Few regional firms can claim to have been built from scratch as a true cross-border platform. Consortium Legal did just that in 2005, uniting five leading national firms into a single partnership model that still sets it apart in Central America. Two decades on, the experiment has matured into one of the region’s most active legal practices, combining local depth with regional scale.
“We have very strong practices in each country. It took us some time to integrate at the beginning, but it has worked and we have been very successful throughout the past 20 years,” says Mario Quesada, coordinating partner in the Costa Rica office.
Today the firm operates eight offices across five countries—Costa Rica (three offices), El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras (two offices) and Nicaragua—with 18 practice areas, more than 200 lawyers and 63 partners. That footprint translated into a year of headline transactions across capital markets, infrastructure, energy and banking, securing Consortium Legal the award for Law Firm of the Year for Central America.
Over the awards period, the firm advised on transactions totaling about $6 billion, underscoring its central role in some of the region’s most complex financings. Its work mirrored broader market themes: sovereign and sub-sovereign issuance, sustainable finance, infrastructure expansion and a renewed use of capital markets by corporates.
Among the standout mandates was El Salvador’s $1 billion debt-for-nature swap, the largest transaction of its kind to date, designed to refinance sovereign debt while channeling savings into conservation and climate projects. The firm also advised on a $580 million bond for the state-owned Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission and Honduras’s $700 million international bond offering, reinforcing its strength in public-sector finance.
Consortium Legal’s deal flow extended well beyond sovereign work. The firm advised on mining transactions in Honduras, tourism investments in Costa Rica and multiple energy projects across the region, alongside mandates in banking and telecommunications. That breadth reflects the firm’s ability to deploy integrated teams across jurisdictions while maintaining strong local execution.
“Our clients, regardless of the area, know that they are going to get the best advice from the best team,” says Quesada.
Banking and finance stood out as the firm’s strongest practice over the year. A defining transaction was Banco Industrial Guatemala’s $996 million diversified payment rights (DPR) securitization program—the largest DPR program ever completed in Central America.
“This was the largest DPR program in Central America, requiring highly technical structuring. The deal involved the synchronization of rating-agency criteria, investor requirements and local law constraints, showcasing sophisticated cross-border execution,” says Melissa Morán, partner in the Guatemala office.
The firm also played a key role in complex financings involving multilateral institutions. Morán highlights the hybrid refinancing of Energuate, Guatemala’s power distribution company operating across 21 departments, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation.
The structure combined a $100 million IFC A-loan with a $670 million B-loan syndicated through Rule 144A/Reg S notes issued via an offshore special-purpose vehicle. Morán says it was the first time such a structure had been used in Guatemala. According to the IFC, it was the largest A/B bond in its history.
Consortium Legal’s momentum reflects broader shifts in the region’s economy. Logistics and transportation are expanding alongside nearshoring trends, while manufacturing tied to the US supply chain—particularly medical devices—continues to grow. Costa Rica already ranks as Latin America’s second-largest exporter of medical devices, creating sustained demand for regulatory, corporate and financing advice.
Quesada sees these sectors as long-term drivers of legal work, while Morán points to a structural change in how companies think about funding.
“I think we are going to see more movement in capital markets, a trend that has already begun because a lot of companies, and not only big companies, are seeking different options to obtain financing,” she says.
Two decades after its formation, Consortium Legal has turned an unconventional structure into a competitive advantage. Its ability to lead region-wide teams on billion-dollar sovereign deals and highly technical private financings alike makes it a defining force in Central America’s legal market.