Best known for providing assistance on the environmental aspects of M&A, financings and -particularly- real estate related matters, the 10-strong team at market mainstay Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C. provides the full spectrum of environmental, sustainability and climate change-related advisory and associated administrative and constitutional litigation. A capable and experienced senior team includes departmental head Carlos de Icaza (who divides his time between real estate and environmental practices), and a deep second-line consisting of Alejandro Castelló (environmental law and real estate), Jessica Villaverde (environmental impact assessments, water law, hazardous wastes and site remediation), and Mariana Westendarp (environmental litigation, impact assessments, risk and remediation, among other matters) – all three of whom were raised to counsel in August 2022; each can draw on over 15 years’ experience in environmental matters. In the absence of projects-related mandates the team has primarily been active in transaction-related environmental matters, advising Arcosa on the restructuring and sale of its Mexican vessels-manufacturing business; ABC Group on the acquisition of automotive component manufacturer dlhBowles; and Steel Dynamics in connection with ferrous and non-ferrous scrap recycler Roca Acero, among other matters. Other significant mandates include counselling Celanese on all environmental legal requirements related to the definitive closure and dismantling of a gas pipeline in the state of Jalisco, including acting before Mexico’s Agencia de Seguridad, Energía y Ambiente (ASEA) to obtain all relevant authorisations. The team has also been increasingly active in administrative environmental litigation, and in water-related matters -particularly in the State of Nuevo León- following 2022’s water-scarcity crisis.

Drawing on the support of a strong litigation and arbitration practice group for judicial and/or administrative representation as necessary, Galicia Abogados S.C.’s full-spectrum environmental practice has considerable experience in transactional work and associated due diligence, regulatory matters, compliance, litigation and ESG issues, and acts primarily for clients drawn from the energy, real estate and regulated industries (including, ports, roads, water projects and pharma). The nine-strong practice group is co-led by Mariana Herrero, who has in-depth knowledge of the full range of environmental legal matters and who is accustomed to multidisciplinary approaches to such issues; and Carlos Escoto -who was raised to the partnership back in early 2021- and brings sophisticated regulatory and sustainability experience to the group, particularly in relation to the development of infrastructure, renewable energies, oil & gas, mining, manufacturing and tourism industry projects. At associate level, key support is provided by seniors Lucía Manzo and Lourdes Lozano – who both primarily attend to the regulatory and environmental aspects of infrastructure and energy projects; and associates Verónica Palacios (a former director of hydrocarbons regulation at the Comisión Reguladora de Energía), and Guillermo Garza (who rejoined the firm in June 2022 after four years at Vera y Asociados). Recent matters include involvement in the filing of constitutional amparos concerning various government reforms, advisory concerning carbon credit generation projects, and matters arising from the financing of a water treatment and desalination plant.

The nine-strong environmental practice at Gonzalez Calvillo handles the full array of environmental matters, ranging from contract review and environmental due diligence, through risk mitigation and preventative measures, to project development related matters and administrative litigation. The group also houses expertise regarding clean development mechanisms, climate change policy and ESG. Recent matters include assisting Smurfit Cartón y Papel de México on all issues related to its water usage and associated concession titles; undertaking due diligence of the environmental and urban development matters related to a hotel development in Quintana Roo; and aiding Triumvirate Environmental obtain various environmental permits, including hazardous waste import authorisations, civil protection approvals and various modifications to the company’s waste transportation permits. The practice is led by a trio of deeply experienced counsel: Enrique Muñoz Guízar advises companies on the identification and obtaining of the environmental permits, licenses, authorisations, and concessions required for the development of infrastructure projects in the water, energy, tourism and industrial sectors; contentious specialist Carlos Fernando Castilla focuses on administrative litigation and dispute resolution, particularly in relation to environmental and regulatory law; while the practice of Paola Hernández Villalvazo (a September 2022 hire from Grupo México’s Americas Mining Corporation) is centred on ESG matters. Further depth is provided by counsel Julia González, who devises strategies as regards regulatory, litigious and risk prevention, as well as handling social impact matters; and senior associate Georgina Zavala, a water law specialist. Former senior Paulina Poo Romero moved in house in February 2023.

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.

