• International Environmental Law
• Environmental

Latin American Practice

Environmental law in Latin America is evolving at a rapid pace. Progressive new environmental measures are proposed at the legislative and administrative levels nearly every day, public demand for meaningful and improved environmental policy is high, and enforcement of existing environmental laws at both the civil and criminal levels is increasingly aggressive. Environmental protection agencies in many countries are better funded than in the past, have technically sophisticated staff, are active participants in international environmental fora, and often emulate the environmental policies of the United States and the European Union.   

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.’s Latin American practice group helps our multinational clients navigate this dynamic and unprecedented time in the history of Latin American environmental law. Reflecting the comprehensiveness of our domestic practice, our Latin American group attorneys have extensive experience counseling clients from various industrial sectors on a wide range of issues arising under the domestic environmental regulations of most Latin American countries with emphasis in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru. 

Our work has involved in-depth legal analyses, risk reduction strategy assessments and compliance counseling on a variety of environmental health and safety issues; environmental impact assessments; development and implementation of environmental compliance audits of manufacturing units for a range of industry sectors; product stewardship; air quality control; hazardous and nonhazardous waste management (including transboundary waste shipments); surface and ground water use and protection; use and release of toxic substances; contaminated property liability and remediation; pollutant release, transfer and reporting requirements; and noise pollution.

The core practitioners of our Latin American group are fluent in either Portuguese or Spanish, have studied, lived or worked in the field of environmental law in Latin America, and have written articles or co-authored treatises relating to this area of law. They also continue to maintain practices in domestic or international law that inform their analysis and approach to problem-solving on regional matters. That practical expertise is enhanced by our close working relationships with leading in-country environmental counsel and consulting firms with specialties in Latin America. Beveridge & Diamond has one of the most experienced, diverse, and dynamic Latin American environmental law practice groups in the United States.

Our recent projects include:

• Oil and Gas Exploration.  For a major oil and gas exploration and development company, we provided an in-depth analysis of the environmental requirements potentially applicable to a new on-shore and off-shore exploration technology in a Latin American country.

• Product Stewardship.  For a Fortune 50 company, we provided in-depth legal research, analysis and strategic counseling on the end-of-life management of waste electronic and electrical equipment under the environmental laws of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru.

• Regulatory Tracking.  For a major electronics trade association, we have provided regulatory tracking of key product stewardship and waste initiatives pending in national legislatures and environmental agencies for five years.

• Rule Making.  Under the auspices of local trade associations, we have prepared comments on the proposed regulations and technical initiatives of key Latin American countries, and have succeeded in shaping emerging legal regimes.

• Strategic Investment Counseling.  For a major electronics manufacturer, the Firm analyzed existing and expected environmental infrastructure and legal regimes in emerging markets in Brazil, Argentina and Chile to evaluate investment opportunities and possible regulatory barriers to the manufacture and sale of goods in targeted markets.

• Project Development Counseling.  For a metal plating company, we provided strategic guidance and legal counseling on the environmental permitting requirements for a new production facility in Mexico under Mexico’s new multi-media permit laws.

• Import and Export Counseling.  We have advised clients on the legal requirements governing international trade in hazardous materials, wastes, bulk commodities and chemical and consumer products throughout the Latin American region.

• Environmental Management and Compliance Counseling.  For a Fortune 50 company with subsidiaries manufacturing a variety of consumer goods, we reviewed and evaluated the environmental management programs of its subsidiaries worldwide. Our assessment included an evaluation of facilities in key Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela and Mexico.