• Aviation:
  • John R Pate
• Banking & Finance:
  • John R Pate
  • Arturo De Sola Lander
• Commercial Law:
  • Arturo De Sola Lander
  • Maria Del Rosario Quintero Perez
  • Rene De Sola Quintero
  • Carlos Bachrich
• Corporate:
  • John R Pate
  • Arturo De Sola Lander
  • Raquel Nunez Garcia
  • Rene De Sola Quintero
• Tax:
  • John R Pate
• Intellectual Property
  • Maria Del Rosario Quintero Perez
  • Jose Gutierrez
  • Rolf Becker B
  • Richard Nicholas Brown
  • Irene De Sola Lander
• Litigation:
  • Arturo De Sola Lander
  • Rene Mendizabal d'Aguiar
  • Carlos Bachrich
  • Irene De Sola Lander

Arturo De Sola has been the head of the Litigation Group at De Sola Pate & Brown since 1981. He also practices in the Corporate and Business Law Group, and he is currently the managing partner of the firm. His principle areas of expertise include litigation before all Venezuelan courts, as well as alternative dispute resolution, and in the areas of commercial and corporate law, intellectual property, banking, maritime, and real estate.

Prior to the founding of De Sola Pate & Brown, he was associated with René De Sola y Asociados, our predecessor firm, and before that with Battle, Fowler, Stokes & Keel in New York City (1969-1970). In addition, he was an Adjunct Judge of the First and Eighth Civil and Mercantile Superior Courts of Caracas, and he was an Alternate Member of the Securities Exchange Commission.

• Education: Arturo received his law degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1968) and has a Masters of Comparative Law degree from New York University School of Law (1971).
• Professional Affiliations: He is an active member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas (of which he was President of the Disciplinary Court from 1994 to1996), and of the Inter-American Bar Association (of which he was President during 2001-2002 and continues to serve as a Counselor for Venezuela). Among his other professional associations are the Venezuelan Association of Industrial Property Agents, COVAPI (of which he was President from 1989-1991), the American Bar Association, the Inter-American Intellectual Property Association (ASIPI), the Advisory Committee of the Tulane Latin American Law Institute, and the Caracas Chamber of Commerce.
• Publications and Speeches: Arturo has presented a number of papers and speeches in his areas of expertise including the following: "Legal Responsibility of Engineers" and "Unfair Competition in the Venezuelan Legal Framework." More recently, he delivered speeches titled "Inseguridad Jurídica o Muerte del Estado de Derecho" (“Legal Uncertainty or Death of the Rule of Law”) and "Legislación Venezolana de Petróleo y Gas, y los Presentes Desafíos para la Inversión Extranjera" (“Venezuelan Petroleum and Gas Legislation, and the Current Challenges for Foreign Investors”).
• Languages: Spanish, English and French.

John Pate has been a member of De Sola Pate & Brown since 1981 where he chairs the international corporate and business transactions practice. His principal areas of expertise are in negotiating international business transactions, commercial and corporate law, foreign investment, licensing, franchising, international banking, project finance, commercial aviation and secured transactions.

John is the liaison of the firm with the International Business Law Consortium (IBLC) and L2B Aviation Group, two of the law firm networks of which De Sola Pate & Brown is a member.

John is registered as an International Advisor in Corporate Finance with the Bar Association of Caracas. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts (1969) and before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Court of International Trade.

• Education: John received an A.B. from Brown University (1966) and his J.D. from Boston University (1969). He has also received an M.A. and an M.A.L.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (1971 and 1972, respectively).
• Professional Affiliations: John is a member of the Bar of Massachusetts. He is active in the International (in which he is Vice Chair of the Latin American and Caribbean Law Committee) and Business Law Sections of the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Inter-American Bar Association, the American Society of International Law (in which he is Corresponding Editor of International Legal Materials), the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Latin American Studies Association, and the Advisory Committee of the Tulane Latin American Law Institute. John is a Fellow of the Center for International Legal Studies (Salzburg, Austria), a Director of the Entrepreneurial Center for Conciliation and Arbitration – CEDCA, Director and Secretary of the Venezuelan-American Friendship Association - AVAA, Director of the Centro Venezolano Americano – CVA, a member of the Legal Affairs Committee of VenAmCham, and Director and Secretary of the Valle Arriba Golf Club.
• Previous Affiliations (in Caracas): Before joining the firm John was a professor of International Business and Latin American Integration at the Institute for Higher Administration Studies (Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración – IESA, 1974-1977), manager of the Andean Integration Department at KPMG (previously Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., from 1977-1978), and director of GRANLAW Consultores (1978-1981).
• Publications: Since the 1970’s John has authored a number of articles and given conferences mainly on Venezuelan and Andean business topics. Among some of his more recent publications are the following: “Venezuela: The Law on Secured Transactions” (co-author), in Secured Transactions in International Practice (Oceana) and as “Venezuela: Normas Sobre Transacciones con Garantía” en Trabajos Jurídicos (VenAmCham, Vol. I); “Venezuela: Real Property Security” (co-author) in Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business, 2006 (Kluwer); chapters on Venezuela in Aircraft Finance: Registration, Security and Enforcement, and in Aircraft Liens and Detention Rights (Sweet & Maxwell); and the Venezuelan section in “International Legal Developments in Review: 2005” in The International Lawyer. He is also a regular contributor to Latin American Legal Developments, a monthly electronic newsletter published by the Latin American and Caribbean Law Committee of the Section of International Law of the American Bar Association.
• Languages: English and Spanish.