Benefitting from the firm’s increasingly defined market position as a full service firm oriented primarily towards long term relations with its clients, the environmental team at Von Wobeser y Sierra, SC benefits from both a steady stream of transactional matters and the ongoing matters generated by the firm’s strong industrial and manufacturing client base. While this constitutes some 60% of the team’s current activity, the remainder is made up of administrative (environmental) litigation – particularly, of late, concerning water resources, concessions and supply. The 11-strong team is co-led by Edmond Grieger, who has some 20 years’ experience in the sector, including both advisory and compliance concerning complex M&A and major project and infrastructure developments, as well as environmental and administrative litigation; and energy and projects specialist Ariel Garfio, whose expertise takes in contractual, environmental, regulatory, social impact, rights of way and agrarian matters. While the practice has seen some changes at the more junior level, key support comes from mid-level associate Roberto Flores, whose practice is centred on environmental law, energy and natural resources and real estate. Headline mandates include ongoing assistance to Ivenergy regarding all the environmental and social authorisations and licensing concerning its more than 20 renewable and co-generation plants across the country and in particular advice concerning all environmental aspects of the company’s Parque Eólico de Fenicias project, currently at the EPC stage. Other matters include advising Blanmin on the environmental and administrative matters required to regularize two mining concession titles in Campeche; and Nissan on compliance related matters concerning its water concession obligations before CONAGUA for the operation of its facilities in Aguascalientes and Morelos.

The small, four-strong team at Baker McKenzie Abogados, S.C. handles the full range of environmental and climate change law matters, from regulatory compliance, clean-ups, audits, and corporate policies and management systems, to contentious administrative proceedings, environmental litigation, and health and safety issues, particularly as regards the real estate, mining and infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, automotive, hotels and hospitality, food, chemical, petroleum and manufacturing industries. Chair of the firm’s environmental and climate law practice in Mexico, senior counsel Frederico Ruanova-Guinea heads the practice and brings some 35 years’ experience to bear. Key support comes from finance-oriented senior associate Alejandra Muriel-Vizcaino; however, the departure of specialist senior associate and practice coordinator Mario Facio Salazar in September 2022 had undoubtedly impacted the practice. Recent matters include environmental surveys and reporting in relation to industrial facilities, issues pertaining to battery waste, and advising clients on seeking amendments to the ban on single-use plastics enacted in Mexico City.

The five-strong practice group at Greenberg Traurig, S.C.‘s Mexico office has benefitted from the firm’s international standing, as well as its local transactional prowess, to successfully replace the shortfall in projects work under the current administration with a strong pipeline of transactional engagements. A wave of sales by Mexican companies in the second half of 2021 has segued into a scenario where near-shoring has become the predominant transactional driver, with the firm proving adept at securing relevant mandates. The team has also gained traction in the mining section where activity has included M&A, restructuring and arbitration-related matters, with the May 2023 mining reform only serving to further increase engagements in the industry. Practice head Erick Hernández Gallego is an administrative and regulatory specialist with over 20-years’ experience in the environmental sector as part of a broad practice that reaches from renewable power generation to healthcare. He is closely supported by senior associate Luis Jorge Akle – who arrived at the firm together with Hernández back in late 2017 and has worked with him since 2010 – and is also an administrative specialist with a strong focus on environmental matters and renewable energy projects. The team’s recent mandates include advising Mexican conglomerate Grupo IDESA on the implementation of ESG policies; assisting Envision International / Vive Energía with environmental and regulatory compliance with regard to all its renewable energy projects, along with the successful filing and execution of a number of amparo lawsuits; and Grupo Procaps on the environmental and regulatory aspects of its acquisition of the assets of Grupo Farmacéutico Somar, which includes four properties. The team has also been assisting The World Bank advise Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) on the implementation of the basis on which to elaborate a Mexican Official Standard (NOM) for carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), in line with Mexico’s national and international obligations regarding climate change.

Following the January 2023 departure of former practice head Brenda Rogel, the Mexico office of full service international firm Hogan Lovells‘ hired experienced practitioner Mauricio Llamas from Jones Day in April 2023, bringing senior associate Mauricio Villegas with him. Llamas – who originally opened his own specialist environmental boutique firm back in 2008 –  has over 20 years dedicated to the sector and also has broader experience that reaches into government regulation and environmental health and safety (EH&S) matters. This latter area is also an area of specialism for Villegas who advises domestic and international clients on a wide array of EH&S compliance matters and M&A environmental auditing procedures. The team is rounded out by Sofia de Llano and Santiago Contró (mid- and junior-level associates, respectively) who also arrived with Llamas; and a pair of January 2023 hires that further the practice group’s capabilities in the ESG space: practice director Pablo Necoechea, and ESG-focused associate, Mariana Ávila Martínez. While it remains early to see how the practice will bed in at the firm initial signs are positive with the group handling a more or less balanced workload split between environmental consultancy, environmental auditing and environmental litigation for clients in the hydrocarbons, metallurgy and mining, and industrial recycling sectors, among others. Recent mandates include comprehensive advice for the development of a one-of-a kind, waste-to-energy and recycling facility in the north of Mexico.

