Ricardo Velez-Benedetti

Ricardo Velez-Benedetti is a partner and the international director of VELEZ-BENEDETTI Lawyers & Consultants, a Colombian law firm founded in 1986 and based in the historic centre of Cartagena. The firm provides comprehensive legal solutions to businesses and, in particular, to foreign investors, drawing on decades of multi-generational experience. Its work in the fiscal field is recognised in its naming as Tax Law Firm of the Year in Colombia at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026.

An established Cartagena firm with an international outlook

Founded nearly four decades ago, VELEZ-BENEDETTI has grown into a firm with a distinctly international orientation, and Ricardo Velez-Benedetti's role as international director reflects that focus. Operating from Cartagena – a major Colombian port city and a well-known destination for foreign investment, tourism and second-home ownership – the firm is well positioned to serve clients from abroad who need to understand and comply with Colombian law. It offers its services in English, Spanish and French, an important asset for the international clientele it serves.

The firm emphasises tailoring its legal services to the unique requirements of each client and building lasting, partnership-focused relationships. For foreign investors in particular, that combination of local knowledge, international communication and a long-term advisory approach is valuable, because entering an unfamiliar legal and fiscal system is one of the principal challenges of investing abroad.

Tax and the wider service offering

Tax law sits at the core of the firm's recognition, and it is closely connected to the other services the practice provides. VELEZ-BENEDETTI advises across a broad spectrum that includes real estate and property transactions, commercial and corporate law, civil and labour law, immigration, intellectual property, company formation, contract review and drafting, and advice on free trade zones, investment registration and financial matters. For an international investor, tax considerations run through almost all of these areas: the structuring of a property purchase, the formation of a company, the registration of foreign investment with the exchange authorities and the operation of a business in a free trade zone all carry fiscal consequences that must be understood and managed.

Colombia's tax system, like that of any country, imposes obligations on both residents and non-residents, and foreign investors need clear guidance on how those rules apply to their particular circumstances. A firm that combines tax expertise with corporate, real estate and investment-registration services is able to advise clients not on tax in isolation but on how it interacts with the whole of their activity in the country – helping them remain compliant while structuring their affairs sensibly.

Serving foreign investors in Colombia

The firm's international standing is reflected in its inclusion in the attorney directories maintained by several foreign embassies and diplomatic missions in Colombia, as well as in the investment-services directory of the national investment-promotion agency. Listings of this kind indicate that the firm is a recognised point of reference for foreigners seeking reputable legal counsel in the country, and they underline the trust placed in it by both private clients and official bodies.

The firm's multi-generational character is itself a distinguishing feature. A practice that has been passed down and sustained across generations accumulates not only legal knowledge but long-standing relationships and an institutional memory of how the local market works – assets that are particularly reassuring to overseas clients placing their affairs in the hands of a firm in an unfamiliar country. Combined with its multilingual service and its dedicated international director, this heritage gives foreign investors a stable and knowledgeable point of contact in Colombia.

With Ricardo Velez-Benedetti as its international director, VELEZ-BENEDETTI Lawyers & Consultants offers foreign investors and businesses a multilingual, experienced adviser for their Colombian tax and legal affairs. Backed by nearly forty years of practice and a multi-generational tradition, the firm helps clients navigate the fiscal and regulatory framework that governs investment and business in Colombia. Its recognition as Tax Law Firm of the Year in Colombia at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 confirms its reputation as a trusted guide for those doing business in the country.