WELCOME

Nander Pitty:  (1932 – 2010†).  

Admitted in Panama, 1959.  Summa cum laude in Law from the Universidad Nacional de Panamá (1959, valedictorian, sigma lambda).  

He held public office as Chief Clerk of the Fourth Superior Court of the Province of Chiriquí, Magistrate of the Electoral Tribunal (1968); Advisor and Secretary of the Committee to Review the Electoral Code; Minister of Foreign Affairs (1969); President of the Panamanian Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York (1969); Member of the Panamanian Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York (1970-1978); Permanent Ambassador to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., (1970-1978); Senior Adviser to the President of the Republic of Panama (1978-1983); Director of the National Port Authority (1984); Minister of the Presidency (1985-1988); Senior Member and Secretary of the 1983 Constitutional Committee charged with drafting the current Constitution of the Republic of Panama. 

He was a distinguished Member of the National Bar Association of Panama, the Maritime Law Association of Panama, and of the Sigma Lambda Alumni Chapter of the Universidad Nacional de Panama.  

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JUAN FELIPE PITTY

Office telephone: +507-262-8868

Direct Dial: +507 262-8838

Office Fax:  +507 262-8898

24 hour mobile phone (Panama): +507 6810-5588

email: jfpitty@pittylaw.com

Practice Areas: 

Shipping

Dispute resolution

Commercial

Corporate

Government contracting and Administrative procedure

Juan Felipe is the firm’s managing partner and a highly experienced litigator and diplomat, specializing in energy (regulatory project licensing and PPA negotiations) shipping disputes and litigation arising from charterparties, bills of lading, shipbuilding contracts, ship sale MOAs, hull and machinery insurance policies, P&I and FD&D matters, bunker supply contracts, personal injury collisions and general average situations. Cases involving shipping insolvencies and security arrests are a specialty with extensive litigation practice, representing major investor in LNG Power Plants, P& I Clubs, Insurance Companies, Ship Owners and Ships Agents at the Panama Canal and Panamanian Ports.

He has a Law and Political Science Degrees (1993) from the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua in Panama, where he was elected President of the Law School Student Body (1991-1992); and Master’s Degree in Admiralty Law (1994) from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, where he was the recipient of the American Waterway Operators Scholarship for graduate studies in maritime law (1993-1994), and where he was elected President of the Tulane Maritime Law Society (1994).

Juan Felipe has been a Professor of International Maritime Conventions and Law of the Sea course for the Masters in Maritime Law Graduate Program at the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua, Panama, Republic of Panama, 1998-2000, and invited observer to Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness on Global Terrorism Prevention, June 27-30, 2002.

Juan Felipe was designated in 1998 by the President of the Republic of Panama Ernesto Perez Balladares as a Member of the Drafting Committee for the Law that created the Panamanian Maritime Authority (unifying all Panamanian maritime jurisdictions).  He was also designated in 2001 by the President of the Republic of Panama Mireya Moscoso, as Member of National Maritime Strategy Presidential and Inter-Institutional Advisory Board, charged with formulating a Comprehensive Maritime Strategy, in areas of economic and commercial development, and safety and security concerns.  

He was elected President of the Panamanian Maritime Law Association (2000-2002; re-elected 2002-2004) after serving as Vice-President (1998-2000), and Chairman of the Litigation Committee (1997-2000).  He was also Chairman of the Organizing Committee of PANAMA MARITIME (1998 and 2000), Panama oldest international maritime conference held every two years.

Juan Felipe was designated President of the Maritime Law Committee of the National Bar Association of Panama (2003-2004), and First President of the Maritime and Port Affairs Commission, Panamanian Chamber of Commerce (2004-2005).

He has authored of several maritime publications, including the article “Panamanian Maritime Law into the New Millennium” published by Lloyds of London Press, 2000.

Juan Felipe was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the Republic of the Philippines and Consul General with Merchant Registry functions under the Panama Maritime Authority in Manila, Republic of the Philippines (2004-2009).

Juan Felipe drafted a Compilation of all Panamanian Maritime Laws (international conventions; civil; commercial; administrative).  Special one-year project commissioned by the United Nations Program for Development, to compile a written and electronic database of all maritime laws in force in the Republic of Panama.

He is duly qualified being admitted in Panama since 1993 and has travelled widely on cases to many other jurisdictions, and has been an invited speaker on Maritime Law at numerous national and international conferences.

Memberships: National Bar Association, Panamanian Maritime Law Association, Panamanian Chamber of Shipping. 

