Mariana VanDerHorst

Director and lead counsel at P&W (Polanco & Wyss). Practicing since 2002 — real estate, tax, administrative, and corporate law, with master's degrees in tax planning (INTEC) and international commerce management (ISEAD / Univ. Complutense de Madrid). The Santo Domingo office handles property closings nationwide — including the Samaná Peninsula and the Southwest.

Development-side law firm operating since 2010 under the Eco Urban Law brand, ranked by both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 in Real Estate & Tourism and in Environment — the practice most Dominican firms do not have. Six practice areas: environment, tourism and hospitality, urban planning and land development, mining and natural resources, construction and real estate, and corporate services. Managing partner Romina Santroni and partner Guily Shemer are individually ranked by Chambers in both categories; Shemer runs the Punta Cana desk covering Punta Cana, Macao, Miches and Nisibon. The team handles the permit chain a large project has to clear — Ayuntamiento, MOPC, Medio Ambiente (environmental impact studies and licences), Turismo — plus CONFOTUR certification, and is currently advising on two developments of US$1bn-plus each. In July 2022 it became the first Dominican law firm certified carbon-neutral by TÜV Rheinland. For a buyer this is a due-diligence firm rather than a closing firm: they are the people who can tell you whether a pre-construction project — including major Samaná developments such as Sienna Terrenas — actually holds the environmental and municipal permits it advertises.

Founded 1927. 8 national offices, 50+ lawyers. Caribbean Tax Firm of Year 2023. Chambers Global, Latin Lawyer 250. Full RE, tax, CONFOTUR, permits, fideicomiso, notarial, title verification.

15+ years in Samaná. Real estate law, contracts, transactions, immigration, Dominican residency.