Ibarra, del Paso y Gallego

While the six-strong team at mid-sized firm Ibarra, del Paso y Gallego is smaller than some of its competitors, it benefits not just from being a stand alone practice but also one of the founding pillars of the firm, thereby ensuring a degree of autonomy and a breadth of offering not necessarily available at even the largest practices. The group covers the gamut of environmental matters and has built a sturdy reputation for its capabilities in all key segments: advisory and consulting – particularly in relation to transactions (contingencies, risk & due diligence); administrative procedures and litigation (before entities such as SEMARNAT, PROFEPA or CONAGUA); and regulatory matters – concerning environmental impact, water, wastewater discharges, change of forestry land use, natural protected areas, ecological zoning, hazardous and non-hazardous waste (including soil contamination and remediation), and air emissions – in relation to the development of all types of projects. The department is led by transactional and regulatory environmental specialist Adrián Del Paso, with close support from senior associate Mauricio Sandoval, who primarily undertakes administrative litigation. August-2022 associate-hire, Miguel Angel Cancino – who arrived from QV Gestión Ambiental – is also noted. In addition to its direct clients, the practice handles work outsourced by various law firms –particularly those in the mid-market– that do not possess their own environmental capability, picking up a healthy flow and range of mandates that ensure its exposure to the broadest range of environmental issues. Recent matters include permitting regularization in the hospitality sector; the environmental and water law aspects of a potential land acquisition for the purposes of a greenfield industrial development; transactional and internal (preventative) legal environmental due diligence processes; the defence of administrative proceedings brought by state environmental prosecutors on grounds of the alleged lack of relevant environmental licenses; the assessment and investigation of alleged/potential environmental contingencies; and day-to-day advisory and consultations. Since publication, del Paso and Sandoval have left the firm- effective as of March 2024.