About Our Law Firm in Colombia - Founded by Expats, Built for Expats

Stanford Baker & Associates was founded by foreigners who had lived through the frustration of trying to navigate Colombia's legal system without the right support. What started as a small bilingual practice built around the needs of expats and foreign investors has grown into one of Colombia's leading English-speaking law firms, with offices in Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena and a team of 36 lawyers and attorneys covering every major area of Colombian law.

The founding principle has not changed: foreign nationals dealing with legal matters in Colombia deserve clear advice, honest timelines, and lawyers who understand both the local system and the international standards their clients expect. That means written fee agreements, regular updates, and straight answers, including when the answer is not what a client wants to hear.

Our clients include individual expats buying property, applying for visas, or navigating family law matters, as well as international businesses setting up operations in Colombia, and investors entering the Colombian real estate market. Across all of these, the standard of service is the same: thorough, transparent, and in plain English throughout.

English-Speaking Lawyers in Colombia: What Sets Our Firm Apart

Most law firms in Colombia operate entirely in Spanish. For a foreign national dealing with a legal matter, whether it is a property purchase, a visa application, or a family dispute, that creates a significant problem. Relying on a translator for legal advice, or working with a lawyer whose English is functional but not fluent, introduces risk at every stage.

At Stanford Baker & Associates, our working language with international clients is English. Our lawyers draft correspondence in English, explain legal documents in English, and can represent clients in situations where bilingual communication is essential. This is not a side service, it is the foundation the firm was built on.

Beyond language, our team understands the practical and cultural differences that affect how foreign clients experience the Colombian legal system. Processes that seem straightforward can involve steps that are unfamiliar to anyone used to common-law systems. Timelines that appear fixed can shift. Documents that look complete can be missing a requirement no one mentioned. Our job is to manage all of that on your behalf and make sure you understand what is happening and why at every point.

Meet the Team at Stanford Baker & Associates

David Baker

Partner at Stanford Baker & Associates

David Baker is a founding partner at Stanford Baker & Associates and the driving force behind the firm's focus on serving English-speaking clients in Colombia. Originally from Australia and trained at the University of Sydney, David came to Colombia as a foreigner himself and experienced firsthand the difficulties of navigating an unfamiliar legal system without reliable bilingual support. That experience shaped the firm he went on to build.

David's legal background is in Australian common law, which gives him an instinctive understanding of how clients from Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and other English-speaking countries think about legal processes, risk, and professional standards. Combined with years of hands-on practice in Colombian law, this allows him to translate between two very different legal systems in a way that is genuinely useful to clients rather than simply technical.

At Stanford Baker & Associates, David oversees the firm's strategic direction and works directly on complex matters requiring senior-level attention. His approach is straightforward: give clients accurate information, set realistic expectations, and deliver on what the firm commits to. For foreigners who need a lawyer in Colombia they can actually rely on, David Baker is the partner who built the firm around that standard.

Edward Stanford

Partner & Legal Strategist at Stanford Baker & Associates

Edward Stanford is a senior partner at Stanford Baker & Associates with dual legal training from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota and Harvard Law School in the United States. That combination gives him an unusual depth of perspective: a thorough grounding in Colombian civil law alongside an understanding of how the US legal system works and how American clients approach legal matters.

Edward has practiced Colombian law for over two decades, working across property, business, family law, and litigation. His focus at the firm is legal strategy, helping clients understand not just what the law says, but what approach is most likely to achieve a good outcome in their specific situation. That includes knowing when to push, when to negotiate, and when a legal route that looks attractive on paper is likely to create more problems than it solves.

For clients with interests or connections in both Colombia and the United States, Edward's dual background is particularly valuable. He understands the expectations that American clients bring to a legal relationship and can engage with those expectations honestly, in terms that reflect how both systems actually work.

Lisa Mathers

Paralegal & Client Services, Stanford Baker & Associates

Lisa Mathers is a paralegal at Stanford Baker & Associates, working closely with the firm's attorney team to support case management and serve as the primary point of contact for many incoming clients. A graduate of Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Lisa handles the coordination and documentation work that keeps cases moving efficiently from start to finish.

For new clients, Lisa is often the first person they speak with. She assesses what a client needs, explains the relevant process clearly, and ensures they are connected to the right attorney for their matter. Her bilingual communication skills and detailed approach to case administration mean that clients stay informed and that nothing falls through the cracks between consultations.

Lisa's role is an important part of why the firm is able to handle a high volume of cases without compromising on the responsiveness and organisation that international clients expect.

Brandon Savvy

Associate Attorney - Immigration, Property & Business Law

Brandon Savvy is an associate attorney at Stanford Baker & Associates with a focus on immigration, property transactions, and business law in Colombia. He holds law degrees from Stanford Law School in the United States and Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, giving him a strong grounding in both common-law and Colombian civil-law frameworks.

Brandon works primarily with foreign nationals and international businesses navigating the Colombian legal system. In immigration, he handles visa applications, residency processes, and citizenship matters across the full range of categories available to foreign nationals. In property, he guides foreign buyers through due diligence, title searches, and the notary process from start to finish. In business law, he supports company formation, contract drafting, and compliance matters for foreign-owned enterprises operating in Colombia.

His experience working across all three areas is particularly useful for clients who are making interconnected decisions, for example, an investor who is simultaneously purchasing property, setting up a business structure, and applying for a residency visa. Brandon can provide coherent advice across all of those matters without the client needing to coordinate between multiple lawyers.

Carolina Rojas

Leading Expert in Marriage and Divorce Law at Stanford Baker & Associates

Carolina Rojas specialises in family law at Stanford Baker & Associates, with a focus on marriage, divorce, child custody, child support, prenuptial agreements, and inheritance matters. She graduated with honours from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin and has built her practice around the specific challenges that foreign nationals face when dealing with family law matters in Colombia.

Family law cases involving foreigners carry complications that do not arise in purely domestic cases: foreign documents requiring apostilles, divorce proceedings where one party is overseas, custody disputes that cross national borders, and inheritance situations where assets exist in multiple jurisdictions. Carolina is experienced in navigating all of these and in managing the additional procedural steps they require.

Clients going through difficult personal situations need a lawyer who gives them clear information and manages the legal process competently, not one who makes the process more stressful. Carolina's approach is direct and organised. She explains what is legally possible in plain terms, manages client expectations honestly, and handles the procedural complexity so that clients can focus on the decisions that matter to them.