Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico 2018
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 11 Principal practice areas: Energy, aviation, bankruptcy and restructuring, capital markets Admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish One of the most promising up-and-coming US...
Partner | Morgan Lewis
Number of years practice: 28 Principal practice areas: Corporate, finance and investment management, energy transactions Bar admissions: Mexico, Texas Languages spoken: English and Spanish Mexican-born, Adrian Talamantes has deep experience...
Special legal consultant | Clifford Chance
Number of years practice: 7 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance, M&A Bar admissions: Mexico, New York, District of Columbia (special legal consultant) Languages spoken: English and Spanish...
Partner | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Number of years practice: 16 Principal practice areas: Banking, corporate finance, project finance Bar admissions: New York, Mexico Languages spoken: English and Spanish ‘Very hardworking, technically very sound and well-connected...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: Project development and finance Bar admissions: New York, United Mexican States Languages spoken: English and Spanish Active on projects spanning conventional power,...
Partner | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 27 Principal practice areas: Project, energy and infrastructure finance; M&A Bar admissions: California Languages spoken: English and Spanish A member of Milbank’s project, energy and infrastructure...
Partner and chair of Mexico desk | Squire Patton Boggs
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: Compliance, cross-border M&A, global project development Admissions: District of Columbia, Maryland Languages spoken: English and Spanish Alvaro J. Mestre is a partner...
Partner | Sidley Austin
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Alternative investment funds, private equity, M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish The largest US law firm without...
Partner; regional managing partner for the Americas | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 29 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, finance, compensation, governance and ERISA Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Shearman & Sterling’s regional managing partner...
Partner; co-chair of Latin America practice | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, projects and energy Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Co-chair of Latham & Watkins’s Latin America...
Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig
Number of years practice: 18 Principal practice areas: Corporate, finance, M&A Bar admissions: Florida, Mexico Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish A shareholder at Greenberg Traurig’s Miami office, Antonio Peña...
Counsel | Debevoise & Plimpton
Number of years practice: 16 Principal practice areas: Corporate, finance Bar admissions: New York, Mexico Languages spoken: English and Spanish Armando Rivera Jacobo is a counsel based in the New...
Partner | Paul Hastings LLP
Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: Corporate finance, capital markets and M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, Italian and Spanish With a broad and diverse practice...
Associate | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 12 Principal practice areas: Project development, project finance Bar admissions: New York, Peru Languages spoken: English and Spanish Augusto Ruiloba is native Spanish-speaking associate in the...
Partner | Dechert
Number of years practice: 10 Principal practice areas: Corporate, corporate governance, energy and natural resources, life sciences, M&A and private equity Bar admissions: District of Colombia, Virginia Languages spoken: English...
Partner; chair of energy and infrastructure practice | Paul Hastings LLP
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure, project development and finance, corporate/M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish For the last...
Partner | Jones Day
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Capital markets Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French and Russian Boris Dolgonos has over 20 years’ experience advising issuers and...
Partner | Vinson & Elkins
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: Energy transactions and projects Bar admissions: California, District of Columbia, New York, Texas Languages spoken: English Houston-based Boyd Carano is a member...
Partner | Sidley Austin
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Energy, M&A Bar admissions: Texas, New York, England and Wales (Solicitor) Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish A new recruit to Sidley...
Partner | White & Case
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Acquisition finance, bank finance, project finance Bar admissions: Florida, New York Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish Carlos Viana is at the...
Partner; head of the Latin America practice group | Proskauer Rose LLP
Number of years practice: 31 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, finance, M&A, private equity Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Carlos Martinez is a partner and...
Partner; co-chair of Latin America practice | Baker Botts
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, M&A, corporate finance Bar admissions: Texas Languages spoken: English and Spanish Houston-based Carlos Solé co-chairs Baker Botts’ Latin America...
Partner | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 19 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, finance Bar admissions: New York, Argentina Languages spoken: English, Spanish and Portuguese (conversant) Argentine native Carlos Albarracín advises domestic and...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, M&A, debt restructuring Bar admissions: New York, Argentina, Spain Languages spoken: English, French (proficient) and Spanish With particular experience in...
Partner | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Energy finance, infrastructure finance, project finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Carolina Walther-Meade lived and went to...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Acquisition finance, leveraged finance, M&A, project finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish A leader in Mexico M&A...
Partner; regional section head of the Americas energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance division | White & Case
Number of years practice: 27 Principal practice areas: Asset financing, banking, corporate M&A and private equity Bar admissions: Florida, New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish In 1991, White &...
