The Costa Rica Office of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES was officially established in San José, the capital of the Republic of Costa Rica, in May 2024. It serves as the core service hub for GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ global legal service network in the Central American region, and a professional legal service platform supporting Chinese enterprises’ expansion into Latin America and facilitating two-way cross-border economic and trade cooperation between China and Costa Rica, as well as between China and Latin America at large.
With its service footprint rooted in Costa Rica and covering the entire Central American region, the office can deliver cross-jurisdictional, multilingual and integrated collaborative services by leveraging GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ global service network. Its team comprises dual-qualified lawyers holding valid practising certificates issued by the Costa Rican Bar Association, combined with professional expertise in Chinese law and experience in servicing multiple Latin American jurisdictions. Core members have been deeply engaged in the Central American legal services market for many years, with thorough knowledge of local regulatory rules, business environment and policy orientations. They are able to provide Chinese and foreign clients with a full-process, closed-loop legal service covering “domestic Chinese liaison – local Costa Rican implementation – global compliance coordination”.
This document sets out the official benchmark fee schedule of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Costa Rica Office for 2026. All quoted fees are exclusive of the statutory Value Added Tax (VAT, referred to locally as IVA, Impuesto al Valor Agregado) applicable in Costa Rica, which is currently levied at the standard rate of 13% on legal services in accordance with prevailing local rules. Payments are accepted in three currencies: United States Dollars (USD), Renminbi (CNY) and Costa Rican Colones (CRC). All fee models strictly comply with Administrative Decree No. 41930-JP of Costa Rica and the Scale of Charges for Legal and Notarial Services issued by the Costa Rican Bar Association, and are consistent with local judicial regulatory requirements and international commercial legal service practices.
1. Compliant Fee Arrangements of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Costa Rica Office
All fee structures adopted by this office strictly abide by the Costa Rican Law on the Legal Profession, practising rules of the Bar Association and statutory fee requirements. In light of the cross-border service conventions of Chinese-funded enterprises, five standardised fee models are provided as follows:
1.1 Fixed Fee Basis
This model applies to routine legal matters with standardised service processes and accurately quantifiable workload. The total fee for the full scope of agreed services is fixed prior to engagement, with no additional charges. The final fee shall not be lower than the statutory minimum fee for the corresponding matter as stipulated by the Costa Rican Bar Association. It covers standardised matters such as the establishment of commercial entities, basic compliance filings, drafting and review of standard legal documents, and applications for routine business licences.
1.2 Hourly Rate Basis
This model applies to non-standard legal services such as major cross-border investment projects, complex dispute resolution cases, customised compliance system establishment, and special regulatory responses. Fees are calculated based on the actual billable hours of lawyers, with a detailed hourly statement issued on a monthly basis, ensuring full verifiability and traceability throughout the service. Hourly rates strictly comply with the local statutory minimum fee threshold, and the final rate is determined according to the seniority of the lawyer and the complexity of the case.
1.3 Ad Valorem (Percentage of Subject Matter) Basis
This model applies to property-related legal services such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, asset transactions and large commercial claims. Fees are charged at a tiered percentage of the subject matter value of the case. The charging percentages align with the tiered rate schedule issued by the Costa Rican Bar Association and conform to industry conventions for commercial legal services in Latin America.
1.4 Contingency Fee Arrangement (Success Fee)
Within the framework of Costa Rican legal professional rules, this model is only applicable to property-related civil and commercial cases within Costa Rica, such as enforcement of lawful debts, commercial recovery and tort claims. Fees are conditional upon the successful outcome of the case and actual recovery of funds.
The charging percentage strictly complies with the local statutory cap: for the portion of the subject matter up to 15 million Costa Rican Colones, the fee shall not exceed 20%; for the portion in excess of that amount, the percentage decreases on a tiered basis according to the scale of the subject matter. The overall fee shall not exceed 20% of the actual amount recovered in the case, and this fee model shall not be applied beyond the statutory scope.
1.5 Annual Retainer Basis (General Counsel Service)
This model provides enterprises with year-round, all-scenario legal support for a fixed annual fee. Clients are allocated a service team proficient in Chinese, Spanish and English. The service scope covers full-dimensional compliance management, risk prevention and control, and legal document support for daily business operations. Customised service packages can be tailored according to the industry and business scale of the enterprise.
2. Hourly Rate Schedule for Legal Practitioners
All practising lawyers of this office hold valid practising licences issued by the Costa Rican Bar Association. The core team is familiar with the application rules of both Chinese and Costa Rican laws, and is capable of providing services in Chinese, Spanish and English. Senior partners hold practising qualifications for compliance in multiple Latin American countries, with deep expertise in core areas such as cross-border investment, international commerce, compliance regulation and dispute resolution. A tiered pricing system is implemented, and all rates are not lower than the local statutory minimum fee standard.
Pursuant to Administrative Decree No. 41930-JP of Costa Rica, which takes effect in 2026, the statutory minimum hourly rate for legal practice in Costa Rica is 90,750 Costa Rican Colones per hour (approximately USD 150 per hour, based on the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Costa Rica as at April 2026).
