José Luis is part of the firm since 2004 and he has vast experience working in with major cases in criminal law, both locally and with legal teams from the United States.

He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in major White Collar Crime cases including allegedly bribe payments to public officials, six-figure sums frauds, environmental crimes, document forgery and medical mal praxis. He is also experienced in litigation of parallel civil claims in the criminal jurisdiction. His participation in high profile cases includes the defense of musicians and artists, politicians, public officials and businessmen involved in criminal investigations, both as defendants or plaintiffs.

He also focuses his professional practice in advising clients on relationships and conflicts within companies and employees by designing strategies and research for businesses in order to comply with legal regulations about social security, insurance and labor in Costa Rica. Litigation in Employment Courts is a very important part of his practice. Clients often require José Luis to deal with matters such as fair dismissals, breach of employment agreements and dismissal of specially protected employees (i.e. pregnant women).

His professional practice also includes collective bargaining issues related with labor unions and other organized groups and successfully represented companies in economic and social collective conflicts in courts.

In addition to his activities as a lawyer, in the academic area, he has been a university professor for more than fifteen years and he is the author of many articles related to different legal matters published in books and magazines. He is also a frequent information source for newspapers and television news programs when legal cases and court rulings are discussed in public media.

Member of the Criminal Science Association (part of its board of directors several times), of the Anticorruption Commission of the Costa Rican Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the Costa Rican Bar Association.

Academic Background

Bachelors’s Degree (with honors) in Journalism from the University of San Judas Tadeo (1996)

Law degree (with honors) from La Salle University (2000)

Specialist in Criminology from the University of Salamanca (2001)

Candidate for Doctorate in Criminal Law from the University of Salamanca