About

Number of years practice: 32 Law school attended: Harvard Law School Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Principal practice areas: Equity and Debt Capital Markets, FCPA and Anti-Corruption, Leveraged Finance and Lending, M&A, Project Development and Finance, Sovereign and Corporate Debt Restructuring Admissions: New York

Throughout his career, Sergio Galvis has worked on a number transformational matters for both Mexican and foreign clients interested in Mexico. Since joining Sullivan & Cromwell, Galvis has worked on deals involving the first Mexican company ever listed on the Mexican stock exchange, the privatization processes of a number of Mexican banks, and strategic disposal of Mexican assets for banks such as Ally Financial and BBVA. His work in the telecommunications industry alone has included acting on the privatization of Telmex – one of the first-ever privatizations in Latin America – and more recently, acting on AT&T’s rollout of strategic acquisitions of cellular companies Iusacell and Nextel Mexico, which were in part made possible by the earlier (Telmex) deal, as well as Mexico’s structural reforms. He was also integral to Sullivan & Cromwell’s recent, and widely praised, litigation work for Mexican airline Volaris. Now head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Latin America practice, Galvis works with clients from across the world on a broad range of matters spanning M&A and private equity to projects, FCPA-related matters and restructurings. A member of the firm’s managing committee, he is also head of global recruiting. Born in Colombia, Galvis has been named as one of “The 100 Most Influential US Hispanics” and has been recognized with the Distinguished Global Citizen Award for his commitment to promoting educational opportunities. Is there a key economic factor or trend you regard as likely to impact the Mexican legal sector over the next 18 months? There are, of course, numerous factors that may impact the Mexican legal sector in the near future. The potential rebound of oil and other commodities prices (especially given Mexico’s energy reform) is likely to impact the Mexican legal market over the coming years. The decisions that strategic investors will make based on possible economic factors are likely to result in investment activity, and therefore [an increase in] legal matters. Are there any aspects of the Mexican legal market that you would like to see change? Across my 30 years of experience, I have viewed the Mexican legal market as a highly sophisticated and integrated industry. The independent local practitioners with whom we work are consistently of some of the highest caliber lawyers in the hemisphere, and in the legal market globally. We collaborate seamlessly with Mexican lawyers and believe this decades-long tradition will continue to grow as the excellent local firms continue to strengthen over time. n