ability for each partner to remain focused on their customers and accounts, while also being supported by additional support when necessary.

Adding that, Holland & Knight has established itself as a leading firm in Colombia and the United States for tax litigation, tax planning, and investment structuring.

In Colombia, Holland & Knight, which has been operating for ten years, claims to be one of the fastest-growing law firms.

In addition to Holland & Knight and Garrigues, DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán, Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas, Baker McKenzie, and CMS Rodriguez-Azuero have offices in Colombia.

The firm has three offices in Mexico, and in March, they hired six capital markets professionals from DLA Piper in Mexico City to expand their Latin American operations.

Also this week, The Tampa, Florida-based firm announced that it has absorbed Los Angeles property boutique Pircher Nichols & Meeks in a move that hands it a Century City office, it's second in LA. A team of 17 lawyers including eight partners will boost the firm's national property team to nearly 300 lawyers.