About

Number of years practice:

24

Principal practice areas:

Energy, Oil and Gas, Project Development, M&A

Bar admissions:

Texas, England and Wales

Languages spoken:

English, Spanish

What differentiates your Mexico-facing practice from those of your US competitors and peers?

The differentiating factors in my practice relating to Mexico are: global experience; depth in Mexican energy; and the ability to work in Spanish and English. Many experienced energy lawyers have begun to do business in Mexico since the constitutional reforms. My practice, however, began in the late 1990’s working on natural gas pipeline development and finance on the back of natural gas reforms. Since that time I have been fortunate enough to work on oil and gas projects in the United States and around the world. I bring this unique view to the private sector’s return to Mexico. In addition, I was fortunate enough to advise for the CNH for the first two years after the reforms and have a small part in helping the industry get under way.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of advising Mexico-based clients from an office in the United States?

The local Mexico bar is very strong, thus the projects we work on from the US need to have a cross-border or international aspect, or involve a matter dealing with oil and gas where there is little local experience.

If a firm has a single partnership that maintains strong practices in all of the major financial markets in the world are the best suited to represent even the most locally focused energy company in Mexico. Sophisticated business that require access to capital outside of Mexico will need to use international counsel to represent them under the laws of New York, Texas or the United Kingdom.

What changes in the commercial and/or legal market do you anticipate in the 12 months ahead in Mexico?

Within the next year, I anticipate that PEMEX will reopen the Farmout process to access capital and technical assistance. Trion, Ogarrio, and others were major success stories for PEMEX, and can serve to strengthen PEMEX and provide needed capital for expansion in other areas. For the private industry, we think that asset-based finance, including reserve based lending, will continue to expand and flourish. Refined products storage, transportation and terminal development projects should continue and help drive infrastructure development.

What influence will legal technology have on US/Mexico working practices in the future?

The ability to work remotely, staff projects across borders with minimal interference or impediment is something we already do at White & Case. I expect companies and firms to continue using technology to make the world a smaller place and to drive efficiency in project development.

What is your perception of in-house counsel’s priorities in terms of client service when working with US-based law firms?

In-house counsel tend to be sophisticated users of legal services. Not only do they demand value and responsiveness, but they expect law firms to understand their business and proactively try to anticipate and solve problems that may arise.

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