Twenty-plus years advising Panama’s most demanding matters.
Partner-led on every file, integrated across every practice area, and twenty-plus years deep in the Panama market. Built around the things that actually determine whether legal advice holds up — in practice, under scrutiny, and after signing.
Who We are
CHANIS was founded on April 25, 2005 — the year Panama was consolidating a decade of post-reversion institutional reform and the country’s role as a regional hub for corporate structuring was beginning to take shape. In the two decades since, Panama has substantially rebuilt the legal framework governing how companies operate here: AML compliance, data protection, fintech regulation, real estate development, multinational headquarters regimes, immigration structuring.
We have advised clients through each of those changes. That depth of institutional knowledge is what we bring to every matter.
The firm was founded by Ricardo Chanis, who before establishing CHANIS was a senior lawyer at one of Panama’s leading full-service firms — and prior to that served as corporate counsel during the reversion of the Canal Zone territories to Panamanian sovereignty, one of the most consequential legal and institutional processes in Panama’s modern history. Both experiences shaped a founding partner who is at home in high-stakes environments: multiple parties, competing interests, and decisions with lasting consequences.
Today the CHANIS team brings together lawyers with specialized credentials across M&A, corporate law, technology, real estate, and cross-border structuring — with postgraduate training in Panama, the United States, Europe, and Türkiye.
Who We Serve
Our clients are companies and individuals whose matters do not stay in one box. They include:
- International investors and business groups entering or restructuring operations in Panama and the broader region.
- Companies preparing for their first acquisition, reorganization, or corporate structuring in jurisdiction.
- Technology companies, fintechs, and digital platforms operating under Panama’s evolving regulatory framework.
- Family businesses managing growth, governance, or generational transition.
- Real estate developers and investors in commercial, residential, and horizontal property projects.
- High-net-worth individuals and family offices requiring private wealth structuring.
For investors entering Panama from specific markets, CHANIS operates dedicated market desks — beginning with the Türkiye Desk, led by Alexandra Guzmán, who advises Turkish-speaking clients in their language and within their commercial context.
WHY CHANIS FOR TURKISH INVESTORS
CHANIS operates the only Türkiye Desk at a boutique business law firm in Panama — delivering legal counsel in Turkish, Spanish, and English, with the academic and professional grounding in Turkish commercial context that the work requires.
For Turkish companies and investors structuring operations in Panama, the Türkiye Desk delivers what most cross-border engagements lack: language fluency, market familiarity, and jurisdictional translation handled by one team, in one engagement.
Four integrated areas of practice.
Each practice area is led by a specialist. All four work as one team.
01. M&A & Business Transactions
Acquisitions, mergers, corporate reorganizations, joint ventures, due diligence, and cross-border transactions — with the commercial judgment to stay in the matter through extrajudicial negotiation and litigation when that is what the deal requires.
02. Corporate & Business Law
Governance, commercial contracts, employment, tax planning, AML/CFT compliance under Law 23/2015, intellectual property, and commercial disputes. The full operating lifecycle of a company in Panama, handled as ongoing counsel.
03. Technology & Digital Business
Legal advisory for technology companies, fintechs, and digital platforms — SaaS contracts, platform liability, data protection under Law 81/2019, fintech regulation, startup structuring, and investment readiness.
04. Real Estate Law
Domestic and commercial real estate, horizontal property development under Law 284/2022, condominium governance, title due diligence, developer contracts, and project structuring — whether the matter is a single asset acquisition or a full development.
For cross-border matters, our International Desk extends this coverage through dedicated market desks — beginning with the Türkiye Desk — and our IR Global correspondent network across 165+ jurisdictions. Panama is the anchor — and our corridor desks are the bridge to yours.
(→ International Desk)- International Bar Association (IBA)
- International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA)
- IR Global - exclusive M&A member for Panama
- Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA)
- ASOCUPA - Asociación Panameña de Compliance
- Panama Bar Association (CNA)
Let’s talk about your matter.
Schedule a consultation with us — a direct conversation about your business, your market, and what you need in Panama.
