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George C. Spence
Of Counsel
George Spence is of counsel based in our Santo Domingo office. He has also worked at our office in Washington DC, and continues to work closely with our teams in the US. George’s practice focuses on corporate transactional matters, including acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, joint ventures, and group reorganizations in a diverse range of industries and sectors, involving inbound and outbound international business transactions.
He has advised clients on a wide variety of legal areas, including asset purchases and buy-sell agreements, general corporate and commercial work, private equity investments, corporate governance, securities, energy, commercial and residential real estate transactions, leases, employment, intellectual property, immigration, international trade, and regulatory matters related to doing business in the Dominican Republic. He has assisted local and international investors; trade distributers; real estate, tourism and energy concerns; banks and financial services providers; public-private partnerships; and non-profit organizations.
In 2013, George participated in the groundbreaking merger of Centro Financiero BHD and Grupo Financiero León, which resulted in the formation of the second-largest privately held banking institution in the Dominican Republic and one of the largest private banks in Central America, with assets of over US$500 million; still considered as one of the most relevant transactions of its kind in the Dominican Republic.
Recently, he was part of the team that represented E. Leon Jimenes in a US$900 million sale of shares in the largest brewery in the Caribbean region. He also played a leading role in the cross-border reorganization and ultimate liquidation of E. Leon Jimenes.
George is also part of the team currently representing Montecristi Solar, a 58MW photovoltaic power plant (upon completion, one of the largest in the Caribbean), following advice in the acquisition of a majority stake therein.
Prior to joining the firm, George worked in the securities and shareholder litigation department of a top-tier law firm in Atlanta.
- Assisting in the merger of two of the Dominican Republic’s largest commercial banks.
- Assisting a major financial services and credit card provider in the sale of shares in a local subsidiary; advising such client in connection with employment law concerns, including the development and implementation of internal policies.
- Advising a US-based financial services company on the provision of cross-border services.
- Handling the legal and regulatory compliance issues and requirements for broker/dealers and in the Dominican Republic.
- Assisting a major international tobacco company in completing a strategic joint venture relationship with the Dominican government and with respect to its operations in the Dominican Republic.
- Assisting an international client in filing satellite service operations in more than 20 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
- Assisting a UK-based international producer and operator of television shows in completing acquisitions of production companies.
- Advising various foreign solar energy companies with the installation and acquisition of solar energy parks in the Dominican Republic.
- Drafting local and international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements and power purchase agreements.
- Assisting a Swedish company in acquiring a medical devices assembly facility, located in a free trade zone in the Dominican Republic.
- Assisting a US-based private equity firm in its acquisition of a call center in the Dominican Republic.
- Assisting in the due diligence process and acquisition of a majority stake in the largest ice cream producer and distributor in the Dominican Republic.
- Representing an importer of US products in connection with various international trade concerns, including technical barriers to trade and licensing requirements.
- Advising a Dominican motor vehicle distributor in the negotiation and acquisition of several brands.
- Assisting a family-owned business in the reorganization of its assets in the Dominican Republic.
- Assisting clients in negotiating and registering distribution agreements under Dominican Law.
Education
- Duke University, LL.M., 2015
- Pontificia Univer. Catolica Madre y Maestra, J.D., magna cum laude, 2012
- Tulane University, B.A., 2007
Admissions
- Dominican Republic
Languages
- English
- Spanish
- French