As part of its regional growth and consolidation strategy, Esguerra JHR announced the opening of its new office in Bucaramanga and the addition of Juan Daniel Parra Palencia as a partner, who will lead the operation in Santander.
This expansion responds to the economic dynamism of Santander, the country’s fourth largest economy, driven by sectors such as finance, insurance, agro-industry, infrastructure, commerce, food and beverages, mining, tourism, and energy. With this opening, Esguerra JHR strengthens its national presence and consolidates its third office in Colombia.
“Our growth is not circumstantial; it stems from a clear understanding of the market and a national expansion strategy. The regions are driving the country, and Santander is a vibrant region with its own identity and a dynamism that deserves specialized and close support,” stated Jairo Higuita, managing partner of Esguerra JHR. “With Juan Daniel, we strengthen our capacity to serve northeastern Colombia with a regional focus, but with national and international standards.”
Juan Daniel Parra Palencia is a lawyer from Santander with experience in international taxation, tax information exchange, tax compliance, and tax and estate planning. At the National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN), he led key projects on international reporting and represented the country before the OECD in the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. He was also part of the negotiating team for double taxation agreements with Brazil, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Uruguay.
As a new partner, Parra Palencia will lead the Bucaramanga office and the firm’s strategic growth in Santander.
“Our goal is to reach all 86 municipalities in the department with a local, reliable, and comprehensive firm capable of providing legal, tax, and accounting solutions,” he stated. “That’s why we’re here: to understand firsthand what drives the region and support families and businesses with planning, asset protection, and legal security that allows them to grow with confidence.”
The new office will offer Esguerra JHR’s full range of services, including wealth management; tax, corporate, and labor law; dispute resolution; compliance; public procurement and infrastructure; financial and securities law; customs and foreign trade; insolvency and litigation, among other specialized areas.
For Bibiana Buitrago, partner at Esguerra JHR, this expansion embodies the firm’s goal of supporting the regions that drive the country forward: “Juan Daniel brings an exceptional combination of public experience, international vision, and knowledge of the territory. His leadership will be instrumental in consolidating a close-knit, robust, and reliable operation,” said Buitrago. “We are arriving with a specialized team and, above all, with the sensitivity to understand the Santander market.”
The firm plans to consolidate its position in the coming years as one of the leading legal and tax players in Santander, replicating the growth model that has positioned it in Bogotá as a national benchmark. Bucaramanga joins the opening of the new headquarters in Medellín and the recent inauguration of its office in Bogotá, as part of a strategy that will continue to expand in 2026 to other strategic cities and regions of the country.
