About

Number of years practice: 26 Law school attended: University of California, Berkeley Law School Languages spoken: English, French (conversational), German (conversational), Spanish (conversational) Principal practice areas: Project Finance and Development Admissions: California

What have been three of your career highlights in Mexico to date? Tres Mesas Wind – I represented the private equity owners of phases 1 and 2 of Eolica Tres Mesas. The 148.5MW Tres Mesas wind power project in Tamaulipas, Mexico represents one of the largest sustainable energy projects in Mexico. I represented the owners in their acquisition of the project and in the dual-currency, non-recourse construction financing of the project with OPIC and the North American Development Bank. This was the first time that OPIC had issued “green bonds” to support a Mexican renewable energy asset and the first time it had provided a loan denominated in Mexican pesos. The transaction won “Project of the Year” at the Mexico International Renewable Energy Conference. La Bufa Wind – I represented Mexico Power Group (MPG) in two transactions related to the financing for the construction of a 130MW wind farm in Zacatecas, Mexico. Upon completion in 2017, La Bufa will sell power to Volkswagen de México to help boost the use of renewable energy at its factory in Puebla, Mexico. I concurrently represented MPG in structuring its partnership with a private equity investor, which acquired a majority ownership stake in La Bufa from MPG. Debt was provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Korea Development Bank, Nacional Financiera and Bancomext. Pegaso Telecomunicaciones – I represented various global telecommunications technology and equipment providers in a string of vendor financings to build out wireless telecommunications networks in Mexico, and subsequently represented Qualcomm in the $1.36bn sale of the Pegaso Telecomunicaciones group of companies to Telefónica Móviles, creating one of the major wireless telecom providers in Mexico. What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers? The breadth of my practice in Mexico over many years is notable. It encompasses work for project developers and sponsors, as well as lenders in syndicated bank financings and investors in capital markets, buyers and sellers in M&A transactions, and even government entities (like the State of Nuevo Leon, which I represented in the innovative Mexican Peso-denominated bond financing of the Monterrey-Cadereyta toll road). My experience in Mexico also crosses into multiple sectors, like power (thermal, wind, hydro and solar), oil and gas (including pipelines), transportation (toll roads and rail projects), and other infrastructure (including telecoms, ports, airports and mining). As such, his work includes corporate and strategic advice to reduce, mitigate and allocate risks in a range of transactions, plus all aspects of project development and finance, requiring familiarity with a commercial and regulatory issues, including in specialized areas like finance, tax, environmental regulation, energy and communications regulation, and real estate and land use. Why has Mexico been a particularly strong focus for you? As Mexico has embraced economic liberalization, foreign investment and infrastructure investment, the Mexican market has created many opportunities for my clients in project development and cross-border investment. My practice globally has for over two decades focused on the intersection of infrastructure development, public policy and finance, so it is natural to focus on the dynamic and sophisticated Mexican market, which is also our next door neighbor. Many of my clients in Mexico come from the United States, but they also come from Asia, Europe, Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Having spent significant time in Mexico over the years, I have been privileged to develop close professional and personal friendships there and an affinity for Mexican culture, language and history. Have you held any positions of relevance outside of private practice? I have taught at a number of prestigious universities over the years, including the University of California (current), UC Berkeley School of Law (current), UC Berkeley Haas School of Business (current) and the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City (2005). I currently serve in leadership positions for several industry and community organizations, including the following current appointments: • State Bar of California, Section on Real Property Law, Subsection on Public Private Infrastructure (Founding Subsection Co-Chair, 2007 – present) • Family Violence Appellate Project (Member, Board of Directors, 2016 – present) • East Bay Community Law Center (Member, Advisory Board, 2014 – present) • MoveLA (member, Leadership Board and Executive Committee, 2014 – present) What are your predictions for change in the US-Mexico relationship? It is challenging to predict how the sensitive relationship between the United States and Mexico will evolve. The new US President has spoken critically of Mexico and promises to radically shift US policy in a number of areas that could affect immigration, capital investment, labor markets, NAFTA and environmental policy. Much will depend on the Mexican response to evolving US policies. With Mexican elections in summer 2018, that response is also hard to predict. I would expect economic policy and market uncertainty to impede investment in the medium term. The long term fundamentals between the countries remain solid, but the next two to four years could be rocky if the provocative rhetoric is translated into challenging legal changes that hurt the relationship or that restrict flows of labor, goods, services and capital. Is there a key economic factor or trend you regard as likely to impact the Mexican legal sector over the next 18 months? I appreciate the stability and professionalism of the Mexican legal market. As a firm, we have developed close working relationships with many of the top Mexican law firms. One factor that could change in the future is decentralization of the business community, and thus of the legal market, which is still dominated by Mexico City. The growth of regional centers of commerce (such as in Monterrey and Guadalajara) could bring new diversity to the Mexican economy and new perspectives to commercial and civil law and practice. But I doubt that will happen over the next 18 months, if ever. Are there any sectors you regard as likely growth areas for the Mexican market over the next five years? Yes. Barring political surprises, I expect to see considerable growth in transactional practices generally, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Though the recent sharp drop of the value of the Mexican Peso relative to the US dollar creates macroeconomic challenges, it also creates opportunities for increased exports. Ongoing energy and fiscal reform creates new opportunities for investment, and Mexican capital markets remain deep and active. If the global economy suffers, whether due to trade wars or political events, then restructuring work in Mexico could take on new significance.