Criminal defense lawyer · Bogotá, Colombia
Juan FelipeAmaya Mejía
Criminal litigation and standing preventive counsel for families, business owners and professional athletes. A boutique practice, with a deliberately limited number of clients.
§ I — Profile
Who you are dealing with
What follows are facts, not adjectives.
I am a Colombian criminal defense lawyer. I read law at Universidad Externado de Colombia and have practised criminal law — and only criminal law — since 2009.
Before entering practice I interned at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C. In 2010 I joined Jaime Granados Peña & Asociados, where I spent eleven years and became a senior associate; in 2022 I opened my own practice.
I am part of the defense team of former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez and of his brother Santiago Uribe Vélez: first from the Granados firm, now from my own.
I have represented elite athletes, business owners and families in criminal matters across the country. I lead Amaya Mejía & Asociados with a small team of lawyers, a boutique practice in Bogotá built on two fronts: defense in criminal proceedings, and standing counsel to a limited group of clients who prefer to have their criminal lawyer before they need one.
Most of those matters were never reported, and that is largely the point. When a matter is public, handling the press is part of the defense and not a separate exercise: what is said, who says it and when. Discretion is not an add-on; it is how the work is done.
§ II — Practice
Areas of work
One subject matter, handled at every stage — from the preventive conversation to the cassation appeal.
Criminal defense in court
Representation from the first act of the investigation — summons, search, arrest — through to judgment. A small number of defenses per year, handled personally.
White-collar and business crime
Criminal exposure arising from corporate decisions, shareholder and family disputes that escalate into criminal complaints, and proceedings involving company directors and officers.
Standing preventive counsel
Annual availability for individuals, families and companies that want to consult before a problem exists. Detailed in the next section.
Appeals and cassation
Challenges to adverse decisions, including cassation appeals before the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice — also in matters originally handled by other counsel.
Opinions and second opinions
Written analysis of a pending matter: actual criminal exposure, available routes and a concrete recommendation. Useful when a decision has to be made on conflicting advice.
Co-counsel work with other firms
Colombian criminal counsel for firms without a criminal department, domestic or foreign: priority response to their clients' emergencies and a clear read on whether a matter carries criminal exposure. Each firm keeps its client relationship intact and bills its own work.
§ III — Counsel
A criminal lawyer before you need one
A good part of the matters I have seen began with a decision taken without asking anyone: a document signed too quickly, a statement given without counsel, an answer put in writing in a hurry. This exists for that — and for those who already have the problem and would rather not improvise again.
Individual
Personal
- Direct line for emergencies, at any hour
- Answers to queries within 24 hours
- Day-to-day questions, without counting minutes
- One preventive review per year
- Immediate assistance during the first 72 hours of any criminal matter
Principal and family
Family
- Everything in Personal, extended to the immediate family
- Annual review of criminal exposure across assets and businesses
- Written recommendations
Company and officers
Corporate
- All of the above for the company and its board or management
- One annual briefing to the management team
- Coordination with the company's other counsel
Capped at 12 standing clients. Not a marketing device: it is the number of people one lawyer can answer within twenty-four hours without exceptions. Annual fees and payment terms are discussed at the first meeting. Representation in court proceedings, if needed, is engaged separately.
§ IV — Questions
Frequent questions
General information. It does not replace advice on a specific matter.
Does the practice work with foreign law firms and in-house counsel?
Yes. The practice regularly acts as Colombian criminal counsel alongside firms that have no criminal department, domestic or foreign. Each firm keeps its own client relationship and bills its own work — Colombian professional rules do not permit referral fees between lawyers.
What is standing preventive counsel?
An annual availability arrangement: the client has a criminal lawyer on call before a problem exists, with a direct line for emergencies, answers within 24 hours, an annual preventive review and immediate assistance during the first hours of any criminal matter. Representation in court proceedings, if needed, is engaged separately.
In which languages does the practice work?
Spanish and English. Court proceedings in Colombia are conducted in Spanish; reporting, memoranda and client communication are available in English.
Can the practice take on a matter already handled by other counsel?
Yes, for appeals, cassation and written second opinions. Colombian professional rules prohibit displacing a colleague who already holds the engagement, so a second opinion does not interfere with counsel of record, who keeps the client relationship.
Where can I read the practice's writing?
Articles on Colombian criminal procedure are published in Spanish.See the writing section.
Contact
A first conversation
Twenty minutes, at no cost and with no commitment, to understand the situation and say plainly whether there is a criminal matter — and whether I am the right person to handle it.
Everything discussed is covered by professional privilege from the first call.
- Email[email protected]
- CityBogotá, Colombia
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