Lucy Cruz de Quiñones

Lawyer

Lawyer from the Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, with post-graduate studies in Tax Law, former dean, and distinguished professor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence at Universidad del Rosario. She holds a Doctorate in Law from the University of Salamanca (Spain), with studies in International Commercial Arbitration at the CCI. An outstanding expert advisor in Constitutional Tax Law, she is widely respected for her work as a litigator and arbitrator in areas such as Income Tax, Financial Transactions Tax (GMF), and special contributions, among others. 

She is a member of the Colombian Academy of Jurisprudence, a Judge of the Council of State and the Constitutional Court, and a member of the list A of arbitrators of the Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá. 

CONSUELO SARRIA OLCOS

Lawyer 

Lawyer from the Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, former dean, Associate and Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence at Universidad del Rosario, and former Secretary General of the Universidad del Rosario. She was Magistrate of the Council of State — of which she was vice-president and subsequent president — and former Magistrate of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca. She has practiced law in both the public and private sector as a legal advisor to the IDU, the ICBF, the Colombian Institute of Social Security, among others, and as litigation lawyer. She is currently a member of the list A of arbitrators of the Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá. 

SERGIO RODRÍGUEZ AZUERO

Doctor of Jurisprudence 

Doctor of Jurisprudence from Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Emeritus and Honorary Professor, Director of the Postgraduate Program in Financial Law, Professor of Commercial Law, honorary collegian, and adviser to the same university. He was professor of the Commercial Law Graduate Diploma at the Universidad Externado de Colombia and of the Fiduciary Administration program at Universidad de los Andes. He has worked as a visiting professor in Europe at Pantheon Assas-Paris II University, Pontificia Comillas and Carlos III Universities in Madrid, as well as at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law. 

He is a founding partner of the law firm CMS Rodriguez-Azuero. He was formerly the Manager of the Colombian Banking Association and the Vice-President of Colpatria Bank. He also worked in Paris under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, collaborating with Sudameris, National de Paris, and the Bank of France. He is the author of the books “Contratos Bancarios” (Banking Contracts) , “La Responsabilidad del Fiduciario” (Trustee Responsibility), and “Negocios Fiduciarios – Su Significación en América Latina” (Trust Agreements– Their Significance in Latin America). He has participated as visiting lecturer in numerous international forums in Asunción, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cancún, Caracas, Cartagena, Guatemala, Guayaquil, La Paz, Lausanne, Lima, Madrid, Mexico, Medellín, Montevideo, Panama, Paris, Punta Cana, Punta del Este, Quito, Rosario, San Marino, Santiago de Chile, Santa Fe, San José, San Pedro Sula, and San Salvador. 

He was part of the Commission appointed by the National Government in 1982 to prepare a Financial Reform Bill and was a senior member of the Board of Directors of Banco de Colombia in 1984. He directed the Committee on the Financial Sector for President César Gaviria’s campaign. 

He was the president of the Colombian-French Chamber of Commerce. He was also president of the Fiduciary Association and Judge of the Constitutional Court. He was a member of the review committee of the Code of Commerce. He is a member of the list of arbitrators of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, serving as an Honorary Arbitrator, and was also a member of its Court of Arbitration. He was also an arbitrator of the G-3 Convention (Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela). 

He is a “Knight of the Legion of Honor” of the French government and a Full Member of the Colombian Academy of Jurisprudence. He is a member of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL) and of the Ibero-American Institute of Economic Law. He was a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York for the 2013-2014 academic year. 

MAURICIO PLAZAS VEGA

Lawyer 

Lawyer from Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Doctor of Law from the University of Salamanca (Spain), Doctor Honoris Causa in Law from the University of Buenos Aires, professor, former member, and Honorary Collegian. He is a Universidad del Rosario distinguished and emeritus professor, the director of the Instituto Rosarista de Acción Social Rafael Arenas Angel “SERES,” and the director of the subjects of Public Finance and Tax Law at the same university. He is a guest professor and lecturer in master's degrees and graduate and undergraduate courses at several universities in Colombia and abroad. He is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), the Faculty of Jurisprudence at the University Federico II, Naples (Italy), and other universities in Europe and Latin America. 