Languages: Spanish & English; Certified by the Ministry of Education and by the Ministry of Government and Justice of Panama, as an authorized English-Spanish public translator. Working knowledge of written French. 

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 Fernando A. Solórzano

Office telephone: +507-262-8868

24 hour mobile phone (Panama): +507 6810-5588

email: fsolorzano@pittylaw.com

Practice Areas: 

Shipping

Dispute resolution

Commercial

Corporate

Government contracting and Administrative procedure

Fernando is the firm’s merchant registry and ship finance head, as well as a highly experienced administrative, civil and commercial litigator.  

Fernando has a Law and Political Science Degrees (1990), Teachers Degree (1992), Master’s Degree in Private Law (1999), and Post Graduate Degree in Mediation (2006), from the Universidad Nacional de Panama); He also holds a Postgraduate Degree in Maritime Labor Conventions (1996) from the Marine Institute of Spain; and a Diploma in Strategic Marketing of Maritime Port Services (2002) from the Latin American Science & Technology University.

Fernando has served as Alternate Magistrate, First Superior Tribunal of the First Judicial District of Panama, 2002-2012, Administrator, Panama Maritime Authority, 2007-2009 (with cabinet minister rank); Director General, Merchant Marine Directorate, Panama Maritime Authority, 1998, 2000; 2004-2007; 2014-currently on full leave from the firm in this capacity); Advisor to the Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (2000-2004); Director, Legal Affairs Department, Consular and Shipping General Directorate (1994-1998); Clerk of the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama; Civil Circuit Judge, Judicial Branch of Panama; Judicial Marshall, Judicial Branch of Panama.

Fernando was a member of the Drafting Committee of the Panamanian Code of Maritime Procedure of 2009, the Ship Registry Law of 2009, and the Naval Mortgage provisions of the Panamanian Code of Commerce of 2009.  

Fernando is a Professor, Maritime Law, and of Legal History at the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua (U.S.M.A.), Panamá and a Professor of Constitutional Law, at the Universidad Nacional de Panama.

He is duly qualified being admitted in Panama since 1990 and has travelled widely on cases to many other jurisdictions, and has been an invited speaker on Maritime Law at numerous national and international conferences.

Memberships: National Bar Association, Panamanian Maritime Law Association, Panamanian Chamber of Shipping. 

Languages: Spanish & English;

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ASSOCIATES:

Antonio Andrés Vargas

Office telephone: +507-262-8868

Office Fax:  +507 262-8898

24 hour mobile phone (Panama): +507 6379-9172

email: avargas@pittylaw.com

Vessel Registry and Shipping Finance

Admiralty

Civil, Commercial and Corporate

Dispute resolution

Antonio is an associate lawyer since 2019. He specializes in Admiralty cases before the Panama Maritime Courts as well as administrative matters before the Panama Maritime Authority (Vessel registration, Operation Licenses, State Concessions, among others). Likewise, Antonio is in charge of serving our clients in civil matters before all Judicial Courts, including the Supreme Court of Panama.

Antonio has a Law & Political Science Degree (2018 Cum laude) from Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua in Panama, where he was part of the Law School Student Body (2014), he was a debate advisor for several High Schools through the debate association JUD (Jóvenes Unidos Por el Diálogo) (2015-2016); and has a Master’s Degree in Admiralty & Maritime Law (2019) from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, as the recipient of the Tulane Alumni Association of Panama Scholarship (2018-2019), and where he actively participated as a member of the Tulane Maritime Law Society (2018-2019). 

After completing master’s studies, Antonio took courses specialized in International Maritime Law, where topics such as Law of the Sea, Maritime Arbitration, and Maritime Conventions were taught (Rhodes, Greece, Tulane University).

He is duly qualified being admitted in Panama in 2018.

Memberships: Panamanian Maritime Law Association. 

Languages: Spanish and English. 

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Diener O. Vinda

Office telephone: +507-262-8868

Office Fax:  +507 262-8898

24 hour mobile phone (Panama): +507 6600-9615

email: dvinda@pittylaw.com

Practice Areas: 

Labor

Civil 

Administrative

Constitutional

Commercial

Corporate

Diener specializes in administrative, labor and civil litigation.

Diener has a Law & Political Science Degree (1978) from Universidad Nacional de Panamá.

Diener has served as Chief Legal Counsel of the National Port Authority.

Diener speaks Spanish & English.

Diener is duly qualified being admitted in Panama, 1978.

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PARALEGAL STAFF

Jennefer Dayag Obra

Jennefer specializes in litigation and immigration files.

She is from the Philippines, and speaks Tagalog, Spanish & English.