Partner; co-chair of the oil-and-gas industry group | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, projects and energy Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English With experience in dozens of developing markets across Africa,...
Partner; head of global finance and banking practice | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 29 Principal practice areas: Banking and finance, capital markets; corporate and securities, M&A and private equity Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New York Languages spoken: English,...
Partner; coordinator of global infrastructure practice | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Number of years practice: 27 Principal practice areas: Corporate, finance and M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish As designated underwriters’ counsel for frequent issuer the...
Partner | Proskauer Rose LLP
Number of years practice: 19 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Daniel Ganitsky is a partner in the M&A and Latin...
Partner; global head of project, energy and infrastructure finance; co-head of Latin America practice | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Daniel Bartfeld is a partner in the New York office...
Partner | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 16 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, projects and energy Bar admissions: New York, District of Columbia Languages spoken: English Based between New York and Washington,...
Partner | Clifford Chance
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: M&A corporate Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English David Brinton has been a partner at Clifford Chance since 1994, specialising in...
Partner | Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP
Number of years practice: 34 Principal practice areas: Corporate M&A, financings and private equity Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish David Mercado is a partner in Cravath,...
Global client relationship partner | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 40 Principal practice areas: Agribusiness, banking and finance, cybersecurity and data privacy Bar admissions: Illinois Languages spoken: English and Spanish Focusing primarily on lending and emerging...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 29 Principal practice areas: Project development finance Bar admissions: New York, District of Columbia Languages spoken: English Guyana-born Denise Grant counts corporate, acquisition, leveraged and project...
Partner | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Number of years practice: 34 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, finance Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New York Languages spoken: English In Mexico, nearly one third of the population is...
Partner | Akin Gump
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance, M&A Bar admissions: California Languages spoken: English and Spanish A Mexican native with decades of experience in...
Partner | Allen & Overy
Number of years practice: 19 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance, M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French (proficient), Greek and Spanish (proficient) The ‘client-oriented’ Dorina...
Partner | Hunton Andrews Kurth
Number of years practice: 38 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance, M&A Bar admissions: Texas Languages spoken: English and Spanish Doris Rodríguez has a transactional practice concentrated on...
Partner | Andrews Kurth Kenyon
Number of years practice: 35 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, capital markets, corporate finance Bar admissions: District of Columbia, Florida, New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Splitting his...
Partner | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 34 Principal practice areas: Energy Bar admissions: Mexico Languages spoken: English and Spanish Prior to joining Mayer Brown as a partner in the firm’s global energy...
Partner | Covington & Burling
Number of years practice: 35 Principal practice areas: Corporate and M&A, private equity, finance, restructuring Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish As well as handling cross-border M&A...
Partner | Orrick
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: M&A and private equity, energy, infrastructure, renewable energy, banking and finance Bar admissions: Texas, Florida Languages spoken: English and Spanish Another key...
Partner | Sidley Austin
Number of years practice: 32 Principal practice areas: Energy, M&A, private equity, project finance and infrastructure Bar admissions: Texas Languages spoken: English Texan energy lawyers have been among the big...
Partner; global head of the project development and finance group | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Project finance, projects and energy, M&A Bar admissions: New York, England and Wales, Hong Kong Languages spoken: English Gregory Tan is global...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Practice areas: Capital markets Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Grissel Mercado is a partner in Shearman & Sterling’s capital markets group where she advises issuers and...
Partner | Dechert
Number of years practice: 27 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, corporate and M&A Bar admissions: New York, New Jersey Languages spoken: English and Spanish Howard Kleinman is a partner in...
Partner | Morgan Lewis
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: M&A, corporate, finance and investment management, private equity, white collar litigation and government investigations Bar admissions: Mexico, New York, Texas Languages spoken:...
Partner; co-chair of the Latin America practice | Winston & Strawn
Number of years practice: 39 Principal practic areas: Corporate, capital markets Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Co-chair of Winston & Strawn’s Latin America practice, Allen Miller...
Partner | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 11 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure, project finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Jaime Ramirez is a partner in the New...
Partner | Clifford Chance
Number of years practice: 15 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, M&A, corporate finance Bar admissions: New York, Massachusetts Languages spoken: English and Spanish Jake Farquharson is a corporate and securities...
Partner; global head of project finance | Morrison & Foerster
Number of years practice: 37 Principal practice areas: Project finance, renewable energy and clean technologies, energy regulatory, M&A and private equity investment and buyouts Bar admissions: California Languages spoken: English...
