García & Bodán comprises a team of lawyers specialized in different areas of practice and in matters of great importance in the region. At the start of 2017, Regional Managing Partner Terencio García along with Managing Partners Carlos Téllez , Eduardo Cabrales , Vanessa Oquelí , Julio Vargas , and Partners Federico Gurdián and Ricardo Duarte , as well as Associate María Mercedes Castro from the offices of Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, respectively, were certified by the prestigious entity “First Law International (FLI)” upon completing the Training Course in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, by Mr. Orlando Casares, Principal and Founder of FLI.
First-Law International is a global network of 75+ independent law firms, with a presence in 5 continents and is recognized as an Elite Global Network by Chambers and Partners Legal Directory.
The team is now trained in matters of “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (US/FCPA), Anti-Bribery Act (UK/ABA), OECD, Anti-Money Laundering (EU AML), as well as in National Legislation on Corruption, Bribery and Compliance Practices and White Collar Crime”.
This certification also implies that the knowledge gained will allow, those certified to advise clients regarding “white collar crime”. The Training Course goes into detail on the different methods used to help to identify the behaviors to look out for and risks which clients may face, as well as the caution that the lawyers must employ in these matters in professional exercise.
Terencio García said “There is a trend and a necessity for the companies of counting with a Compliance Officer or an internal or external legal counsel dedicated to the monitoring and control of this kind of crimes and risks, so as to prevent the implication in extremely complicated cases”.
The certification culminated with a reception, with the participation of representatives of The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Honduran-Mexican Chamber of Commerce (CAHMEXC) and the Honduran Bar Association, among other guests.
García & Bodán is today certified by FLI NETTM and with the disposition of providing legal advice and helping the clients in related matters.