• Education: Irene received her law degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1982).
• Professional Affiliations: Irene is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and the Capital District. She is an active member of the Venezuelan Association of Industrial Property Agents, COVAPI, of which she was President (1999-2001); the Inter-American Industrial Property Association, ASIPI, of which she was a member of the Board of Directors (1997-2003); the International Trademark Association (INTA); the Intellectual Property Committee of the Venezuelan-American Chamber; and the Venezuelan-French Chamber.
• Publications: Irene has written and spoken extensively on Intellectual Property matters. Some of her more recent publications include “Trademark Piracy in Venezuela,” “Intellectual Property in Venezuela,” “The Principal Innovations in Trademark Registration Incorporated by Decision 344,” "Unfair Competition under the Venezuela Legal Framework," and co-author of the chapter on Venezuela in Worldwide Trademark Transfers: Law and Practice, (published by the United States Trademark Association).
• Languages: Spanish, French and English.

Richard Brown is the co-chair of the Intellectual Property group of De Sola Pate & Brown and he is the head of the international division, concentrating particularly in the trademark area.

• Education: Richard received his B.A. from Florida State (1960) and his J.D. from Columbia University (1964).
• Professional Affiliations:Richard is active in a number of leading Intellectual Property organizations, both internationally and in Venezuela. He is a member of the International Trademark Association, of which he is a former member of the Board of Directors, and Chairman of the Foreign Trademark Committee and International Advisory Group.  He was the founder, and is a past President, of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Venezuelan-American Chamber (Venezuela). Additionally, he is an active member of the Venezuelan Association of Industrial Property Agents (COVAPI) and the Inter-American Intellectual Property Association (ASIPI).
• Publications:Richard has authored numerous articles on intellectual property that have appeared in the leading journals in this area, including Trademark Reporter, Trademark World, The International Review of Industrial Property and Copyrights, Les Nouvelles, Managing Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Worldwide.
• Languages:English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Carlos joined De Sola Pate & Brown in 1987 as a member of the litigation group. Over the years Carlos has litigated a number of important commercial cases before all levels of the Venezuelan courts.

• Education: Carlos received his law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (1984) and a Masters in Comparative Jurisprudence (M.C.J) from New York University School of Law (1985). He is presently completing a Masters of Law degree in labor law at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
• Professional Affiliations: Carlos is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas.
• Languages: Spanish, English and Hungarian.

René has been a member of De Sola Pate & Brown since 1995. Before joining the firm René worked for another well known law firm in Caracas, focusing mainly on corporate and civil litigation.

• Education: René received his law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas (1995) and he has a Masters in Criminal Law (2001) from the same university. He also has a Masters of Law (LL.M.) in international business transactions from American University (1998).
• Professional Affiliations: René is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas, and he is also a member of the Bar of Ecuador. He is a member of the Inter-American Bar Association (and is a past Vice President of the Youth Division).
• Publications: René has authored several papers in his fields. One of his more recent publications is “Criminal Legal Actions in the Agreement on Intellectual Property Related to Commerce, Established by the Commission of the Cartagena Agreement and the Venezuelan Legal System”.
• Languages: Spanish and English.

José has been a member of the Intellectual Property Department at De Sola Pate & Brown since 1997.

Since joining the firm, Jose’s practice has primarily focused on representing clients in matters related to intellectual property and, in particular, regarding matters related to the registration and defense of trademarks, the registration of licenses, and contracts involving commercial transactions related to trademarks. Jose is also experienced in litigating administrative matters involving the regulation of trademarks.

• Education: José received his law degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1997, cum laude) and he has completed all of the course work for his Masters in Civil Procedure, also at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
• Professional Affiliations: He is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas. He is also a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association.
• Publications: José has participated in a number of conferences both in Venezuela and internationally concerning matters related to intellectual property. He has published articles in some of the world’s most prestigious law journals, such as the World Trademark Report of the International Trademark Association (INTA). Recently he co-authored the chapter on Venezuela in the World Trademark Law Report Yearbook, 2005, edited by Globe Business Publishing Ltd.
• Languages: Spanish and English.