Partner; co-coordinator anti-corruption practice | Ropes & Gray
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: Litigation and enforcement, anti-corruption and international risk Bar admissions: Massachusetts Languages spoken: English A member of Ropes & Gray’s litigation and enforcement...
Partner; regional section head of the Americas for capital markets division | White & Case
Number of years practice: 21 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, M&A and finance (particularly in relation to oil and gas) Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 26 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, corporate governance, M&A, joint ventures, finance Bar admissions: New York, California Languages spoken: English and Spanish (native) Jorge Juantorena is...
Partner and member of global energy group | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 31 Principal practice areas: Energy projects Bar admissions: Louisiana, Texas, Peru (inactive) Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish Corporate and energy specialist José Valera was a...
Partner | Sidley Austin
Number of years practice: 26 Principal practice areas: White collar: government litigation and investigations Bar admissions: California, US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, US District Court (ED, ND, SD, CD)...
Partner | Paul Hastings LLP
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Finance, corporate, alternative lender and private credit Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Joy Gallup is a partner in...
Partner | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Number of years practice: 18 Principal practice areas: Cross-border corporate finance, M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Juan Francisco Méndez is a partner at Simpson Thacher...
Partner; leader of global transactions practice | King & Spalding
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure projects, private equity, M&A and financial services Bar admissions: Texas Languages spoken: English, French, German and Spanish Seasoned practitioner...
Partner | Sidley Austin
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Energy, M&A, securities and derivatives enforcement and regulatory Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New York, US Supreme Court, US Court of Federal...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Number of years practice: 32 Principal practice areas: Asset finance, aviation finance, derivatives and structured products, securitisation, structured finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Hogan Lovells’ finance partner...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Principal practice areas: Real estate finance, leveraged finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Malcolm Montgomery’s wide involvement at a leadership level within Shearman & Sterling sees him head...
Partner | Davis Polk
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Corporate, capital markets, leveraged finance Bar admissions: New York, São Paulo (Foreign Legal Consultant) Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish A partner...
Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: M&A, tax, real estate, IP Bar admissions: Mexico, Registered foreign legal consultant in Texas Languages spoken: English, Spanish and Hebrew Manuel Rajunov...
Partner, foreign legal consultant | Bracewell
Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, M&A, corporate finance Bar admissions: Mexico, Texas (foreign legal constultant) Languages spoken: English, Spanish As a lawyer licensed in Mexico, Houston-based Manuel Vera represents...
Partner | Jones Day
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Cross-border M&A, financings Bar admissions: New York, Madrid Languages spoken: English, French, Portuguese (working knowledge) and Spanish (native). Dual-trained as both an...
Partner | Davis Polk
Number of years practice: 18 Principal practice areas: Corporate, capital markets, leveraged finance Bar admissions: New York, São Paulo (Foreign Legal Consultant) Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish Maurice Blanco...
Partner and chair of Latin American practice | Paul Hastings LLP
Number of years practice: 38 Principal practice areas: Banking, capital markets, corporate finance, M&A Admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Michael Fitzgerald’s reputation for, and track record in, innovative and...
Partner | Hogan Lovells
Number of years practice: 32 Principal practice areas: Finance, infrastructure, energy and projects Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New York and Venezuela Languages spoken: English, Italian and Spanish Miguel Zaldivar...
Partner | Ropes & Gray
Number of years practice: 13 Principal practice areas: Anti-corruption/international risk, government investigations, litigation Bar admissions: Illinois, US Court of Appeals (Sixth Circuit) Languages spoken: English and Spanish A white-collar crime...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 34 Principal practice areas: Capital markets Bar admissions: New York, Paris Languages spoken: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish Nicolas Grabar’s practice focuses on international capital markets...
Partner; co-head of the Latin America corporate and M&A group | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 20 Principal practice areas: Corporate and securities (with a particular focus on the energy sector) Bar admissions: New York, Argentina Languages spoken: English and Spanish In...
Partner | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: M&A, Private equity Bar admissions: New York, Columbia Languages spoken: English and Spanish New York-based M&A partner Paola Lozano serves as head...
Partner | Squire Patton Boggs
Number of years practice: 29 Principal practice areas: International business transactions, infrastructure development and finance Admissions: District of Columbia Languages spoken: English and Spanish Paul O’Hop has been active in...
Of counsel | Paul Hastings
Number of years practice: 15 Principal practice areas: Corporate, capital markets, finance, restructuring Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Of counsel Pedro Reyes is an up-and-coming name...
Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
Number of years practice: 19 Principal practice areas: International finance, M&A, project development and finance Bar admissions: Mexico, New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish (native) Trilingual in English,...
Partner; head of projects and infrastructure practice and leader of Latin American transactional group | Jones Day
Number of years practice: 26 Principal practice areas: Banking, finance and securities, projects and infrastructure, energy Bar admissions: Florida, New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Rich Puttré has more...
Partner, office managing partner (Miami) | Hogan Lovells
Number of years practice: 22 Main industries covered: Energy and natural resources, telecommunications Practice areas: Cross-border disputes, litigation, arbitration Bar admissions: Florida Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Recognised by...
Partner | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Number of years practice: 30 Principal practice areas: Bankruptcy and restructuring, finance, M&A, private equity Bar admissions: New York, US Court of Appeals (First Circuit), US Supreme Court Languages spoken:...
Partner | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: Capital markets Bar admissions: Illinois, New York Languages spoken: English, French, Italian and Spanish Roderick Branch is a partner in the corporate...
Partner | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 17 Principal practice areas: Capital markets Bar admissions: Illinois, New York Languages spoken: English, French, Italian and Spanish Roderick Branch is a partner in the corporate...
Partner and co-head of Latin America practice | Orrick
Number of years practice: 15 Principal practice areas: M&A and private equity Bar admissions: Mexico, Texas, New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Houston-based Rodrigo Dominguez Sotomayor serves as co-head...
Partner | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Number of years practice: 15 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish To his clients, Roland Estevez stands out for...
Partner | Covington & Burling
Number of years practice: 37 Principal practice areas: M&A, corporate finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish Noted for his experience in the life sciences, banking and...
Partner; co-head of the firm’s Mexico working group | White & Case
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: Acquisition finance, asset-based facilities, debt restructurings, private equity, structured finance and trade finance Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York...
Partner; head of the Latin America practice; Spanish practice group coordinator and member of the firm’s management committee | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: Equity and debt capital markets, FCPA and anti-corruption, leveraged finance and lending, M&A Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Throughout his...
Partner | White & Case
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: M&A, project development and project finance Admissions: England and Wales, Texas Languages spoken: English and Spanish Steven Otillar advises clients seeking to...
Partner | Shearman & Sterling
Number of years practice: 36 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, structured finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Over the course of more than three decades, Stuart Fleischmann has...
Partner | White & Case
Number of years practice: 31 Principal practice areas: Cross-border banking and finance, cross-border securities offerings, M&A, restructurings and securities Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish...
Partner | Clifford Chace
Number of years practice: 10 Principal practice areas: M&A corporate Bar admissions: Madrid, New York Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Regarded by clients as a ‘great transactional lawyer’ who...
Partner | Latham & Watkins
Number of years practice: 12 Practice areas: M&A, Private equity Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English Part of Latham’s hugely impressive Mexico-focused private equity team, Thomas Malone has acted...
Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright
Number of years practice: 24 Principal practice areas: Corporate, M&A, finance and securities (primarily in relation to the energy sector) Bar admissions: District of Columbia, New York Languages spoken: English...
Partner; co-head of Latin America practice | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Number of years practice: 27 Principal practice areas: Capital markets, M&A, private equity, project finance Bar admissions: Connecticut, New York Languages spoken: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish Todd Crider is...
Partner | Morgan Lewis
Number of years practice: 22 Principal practice areas: TMT, bankruptcy and restructuring, M&A, privacy and cybersecurity, international trade and national security Bar admissions: District of Columbia, Mexico and New York...
Partner | King & Spalding
Number of years practice: 25 Principal practice areas: Energy and infrastructure projects, corporate governance and M&A Bar admissions: Texas Languages spoken: English, Portuguese and Spanish Venezuelan-born and trained, Vera de...
Partner | Hunton Andrews Kurth
Number of years practice: 33 Principal practice areas: Projects and energy, project finance, M&A Bar admissions: District of Columbia, Maryland Languages spoken: English, French, German and Spanish A veteran of...
Associate | Paul Hastings
Number of years practice: 13 Principal practice areas: Corporate, capital markets, finance Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish An impressive New York-based associate, Veronica Rodriguez is a...
Partner | Linklaters
Number of years practice: 15 Principal practice areas: Projects Bar admissions: New York Languages spoken: English, French and Tamil One of Linklater’s star young partners, Vijaya Palaniswamy was promoted to...
Partner | DLA Piper
Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Cross-border finance Bar admissions: California, New York Languages spoken: English and Spanish William Candelaria joined DLA Piper’s New York office from Curtis,...
