José Manuel Bustamante, a lawyer with a vast experience and recognition in the Chilean legal market, has joined the firm as a partner to promote the new Antitrust area. With his arrival, Barros Silva Varela & Vigil also seeks to strengthen its Litigation and Arbitration and Dispute Resolution practice, contributing with his more than 20 years of experience in highly complex litigation.

On his arrival, Fernando Barros Vial, managing partner of Barros Silva Varela & Vigil, said: "When we decided to open the Antitrust practice, we imposed ourselves to attract an undisputed market leader. On the other hand, the level of sophistication that our Litigation and Arbitration department has reached also made the incorporation of someone with these characteristics convenient. José Manuel, having been exposed to transactional matters and antitrust disputes and highly complex litigation, met all these requirements".

José Manuel has a Law Degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and an LLM from the University of Chicago (USA). He is professor of Economic Law (undergraduate) and Corporate Governance (Master in Business Law) at Universidad Católica de Chile, arbitrator of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and member of the Antitrust Council of the Chilean Bar Association and of the National Council of the UC Antitrust Program.

José Manuel has acted as counsel to multiple companies in antitrust matters, litigation and arbitration in the most diverse markets, including the dairy industry, salmon, energy, mining, construction and infrastructure, telecommunications, retail, consumer, medical supplies, supermarkets, cement and steel, among others.  He has also represented public companies and industry bodies in litigation matters.  His activity includes international arbitration, where he has participated in proceedings subject to ICC rules.

In addition to his activity in investigations before the National Economic Prosecutor's Office, proceedings before the Court for the Defense of Free Competition and control of concentration operations, Bustamante has a recognized leadership in antitrust compliance issues, having pioneered the development of prevention programs for companies in Chile 20 years ago, when these issues were scarcely dealt with.

Bustamante was a partner of Felipe Bulnes and Enrique Urrutia at Bulnes Urrutia y Bustamante for 12 years, where he was involved in highly complex cases and, previously, he was part of Urenda, Rencoret, Orrego & Dörr as an associate and then as a partner for 8 years.