José Ignacio Vial was appointed Undersecretary of the Environment by President-elect José Antonio Kast. Until his appointment, José Ignacio had been working as a senior associate at Barros Silva Varela & Vigil in the firm's Public and Environmental Law team since 2023.

José Ignacio holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, a diploma in Natural Resources, with a specialisation in Energy, from the same university, and a Master's degree in Environmental and Sustainability Law from the University of Alicante, Spain.

He has also been recognised as a Rising Star by The Legal 500 in the Environmental area for the last two years and has an outstanding track record in both the public and private sectors, where he has held positions as Chief of Staff of the Undersecretary of the Environment, the Litigation and Invalidations Department of the SEA, and as an associate at CorreaGubbins and, most recently, at Barros Silva Varela & Vigil.

We are certain that he will contribute significantly to the sustainable development of the country, and on behalf of the entire BSVV team, we wish him every success in this new challenge.