Evelio has been a member of the Intellectual Property Department at De Sola Pate & Brown since 2001.

Since joining the firm, Evelio has specialized in intellectual property, trademarks, and copyright matters.

• Education: Evelio received his law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (2001) and he has a Masters in Intellectual Property from the Universidad de los Andes (2002). He is presently pursuing a Masters in Administrative Law at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas.
• Professional Affiliations: He is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas, and is a registered Intellectual Property Agent.
• Publications: “Trade Secrets: Regulation of the Test Data in the Venezuelan Law.”
• Languages: Spanish and English.

Irene has been a member of the Intellectual Property Department at De Sola Pate & Brown since 2003. Before joining the firm Irene worked at a prestigious law firm in Caracas as a paralegal in the intellectual property area. Since joining the firm, Irene has developed her practice in intellectual property and trademark registration.

• Education: Irene received her law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (2003), and is presently completing a Masters in Intellectual Property at the Universidad Metropolitana.
• Professional Affiliations: Irene is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas, and is registered as an Intellectual Property Agent.
• Languages: Spanish and English.

René has been a member of the Litigation Group at De Sola Pate & Brown since 2004. Since joining the firm René has specialized in the areas of commercial litigation, corporate law generally, and family and inheritance law matters.

At the firm René is able to combine his legal practice with other activities related to the promotion of legal education in the community. Currently René works closely with the Justice Resource Center located in New York City to help bring the program “Justice Goes to School” to communities in Venezuela, together with the assistance of De Sola Pate & Brown in Caracas.

• Education: René received his law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (1999) and is currently completing a Masters in the Law of Civil Procedure at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
• Professional Affiliations: He is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas and of the Inter-American Bar Association.
• Publications: René is the creator of a web site dedicated to the dissemination of human rights information in Venezuela and around the continent called “Tenemos Derecho,” which can be found at www.tenemosderecho.info. He is the director of the team that produces the bi-weekly podcast “Tenemos Derecho," which can be found on his website. René recently wrote an article titled “What you Should Know About Divorce”.
• Languages: Spanish, English and French.

Patricia has been a member of the Corporate and Business Law Group at De Sola Pate & Brown since 2004. Before joining the firm, Patricia held several important positions in the Venezuelan public administration, particularly related to the telecommunications sector. Since joining the firm, she has specialized in corporate and commercial law, economic regulatory matters, telecommunications and taxation.

• Education: Patricia received her law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (2000). Having been granted a scholarship by the Fundación Carolina of the Government of Spain, she earned a Masters of Law in the Economic Regulation of Public Services, related to the telecommunications and energy sectors, at the Universidad de Barcelona in Spain (2002). She then earned another Masters of Law degree in Corporate Law at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra, also in Spain (2003). Currently she is enrolled in the Masters of Law program in mercantile and commercial law at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
• Professional Affiliations: She is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas.
• Languages: Spanish and English.

Thomas has been a member of De Sola Pate & Brown since 2006. Before joining the firm Thomas worked for a well known law firm in Caracas, focusing mainly on corporate and energy law.

His areas of specialization include business transactions and development, corporate and commercial law, commercial arbitration, financial regulatory matters, tax, cyber law, and foreign investment.

• Education: Thomas received his law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas (2005) and his Masters of Law (LL.M.), with a focus on commercial law, from Harvard Law School (2006).
• Professional Affiliations: He is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District. He is also a member of the American Bar Association (Young Lawyers Division).
• Publications: His representative publications include his Masters thesis, “The Past, Present and Future of the Arbitral Clause in Foreign Investment Legislation: In Pursuit of the Balance,” on file at the Langdell Law Library of the Harvard Law School (May 2006); co-author of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello team (placed 5th in the international finals) memorials for the 2005 Phillip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition, “The Case Concerning the Vessel the Mairi Maru,” published in the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, Spring 2005; and “The Beginning of the End of the System for the Preservation of International Security?,” in Apuntes Jurídicos GLOBAL, Coladic Panaman Editorial, Nov. 2004
• Languages: English and Spanish.

María del Rosario , has been a member of the Intellectual Property Department at De Sola Pate & Brown since 1988. Since joining the firm she has acted as lead counsel on a number of important trademark related matters. Maria del Rosario specializes in intellectual property, commercial law and administrative law.

• Education: María del Rosario received a degree in urban planning from the Universidad Simon Bolivar (1985) and her law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (1988). She also has a Certificate in Patents and Licensing from the Franklin Pierce Law Center (1990).
• Professional Affiliations: María del Rosario is a member of the Bars of Venezuela and of the Capital District of Caracas, and she is registered as an Intellectual Property Agent. She is also a member of the Association of Venezuelan Industrial Property Agents, COVAPI (of which she is Secretary, 2005-2007).
• Languages: Spanish, English and French.