Author of: Derecho de la hacienda pública y derecho tributario (Public Finance Law and Tax Law) (Bogotá, Temis, 2006 and 2007, two editions), translated into Italian by Professor Andrea Amatucci and published by the publishing house Jovene, Napoli, 2009, under the title Il diritto della finanza pubblica e il diritto tributario; El impuesto sobre el valor agregado (Value-Added Tax) (Bogotá, Temis, 1998, two editions); Derecho tributario comunitario (Community Tax Law) (Bogotá, Legis, 2001); Ideas políticas y teoría del derecho (Political Ideas and Legal Theory) (Bogotá, Temis and Universidad del Rosario, 2002); Kant el Newton de la moral y del derecho (Kant: The Newton of Morality and Law) (Bogotá, Temis, 2004); Del realismo al trialismo jurídico (From Realism to Legal Trialism) (Bogotá, Temis, 2009, two editions); and El frente nacional (The National Front) (Bogotá, Temis, 2011); among other books. 

He is Former President of the Latin American Institute of Tax Law, Honorary Member and Former President of the Colombian Institute of Tax Law, Judge of the Council of State and the Constitutional Court, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Buenos Aires, Full Member of the Colombian Academy of Jurisprudence, honorary foreign member of the Argentine Association of Tax Studies, and adviser to private sector companies and the National Government. 

JUAN PABLO CÁRDENAS MEJÍA

Lawyer 

Lawyer from Universidad del Rosario, with a Graduate Diploma in Civil Law from the University of Paris II. He is a distinguished professor and recipient of the “Juan Uricoechea y Navarro” Teaching Excellence Award. He is an emeritus professor at Universidad del Rosario, and a professor of contracts at both Universidad del Rosario and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He is an arbitration professor in the master's degree programs at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Universidad Externado de Colombia. He is a member of the list of arbitrators of the Arbitration Centers of the Chambers of Commerce of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla. He is also a member of the list of arbitrators of the CIAC and the ICDR. He features on the list of mediators of ICSID. He has been an arbitrator in domestic and international arbitrations under the rules of the CCI and the CIAC. He is the author of several articles on arbitration and contracts. 

CLAUDIA MARÍA STERLING POSADA

Lawyer 

Lawyer from Universidad del Rosario, with a Graduate Diploma in Insurance and Social Security Law (Universidad de la Sabana), an international postgraduate degree in Creativity and Communications of the UN (FLACSO Argentina), and a Master's Degree in Spanish and Latin American Literature (Universitat de Barcelona). She is currently Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Droguerías y Farmacias Cruz Verde. She is a professor at the Javeriana, Rosario, and Sabana Universities in Medical Health Law. She won the Chambers & Partners Award in the highest category of Lifetime Achievement for Furthering Gender Diversity and Inclusion, Women in Law: Latin America, for promoting the advancement of women in the legal field, and was the first and only woman to win the award. She also received the Orden Gran Solidario, granted by the Fundación Solidaridad por Colombia, for her contribution to the community. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of Universidad del Rosario, and of the boards of directors of the Medical Law Bar Association, Medicarte IPS, and MPODERA. She is a literary critic at @Pulzo, as well as at Nova et Vetera, Universidad del Rosario’s cultural magazine. Email: Claudiasterling@outlook.com 

She is the former legal vice-president of Colseguros (now Allianz Colombia). She has also been associated with prestigious law firms such as Brigard & Urrutia, Clifford Chance US, and Felipe Vallejo & Abogados, where she provided legal advice in private law. In addition, she has represented multinational and local companies before courts in matters such as civil liability, insurance, and contracts. She is currently the president of the Colegio de Abogados Comercialistas. 

CARLOS UMAÑA TRUJILLO

Lawyer 

Lawyer from the Faculty of Jurisprudence of Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. He obtained his Master's degree in Comparative Law from the New York University School of Law in 1985. He was appointed Associate Professor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence in 2005. 

He has been a managing partner of Brigard Urrutia since 2012 and a partner since 1990, with more than 30 years of experience. Throughout his legal career, he has successfully worked in various practice areas and is recognized in the field for his extensive knowledge in infrastructure, natural resources, contracting, and public administration. 

The English publication Chambers and Partners describes him as “an excellent negotiator” and praised “his experience and technical knowledge in the matters he deals with.” He has also been recognized in the practices of Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions, Public Administration, and Infrastructure Projects by Chambers & Partners Latin America - 2016. He was recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in Mergers and Acquisitions and Projects by Legal 500-2016.