We offer lasting solutions
We are a team of motivated lawyers determined to offer our clients our best.
The Duarte family (Duarte-French, Duarte-Amézquita, and Duarte-Cremaschi) in Colombia has a long-standing history of intellectual and legal distinction. Alberto Duarte-French (1918–1983) was not only a brilliant lawyer but also a noted law professor, journalist, writer, politician, and economist specialized in international trade. He additionally held a PhD in Philosophy and Literature, and he inspired and helped establish one of Colombia’s most reputable universities, the Universidad Industrial de Santander. His brother, Jaime Duarte-French (1920–2003), also a lawyer, is recognized as one of Colombia’s most prominent historians.
Antonio Duarte-Amézquita (1954), a lawyer and economist, has been practicing law for 50 years—30 of them with the international law firm Baker McKenzie, where he retired after serving for 20 years as an international partner/principal. His practice covered a broad range of significant areas, including mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, corporate restructuring, energy, oil and mining, commercial contracts (franchise and distribution agreements, as well as private- and public-sector bidding and contracting), corporate governance and compliance, and e-commerce. He is now dedicated to coaching his sons, Antonio Duarte-Cremaschi and Francisco Duarte-Cremaschi, in consolidating the “Duarte Cremaschi” law firm in Colombia, founded by them in 2006.
Antonio Duarte-Cremaschi (1983) obtained his law degree (2009) from the University of La Sabana in Colombia, where he also pursued further studies in economic and public affairs law. He later earned, with merit, an LLM in International Commercial Law (2011) from the University of Westminster in London. With nearly 20 years of professional experience, he is a prominent lawyer in several of the Firm’s practice areas and currently serves as Head of the Legal Practice Department as a founding partner.
Francisco Duarte-Cremaschi (1982) holds a degree in International Business Administration from the University of La Sabana in Colombia and an MBA from the European University of Madrid, Spain. He has more than 16 years of experience in the management of diverse enterprises and now leads, as Management Partner, the Firm’s Management & Administration Department.
Our Mission
First, we aim to meet the needs of our clients by ensuring that they work with a Reliable Lawyer. No matter how much a law firm may claim regarding its competence, the size of its network, or the breadth of its expertise, if it cannot deliver the service of a Reliable Lawyer, such credentials will not provide the added value that today’s domestic or multinational corporations genuinely seek.
What is a Reliable Lawyer? A Reliable Lawyer is one with whom the client is fully familiar; someone with whom a true professional relationship exists; someone who is easily accessible at all times; someone who fully understands the client’s business needs, urgency, and concerns; and someone who can efficiently and effectively contribute to resolving the client’s matters—either through the lawyer’s own capability, knowledge, and experience, or through the ability to bring to the table the qualified professionals required to properly address the client’s concerns. A Reliable Lawyer values and appreciates not only the client’s business but also the elements of strong ethics, trust, loyalty, and personal commitment to the relationship.
Second, our goal is to become an Everyday Partner for our clients. Large law firms typically provide legal services focused on major legal issues and high-level negotiations, often at a high cost. The burden of such fees has led domestic and international companies to retain large firms primarily for these major matters, leaving little room—due to budget constraints—for ongoing, day-to-day legal consultation on issues that may initially seem minor but can later become significant risks. These everyday matters may include transactions with regular vendors, distributors, and customers; confidentiality and privacy concerns; consumer protection regulations applicable to advertising and labeling; unfair competition and antitrust considerations in marketing strategies; corporate compliance (including anti–money laundering regulations); labor matters; and others.
Our services specifically address this broader scope of legal assistance by offering ongoing advisory support at a manageable fee structure. This approach has consistently provided our clients with significant added value, reflected in more efficient and profitable operations and better protection from potential risks and claims arising from daily business activities. Naturally, we are also available to assist our clients in larger transactions and negotiations, where our constant, day-to-day knowledge of their business allows us to bring enhanced insight and a more informed legal perspective to the table.
Committed to winning
We are a team of motivated lawyers determined to offer our clients our best.