Team

Juan Carlos Covilla

Lawyer from Universidad Externado de Colombia with experience of more than 14 years as a consultant and litigator for international organisations, public authorities, and private companies.

Juan Carlos has worked as Legal Director of the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory of Colombia. In this position, among others, he has advised on the the regulation of the water supply and basic sanitation sector, social housing, and land use planning, with the implementation of the better regulation policy. In the same way, he has worked on the implementation of the necessary regulation for economic reactivation after the pandemic of COVID-19. In addition, Juan Carlos has tackled national conflicts of interest, prior consultations as the fundamental right of ethnic groups, class actions, and litigation.

Juan Carlos is also a professor at Universidad Externado de Colombia. He has a PhD in Law from Universitat de Barcelona and he was awarded the prize for the best doctoral thesis on administrative law in Spain. Juan Carlos has published 3 books and more than 20 articles in publishers such as Thomson Reuters, U. Penn Regulation Program, Tirant lo Blanch and U. Externado. His research has been cited by the Colombian Council of State, in arbitration and by the Innovations for Successful Societies of Princeton University.

Daniela Amaya Castro

Lawyer from Universidad Externado de Colombia and candidate for a Master's degree in Analysis of Contemporary Political, Economic and International Problems from that university. With more than 5 years of professional and academic experience in public authorities and private companies in the social development and investment sector. Daniela supports the elaboration of legal opinions and research, from a comprehensive perspective of the legal, political, and economic aspects.

Daniela has recognition in public speaking, argumentation, and legal writing in international investment arbitration competitions. Co-author of academic research including the book "Poverty and Inequality: Objective 2030".

Her work has dealt with issues related to constitutional, administrative, and international economic law, such as regulatory powers, execution of public procurement, provision of public utilities, exercise of rights and economic freedoms, expropriation and investment arbitration, and territorial development.

Valentina Hoyos

Student of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Externado de Colombia. Valentina has experience in academic, administrative and research work in Human Rights, Parliamentary Law, Constitutional Justice, Regulatory Power, International Humanitarian Law and Transitional Justice, in which she has demonstrated discipline, ethics and commitment as personal hallmarks.

Valentina participated and represented the Universidad Externado de Colombia in the Ibero-American Competition on International Humanitarian Law, in which she won second position. She also has supported the academic and administrative management of courses on the Inter-American Human Rights System, Parliamentary Training, Special Jurisdiction for Peace and Public International Law from the perspective of the Global South.

Valentina´s professional interests are focused on contributing to the development and infrastructure of territories through legal advice on the management of public projects, provision of public utilities, and development and implementation of public policies. These advices should respond to the particularities and needs of each territory, while respecting their national and international rights, and through an intersectoral vision that allows proposing solutions in line with their local problems.