Grecia has been a member of the Corporate and Business Law Group at De Sola Pate & Brown since 2004. Before joining the firm, Grecia worked as a paralegal at another prestigious law firm in Caracas, where she focused mainly on white-collar criminal law and civil litigation matters. Since joining the firm, Grecia´s practice has been oriented toward corporate and commercial law, aviation, real estate and labor law.

• Education: Grecia received her law degree from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (2004) and is currently enrolled in the Master of Laws program in mercantile and commercial law, also at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
• Professional Affiliations: She is a member of the Bars of Venezuela of the Capital District of Caracas.
• Languages: Spanish and English.

René has been Of Counsel to De Sola Pate & Brown since 1989, the year he stepped down from the Venezuelan Supreme Court.  René possesses a vast experience in law, international affairs and in the humanities. 

René began his career in 1944 as the co-founder of our predecessor firm, Casanova and De Sola. In 1947 he served as Judge of the Civil Court of First Instance of the Federal District. In 1958-1959 he was designated Foreign Minister and then Minister of Justice, and it was in the latter position that he founded the Technical Judicial Police. From 1969 to 1974 he was Venezuela’s Permanent Ambassador to UNESCO, an organization he continued to serve in later years as President of the Juridical Committee of UNESCO (1978 and 1995), and as Alternate President of the Appellate Committee of UNESCO (1985). During his years in Paris, he was also an alternate Senator in Venezuela’s national congress. He then served as a magistrate on the Supreme Court of Venezuela for ten years (1979-1989), including as Vice President of the Court and as President of the Political Administrative Chamber (1979-1987), and as President (Chief Justice) of the Court (1987-1989). The year he stepped down from the Court he was named to the Permanent Venezuelan-Colombian Conciliation Commission, serving with ex-Prime Minister Felipe Súarez of Spain and ex-President Echeverría of Mexico.

In addition to his professional and diplomatic activities, René was for many years a professor of commercial law at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello and at the Universidad Santa Maria, all of Caracas, also having been a member of the Law School Council at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and Dean of the Law School at the Universidad Santa Maria. During these years he also chaired the Commission for the Reform of the Commercial Code.

• Education: René received his Doctorate in Political and Social Sciences (equivalent to the present degree in law) from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1943). He also has a Doctoral degree in Law from the University of Paris (Sorbonne, 1953). Additionally, he received a Doctorate of Philosophy, honoris causa, from the University of Tel Aviv.
• Professional Affiliations: René is an active member of a number of important international and Venezuelan organizations. He has been a member of the Academy of Political and Social Science since 1959 (President, 1968) and a member of the Venezuelan Academy of the Spanish Language since 1969 (Director in 1979); Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, of Spain, since 1970. Further, he is a member of the Institute of Comparative Law of the University of Paris and a member of the Institute of Commercial Law of the University of Buenos Aires.
• Publications: René has authored over 40 books and numerous articles and papers, including some of Venezuela’s most important treatises on commercial law topics, such as the modern interpretation on letters of credit. René’s writings are frequently cited as the authoritative statement on a range of legal, and legal historical, subjects.
• Languages: Spanish and French

Rolf born in Chungking, China, and fluent in five languages, joined De Sola Pate & Brown in 1995 as Of Counsel upon his retirement from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).  At PDVSA Rolf was the Manager of the Patent and Licensing Division (1988-1994) and was the founder of the Trademark and Patent Department of the Venezuelan Petroleum Research Institute (INTEVEP).

At the firm, Rolf heads our patent practice. His other areas of specialization include intellectual property, licensing and technology transfer, environmental law and arbitration.

• Education: Rolf received has a degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1962), a doctoral degree in mechanical and process engineering from Karlsruhe University (1969), and a law degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1993).  In addition, he holds certificates in Executive Business Administration from Texas A&M (1968), Executive Business Administration from Michigan University (1986), and in  Patents, Trade Secrets and Licensing from the Franklin Pierce Law Center (1988).
• Professional Affiliations: Rolf is a member of the Bars of the Miranda State and of the Capital District of Caracas. He is also a member of the Association of Venezuelan Industrial Property Agents (COVAPI), the Security, Health and Environment Committee of the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce, and of the Legal Orientation Committee (of which he is President) of the German Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce (CAVENAL).
• Publications: Among some of Rolf’s more important publications are the following: "The Economy's Administrative and Judicial Regime and the Protection of Industrial Property", “The Intellectual Property, Keeping it and Increasing its Value”, “Negotiating and Contracting Technology” "The Andean Court and its Effects on Integration," "Inflation and its Corrections through Monetary Adjustments," and "Pacific Resolution of International Conflicts,"
• Languages: Spanish, English, German, Italian and French.