For over 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms around the world. Over the last five, we have expanded our legal analysis to include corporate counsel, again, on a global scale. This has been reflected in our GC Powerlist series, recognising the leading corporate counsel in a number of markets. Most recently, we have begun the development of the Private Practice Powerlist, in which The Legal 500 has sought to focus upon key individual practitioners with outstanding expertise in, and knowledge of, particular jurisdictions. …read more
With this second edition of Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico we highlight the leading US-based counsel active in the Mexican market today, consolidating our engagement with a critical market that, given that the broader political context, has only grown in importance over the last 12 months. Frankly, the US-Mexico focus is more relevant than ever and many of the lawyers named here have already played a crucial role in ameliorating what appeared likely – until very recently – to be an abrupt re-calibration of bi-national relations, most notably in the area of trade.
Future editions the Private Practice Powerlist will, in a similar manner, seek to identify key specialists in relation to other significant jurisdictions. Specifically, in relation to the Americas, and given the central role of the US in so much of the hemisphere’s legal and economic activity, we foresee further bi-national editions.
Research of the Private Practice Powerlist has involved the canvassing of opinion from law firm partners and in-house counsel alike, as well as analysis of the career trajectories of the candidates considered for inclusion. Throughout, we have looked to identify practitioners with an engagement that goes beyond occasional involvement. In the undoubtedly complex process of bilateral re-accommodation occurring under the current US administration (and which looks set to face further challenges during the next Presidential sexenio in Mexico), it is to this group of lawyers that we can look for the expertise to ensure the minimisation of the impact of this transformation. As such, they will be crucial in ensuring the continuity of bi-national business integration developed over the 20-plus years since the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, as well as the identification and exploitation of the opportunities this period of change will undoubtedly generate.
Our team of experienced researchers has assessed the candidates, analysing both current practice and historical data to confirm the inclusion of individual practitioners. The Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico not only highlights the work of those who made the final list (when such details were publishable), but also includes future-facing commentary, indicating which legal and industrial sectors are likely to remain active or indeed develop further in the new bi-national context.
Tim Girven
Editor, The Legal 500 Latin America
Were we wrong? To varying degrees, admittedly yes. Last year, while writing our business message for the very first Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico, we largely anticipated a highly challenging 2017 for the Mexican economy, with potential collateral damage to the legal industry in our country. Our core message back then was the old adage ‘adapt or die’; and adapt it seems has been the overwhelming response by the leading firms in Mexico to an increasingly competitive and uncertain economic landscape. Unexpectedly, I guess, we are delighted to report that 2017 was record-breaking across the board for all major law firms in our country, in terms of headcount growth, revenue and profits. We continue to receive consistently optimistic reports from our colleagues north of our border, which is precisely from where the list of lawyers in this book is selected.
But this is 2018, and new challenges test Mexico’s future. While global political instability continues to play a key role in shaping our economy, this year the foremost element of uncertainty is homegrown: the presidential and accompanying congressional elections. Experts coincide in that the country has never been faced with a more polemic roster of candidates standing for election for the next six-year term. The controversial field includes populism, socialism, right-wingers combined with leftists backing the same candidate, and ultimately a whole plethora of formulas unheard of in the past; perhaps not the optimal platform to persuade the world that Mexico is maintaining the trend of a political project able to afford stability and constancy to business investments. Other elements of financial disruption include the tax reform in the United States – which will inevitably require adjustments in Mexico if we are to remain competitive – and the fact that the renegotiation of NAFTA, at least at the time of this writing, has yet to be concluded.
We thus find ourselves once again, as legal advisors, confronted with continuously changing business and regulatory environments that will significantly affect decision-making demands by clients. It is in this context that those lawyers and their firms who continue to participate directly and indirectly in Mexico will be required to play the same critical role they have for so long, and one that increasingly requires the use of common sense, adaptability, collaboration and even a dose of humanity.
González Calvillo, S.C. has, once again, the honour of working together with The Legal 500 in sponsoring this Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico. Congratulations to those individuals that, after very serious research, have been selected as stand-out leaders in their cross-border legal work relating to Mexico. We trust they will understand how much their interventions affect infrastructure, trade and investment that reaches Mexicans of all social levels across its entire territory. We hope these renowned individuals realize how important they are, even if their physical desks might be thousands of miles away from where their decisions actually take effect. We are proud to collaborate with these distinguished attorneys and seek to continue to work hand-in-hand with them.