The benchmark hourly rate range of this office for 2026 is USD 180 – USD 580 per hour, covering all levels: junior practising lawyers, intermediate specialist lawyers, senior partners, and cross-border experts from the Beijing headquarters. The final rate is comprehensively determined based on the complexity of the case, the professional suitability of the lawyer, the urgency of the project, and the scale of the team allocation.
Additional Charging Provisions
(a) Work conducted outside Costa Rica (including other Central American jurisdictions and mainland China) shall attract a travel and field allowance surcharge of 25%–50%;
(b) 48-hour urgent response, and work undertaken on statutory public holidays or outside standard working hours shall attract an urgent service surcharge of 50%;
(c) Matters requiring cross-jurisdictional collaboration across multiple Central American jurisdictions shall be subject to a 20% rate uplift;
(d) Dedicated multilingual court support services shall be subject to a 15% rate uplift;
(e) Specialist matters involving financial regulation, export control and data compliance shall be subject to a rate uplift of 10%–20%.
3. Benchmark Fee Ranges for Core Practice Areas
This schedule focuses on the core business of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Costa Rica Office, aligns with the core demands of Chinese-funded enterprises investing and operating in Costa Rica and the Central American region, and complies with the requirements of Costa Rican regulatory authorities for economy and trade, customs, labour, taxation and other sectors. All services are adapted to the local legal system of Costa Rica, as detailed below:
3.1 China-Costa Rica Cross-Border Investment and M&A Legal Services: USD 1,200 – USD 82,000
(a) Full-process agency for the establishment of greenfield investments, wholly-owned subsidiaries, regional headquarters and representative offices of Chinese-funded enterprises in Costa Rica, including foreign investment access compliance screening and foreign investment approval and filing;
(b) Agency for industry business licences and business qualification filings in Costa Rica, as well as design and implementation of compliant foreign shareholding structures;
(c) Legal due diligence for two-way China-Costa Rica investment, investment route planning, and application and compliance implementation of local tax incentive policies;
(d) Corporate equity restructuring, qualification change, ongoing compliance maintenance of entities, and special legal services for the deregistration and liquidation of cross-border enterprises;
(e) Full-process services for cross-border equity mergers and acquisitions, asset acquisitions and joint venture projects, including transaction structure design, drafting and review of transaction documents, commercial negotiation and end-to-end delivery management;
(f) Special full-process legal services for infrastructure construction, PPP projects and concession projects.
3.2 Corporate Compliance and Risk Management Legal Services: USD 3,600 – USD 65,000
(a) Establishment of internal control and compliance systems for Costa Rican enterprises, and full-scope compliance development in anti-commercial bribery, anti-corruption, export control and economic sanctions;
(b) Annual general counsel services for day-to-day operations, and full-cycle compliance risk identification, early warning and mitigation;
(c) Establishment of compliance systems for labour employment, remuneration management and employee rights protection, and pre-dispute resolution services for labour disputes;
(d) Special legal services for tax compliance and planning, and cross-border tax risk management and control;
(e) Establishment and implementation of data security and personal information protection compliance systems, adapted to local data regulatory rules;
(f) Establishment of compliance systems and specialist advisory services for environmental compliance, workplace safety compliance and ESG compliance;
(g) Response to inspections by Costa Rican government departments, reply to regulatory inquiries, and services for administrative penalty hearings, administrative reconsideration and legal remedies;
(h) Cross-border corporate compliance training, implementation of dual-jurisdictional compliance standards for China and Costa Rica, and customisation of compliance risk emergency response plans.
3.3 International Trade and Customs Legal Services: USD 4,200 – USD 75,000
(a) Full-chain compliance review for China-Costa Rica cross-border trade, and customised drafting and risk management of international trade contracts and supply chain agreements;
(b) Specialist services for Costa Rican customs compliance, tariff planning, commodity classification compliance and application of rules of origin;
(c) Implementation of preferential policies under Central American free trade areas, cross-border trade compliance risk management, and response to and compliance handling of trade barriers;
(d) Full-process response services for trade remedy cases including anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard measures;
(e) Compliance review of cross-border payment and settlement, and full-process services for pre-action mediation and non-litigious enforcement of rights in international trade disputes;
(f) Compliant operation of cross-border e-commerce platforms in Costa Rica, and specialist services for merchant onboarding, product compliance and consumer rights protection.
3.4 Full-Lifecycle Intellectual Property Legal Services: USD 260 – USD 35,000
(a) Full-process agency for the registration, renewal and change of trademarks, patents, copyright, trade secrets, geographical indications and other intellectual property rights of Chinese brands in Costa Rica and the Central American region;
(b) Drafting of transaction documents relating to IP licensing, assignment, investment and financing, and full-process compliance support;
(c) IP infringement investigation and cross-border evidence gathering, and full-case agency for administrative complaints and judicial enforcement of rights in Costa Rica;
(d) Legal services related to cross-border IP dispute resolution and cross-border judicial cooperation, and response to and handling of unfair competition practices;
(e) IP overseas layout planning for tech innovation enterprises, and customised establishment and daily management of enterprise IP protection systems.
