Ricardo M. Arango, ARIFA partner and head of the firm's Banking and Finance practice, has been named the exclusive recipient of the International Law Office (ILO) Client Choice Award 2012, for the Banking category for Panama.

This is the second consecutive year Mr. Arango has honored, having won the ILO Client Choice Award 2011 in Panama, also for Banking.

These honors highlight ARIFA's commitment to superior client service. Mr. Arango's clients cite his legal acumen, excellent communication skills and his ability to network within the private and public sectors in order to get the best results for them:

• "Spectacular judgement, great work ethic, strong team and a great practical legal practitioner."
• "He's extremely well connected within the private industry and the public sector to know how to best and most effectively advise clients."
• "He is extremely thorough in his contracts and observations and his public communication is always very precise and careful in his wording."

Client Choice honorees are selected from nominations by corporate counsel. The 2012 award was based on more than 2,000 nominations.

"We are honored to be acknowledged by our clients with the ILO Client Choice Award 2012," said Mr. Arango. "We take great pride in our clients, and this is a testament to ARIFA's client-first culture. It is our legal team's commitment to our clients that allows us to excel. We are specially grateful to our clients for their confidence in us."

About the ILO Client Choice Awards. The ILO Client Choice Awards were established in 2005. The awards focus on the ability to add real value to clients' business above and beyond the other players in the market. They "recognize those law firms and partners around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service."