León López > Cuatrecasas > Mexico City, Mexico > Lawyer Profile

Cuatrecasas’ projects and energy practice in Latin America is largely driven by its local office in the region, in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru. It has a broad-based practice covering transport infrastructure, social and community infrastructure, and energy (including renewables, oil and gas, and mining). The firm has worked on a series of road and highway projects in Colombia and Mexico, and advises a range of project sponsors and lenders in the wider region. Bogota partner Manuel Quinche is an experienced project finance expert, especially in the transport infrastructure (including roads, railways and metro lines) and renewables segments. Lima’s Aldo Reggiardo is also a recognised project finance specialist in the energy, infrastructure and mining fields. Mexico City partner León López is another key figure.

Cuatrecasas’ multi-office strategy in Latin America continues to pay dividends. The offices in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru advise a range of financial institutions, funds and corporates on acquisition finance, project finance, trade finance, and refinancings and restructurings, among other matters. It is noted for Spanish law-governed financings and has landed a number of major restructuring engagements. Bogota partner Manuel Quinche leads the team and has a fine record in corporate lending, project finance and real estate finance. Santiago’s Roberto Guerrero V has impressed in the restructuring field and Lima partner Aldo Reggiardo is well regarded for project finance. Mexico City partner León López is another important figure in project finance; while Madrid partner Carlos Lasarte regularly advises on Spanish law financings in Latin America, notably advising Bancóldex on its Spanish law bilateral loan agreement with BBVA.

Cuatrecasas advises on the full spectrum of financial transactions, with particular strength with regards to corporate finance, structured transactions, and project and infrastructure finance, and counts major banks and insurance companies among its clients. The firm fortified its position in the Mexican market with its January 2023 integration of the former Rico, Robles, Libenson, S.Cl firm, which has increased its capacity to deal with domestic transactional and regulatory matters, combining this expertise with its existing strength in cross-border matters. The firm’s recent standout work has included advising Hotel Excellence Riviera Cancún and the Riviera Nayarita One&Only Mandarina Hotel on the refinancing of their debts. Spain-qualified León López has over two decade’s experience in banking matters and is well versed in the full range of financing transactions, he leads the team with Gustavo Robles -one of the group that joined the practice in January 2023- an additional name of note. