Bofill Mir & Alvarez Jana (BMAJ) is active in all types of trials, before all judicial bodies in Chile, including lower-level courts, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court. In 2020, BMAJ has continued to strengthen its disputes team under the joint leadership of litigation stars Andrés Jana and Karen Werner.
Jana is a highly regarded practitioner in the Chilean market, most notably for his services in arbitration matters, as well as for his role as an arbitrator. Throughout 2020, the firm maintained a steady caseload in arbitration proceedings held under CAM Santiago, SCC, ICC, ICSID and ad-hoc rules. Paired with the arbitration expertise of fellow litigation star Rodrigo Gil, the team was awarded the Chile Arbitration firm of the Year at the 2021 Benchmark Latin America awards. Werner was lead counsel in a pro bono case that was the first to be presented as part of the Proyecto Inocentes (inspired by the US Innocence Project). Client Adrián Zarricueta was wrongly accused of rape and robbery in 2013 and spent 79 days in prison as a result, despite DNA evidence existing that ruled out the possibility of his participation in the crime. The case reached the Supreme Court, and on January 27, 2021 the State was required to pay 40 million Chilean pesos in compensation in a highly public display of retribution for the serious damage caused to the client for being accused of a crime that he did not commit. This matter was the recipient of an Impact Case award at the 2021 Benchmark Latin America awards.