Following the departure of Héctor Garza in December 2022, Ritch, Mueller y Nicolau, S.C. hired experienced practitioner Brenda Rogel from Hogan Lovells the following month, thereby ensuring continuity in its service provision, particularly as regards the transaction-related environmental matters that dominate the practice’s caseload. In addition to her advisory expertise, Rogel also has environmental litigation experience and a notable background in health (sanitary) regulatory matters; she is particularly noted for her expertise in the management of contaminated sites and environmental emergencies, along with the origination of sustainability and climate change strategies, permit analysis, regularisation processes and compliance programs. Recent matters include handling the environmental and regulatory due diligence for Fibra Monterrey’s acquisition of 46 industrial buildings from Walton and Finsa; , as well as representations before PROFEPA and SEMARNAT. The nine-strong team can also draw on the administrative litigious capabilities of young partner Juan José Paullada, as well as evidencing a strong second tier of senior associates, first and foremost the deeply experienced Estuardo Anaya, but also Javier Camacho (who arrived with Rogel) and Ana Paulina Arenas, both of whom were raised to senior in January 2023. However, fellow senior Christian Rosales left the firm the same month and has subsequently moved in house.

Following the departure of former practice head Mauricio Llamas in April 2023, Jones Day moved swiftly, hiring Roberto Torres Velasco -formerly at Garrigues– as counsel and head of the Government Regulations (Mexico) practice the following month. Recognised as a ‘genuine specialist‘ by peers (and ‘a thoughtful and confident advisor‘ by clients), Torres’ practice nevertheless has breadth – the regulatory, environmental, health, energy and administrative sectors all being areas in which he has considerable experience. He can draw on additional, associate-level support in the form of Andrés Lieja, a tax specialist who has strong administrative litigation experience, including on environmental matters. The team has considerable experience in handling due diligence on the environmental and administrative law aspects of transactional matters (such as public and private acquisitions, and asset and stock purchase operations), the financing of projects and corporate restructurings.

Originating from the 2018 merger of Ramírez Vazquez Abogados and a spin off from the local Mexican office of ONTIER México, LHO has successfully built on its expertise in the renewable energy segment to develop an environmental practice of note. The 10-strong team handles both advisory work regarding regulatory matters and environmental litigation, and is perhaps best known for its establishment and structuring of an 'eco-zone' in Cuernavaca's historical centre; it also has a niche specialisation advising environmental start-ups and assisting them through their acceleration growth stage. More broadly, the team advises on the environmental aspects of project development, including matters related to permits, authorisations, compliance and litigation. It is co-led by managing partner Luis Miguel Ramírez, who focuses on renewable energy and environmental matters related to sustainability programs; and Luis Enrique Rangel, whose experience is centred on project finance, natural resources, transactional matters, joint ventures and restructuring. Head of the firm’s office in Morelos, associate Jimena Arazá has experience on project development matters – particularly the establishment of structures for natural resources ventures.

The environmental practice at Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes S.C. is co-led by of counsel Gabriel Calvillo and senior associate Paula Pérez, and constitutes one of the pillars of the firm’s new ESG practice, launched in August 2022. The five strong team handles the gamut of relevant matters, particularly environmental M&A due diligence, compliance, risk and damage prevention, and liability matters; it is perhaps best known, however, for its capabilities in relation to administrative and criminal environmental litigation. Recent headline work included advising Actis on the Mexican-law aspects of the sale of a portfolio of renewable energy projects to GIP Helios; with other matters including extensive environmental due diligence and environmental regulatory compliance, particularly in relation to the water segment. Nevertheless, like all in the sector, the practice has felt the effect of the considerable downturn in complex project-related mandates; indeed, Calvillo has to a certain degree re-oriented his practice so as to focus more on corporate criminal liability and criminal compliance, and was appointed the firm’s criminal compliance officer in July 2022. Key associate support comes from Paulina Martínez, whose experience includes two years as a director at the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente; and the ‘impressive‘ Aisha Calderón, whose practice includes both environmental and energy aspects – particularly in relation to the electricity sector.

The practice at Santamarina y Steta has considerable experience across environmental project management (including obtaining environmental permits, authorisations and licenses), the implementation of compliance systems and environmental audits; the monitoring and evaluation of environmental legal obligations; and the development of strategies for environmental, social and corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. Primarily active on behalf of clients in the tourism, infrastructure, energy, mining, automotive and chemical industries, the team is co-led by Claudia Rodríguez C - who specialises in real estate, environmental and agrarian law, and indigenous consulting; and Monterrey-based Heriberto Garza, whose broad practice takes in real estate, environmental matters, estate and wealth planning, among other areas. While the team lost former senior associate Juan Carlos Aguirre - who moved to Bustamante & Freyre in March 2022- the firm moved quickly to replaced him with experienced environmental practitioner David González Vega -who arrived as a senior associate from Fonatur (where he was legal director with regards to the Tren Maya project)- the same month. Recent matters for the practice include environmental audit procedures, impact studies, remediation proposals and the accompaniment of industrial clients during environmental prosecutors' inspection visits.