3.5 Immigration and Private Wealth Management Legal Services: USD 780 – USD 52,000
(a) Full-process legal support and agency services for investment immigration, residence permits and citizenship applications in Costa Rica;
(b) Cross-border wealth succession planning for high-net-worth individuals and families, and establishment and compliance management of offshore trusts;
(c) Special legal services for compliance review of cross-border asset allocation and personal global tax planning;
(d) Agency for family business governance and succession, cross-border matrimonial and family matters, inheritance, and resolution of property division disputes;
(e) Compliance review of real estate purchase and leasing in Costa Rica for foreign nationals, and full-process legal risk control for asset transactions.
3.6 Dispute Resolution and Cross-Border Judicial Cooperation Legal Services: USD 1,400 – USD 490,000
(a) Full-process agency for local civil and commercial litigation, commercial arbitration, administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation in Costa Rica;
(b) Full-process resolution services for China-Costa Rica cross-border civil and commercial disputes, cross-border investment disputes and commercial debt recovery;
(c) Cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitral awards between China and Costa Rica, and special legal services for cross-border property preservation;
(d) Special legal services related to international commercial mediation, corporate bankruptcy and liquidation;
(e) Supporting legal services for the prevention and control of criminal compliance risks for cross-border enterprises in Costa Rica.
Special Note: For matters involving major cross-border economic crimes, transnational financial violations and serious criminal offences, no fixed fee cap applies. Services are only provided within the scope of lawful practice in Costa Rica. The final fee shall be determined on a case-by-case basis according to the complexity of the matter, the scale of cross-border collaboration, and the difficulty and cost of evidence gathering, and shall be as set out in the written engagement contract signed by both parties.
3.7 Customised Legal Services for Key Industries: USD 4,800 – USD 90,000
Industry-specific customised legal services are provided targeting the core pillar industries of Costa Rica and the core demands of Chinese-funded enterprises expanding overseas, covering renewable energy, high technology, cross-border e-commerce, agriculture and food processing, tourism, high-end manufacturing, financial services, biomedicine, and modern services. The specific fee shall be determined according to industry characteristics, service scope and project complexity.
4. Key Factors Determining Legal Fees
(a) Complexity of cross-border compliance: Matters involving dual-jurisdictional application of Chinese and Costa Rican law, cross-border evidence gathering, collaboration of multi-national entities, and multi-jurisdictional coordination across Central America shall be subject to tiered fee uplifts in line with service difficulty;
(b) Industry-specific technical barriers: Fees for specialised fields such as financial regulation, cross-border investment, renewable energy projects, intellectual property and export control are higher than those for basic civil and commercial legal services;
(c) Case complexity: Fees for matters such as major litigation and arbitration, enforcement of difficult cross-border awards, specialist regulatory responses, and transnational off-site evidence gathering shall be adjusted dynamically according to the actual circumstances of the case;
(d) Service urgency: Urgently commenced projects and work undertaken on statutory holidays or outside standard working hours shall attract an urgent service surcharge in accordance with the standard;
(e) Engagement model: Annual general counsel retainer packages are eligible for a discount of 15%–25% compared with separate single-service engagements;
(f) Team configuration: Matters handled jointly by multi-disciplinary experts, with cross-border support from the Beijing headquarters, and with dedicated trilingual service teams shall have fees adjusted to reflect the seniority and scale of the team;
(g) Case risk: For matters under the contingency fee arrangement, the fee percentage is directly linked to the likelihood of success, difficulty of recovery, service cycle and jurisdiction of enforcement, and shall strictly comply with the local statutory cap.
5. Additional Third-Party Expenses to Be Budgeted
The following expenses are separate from legal service fees and shall be reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official Costa Rican standards or actual disbursements. Our firm does not charge any handling premium for these items:
(a) Government fees: Statutory fees charged by official Costa Rican authorities, including commercial entity registration fees, visa application fees, court fees, arbitration fees, official intellectual property fees, and licence filing fees;
(b) Notarisation and authentication fees: Local notarisation and Hague Apostille in Costa Rica; China-Costa Rica consular authentication shall be settled in accordance with the official rates of the two countries;
(c) Professional translation fees: Chinese-Spanish and Chinese-English translation of legal documents, and simultaneous interpretation for court hearings, charged per instruction / per word in accordance with local Costa Rican industry standards;
(d) Expert fees: Fees for judicial appraisal, industry expert consultation and third-party due diligence services, reimbursed at actual cost;
(e) Travel and subsistence expenses: Transportation, accommodation and field allowances incurred for work conducted domestically or internationally, reimbursed against valid receipts;
(f) Bank charges: Bank fees arising from cross-border transfers and currency conversion shall be borne by the instructing party;
(g) Other third-party expenses: Fees for professional services such as auditing, valuation and compliance testing, reimbursed according to actual entrusted expenditure.
6. Important Notice
All fee standards set out in this document are the official benchmark reference rates of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Costa Rica Office for the year 2026. They do not constitute an offer of legal services, an invitation to treat, or a guarantee of any case outcome. The final fee for all legal services shall be determined based on the client’s specific requirements, the actual circumstances of the case, the scope of services and the complexity of the project, and shall be governed by the formal written engagement contract signed by both parties.