Maria Jesús Velázquez
Senior Associate
Ms. Velázquez advises international and domestic clients across a range of sectors including the telecommunications, banking, project finance, capital markets, and equity issues, including IPOs.
She has a focus on complex financing and commercial transactions, technology and distribution. Her clients instruct her on the basis of her solutions-focused, personalized service, which takes into consideration each client’s specific goals and constraints.
Chambers ranks her as an Associate to Watch. Sources describe Ms. Velazquez as “an impressive lawyer”. Legal 500 also acknowledged her as one of the practitioners to note for corporate and finance work.
Her experience includes being an active participant in the Dominican Republic telecommunications reform project that resulted in General Telecommunications Law No. 153-98.
Before joining Castillo y Castillo, she was a Partner in two Dominican law firms. She has also extensive in-house experience having worked as a Loss, Prevention, Claims and Security Manager for a pioneering shipping and container company, and as Second Legal Vice President for the second largest telecommunications service provider in the Dominican Republic. In addition, she worked as assistant to the Dominican Republic Consulate in Madrid, Spain.
Ms. Velázquez is a Judicial Interpreter of the Court of First Instance of the National District in Santo Domingo.
- Advised a multinational cable and telecoms company in the acquisition of the two major telecoms service providers in the Dominican Republic.
- Represented a Dominican borrower in the restructuring of debt with a group of international creditors in a US$60 million syndicated loan.
- Represented a local bank in a US$40 million financing of a hotel project, amongst other financings.
- Represented a Panamanian bank in financings and local mortgages.
- Advised a Dominican company on a US$1.5 million public offering. This was the first public offering registered by the Superintendencia de Valores (SIV), the Dominican Republic equivalent of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Advised a local company on an SIV-registered US$12 million public offering.
- Advised a domestic financing entity on an SIV-registered RD$500 million public bond offering.
- Represented the issuer in an SIV-registered RD$4.1 million public offering of corporate bonds.
- Advised an international company on Dominican regulatory matters in connection with television satellite services
- Acted as local counsel in the first and, to date, only IPO by a Dominican company on the NYSE
- Telecoms, Media and Internet Laws & Regulations, International Comparative Legal Guide. 2015
- E-Commerce Columnist, Gaceta Judicial, 2003-2006.
- Presenter, “Cable TV in the Dominican Republic” and “Interconnection Telecommunications Network Contracts”, III Seminar on Telecommunications Law. 1996
- Presenter, “Telephonic Fraud before Commission”, II Seminar on Telecommunications Law, Puerto Rico. 1993
- Presenter, Course on the legal aspects of Commercial Maritime Operations. 1992
- Presenter, Conference on the Liabilities of Maritime Transportation. 1991
- Presenter, Course on the Theory and Practical Application of Commercial Law in relation to Maritime Transportation. 1989
- Dominican Bar Association
- National Honor Society of Secondary Schools
- Master in Business Shipping, Spanish Maritime Institute, Spain. 1987
- J.D., Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), Graduated Magna Cum Laude. 1982
- Spanish
- English
- French
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