Holland & Knight has made its second lateral partner hire in Colombia this year after persuading tax expert Gustavo Pardo Ardila to incorporate his independent practice into the firm. 

Pardo joins the firm’s Bogotá office from Gustavo Pardo y Asociados, which he has run since 2013. He specialises in a wide variety of tax matters, including tax litigation and social security contributions, as well as corporate and foreign exchange. He is joined at Holland & Knight by associate José Alejandro Vivas Velásquez.

Pardo is the second partner to join the firm's 40-lawyer Bogotá office this year following the arrival of capital markets lawyer Camilo Gantiva Hidalgo from Spanish firm Garrigues in February to head up its capital markets and financial services regulation practices.

Enrique Gómez-Pinzón, executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Colombia office, said: “The services [Pardo] provides are complementary to what we have previously offered in the tax area, therefore our clients will benefit from a more robust offering. Our goal is to continue strengthening our group of local lawyers with the best professionals available, and the entry of Gustavo and José Alejandro is just the latest example of this strategy.”

Prior to starting his own firm, Pardo also worked at consulting firms including KPMG, EY, Arthur Andersen and Andersen Legal across a more than 30-year career.

At Holland & Knight, Pardo will also be working alongside Bogotá tax partners Juan Carlos Valencia Márquez and Rafael Lafont Castillo. Lafont Castillo was promoted to partner in January.

Valencia said: “Having a team of three partners in our tax practice allows us to ensure superior client service, given that each will remain focused on their customers and accounts, but will have extra support when necessary.”

He added: “With this team, Holland & Knight has established itself as a leading firm in the local market for tax litigation, tax planning and investment structuring between Colombia and the United States.”

Holland & Knight, which has been operating in Colombia for ten years says it is one of the fastest growing law firms in the region. 

Other international firms with a presence in Colombia alongside Holland & Knight and Garrigues include DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán, Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas, Baker McKenzie and CMS Rodríguez-Azuero.

Holland & Knight also has three offices in Mexico and in March hired a six-strong capital markets team from DLA Piper in Mexico City as the firm seeks to expand its Latin America coverage.

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, its second in LA. A team of 17 lawyers including eight partners will boost the firm's national property team to nearly 300 lawyers.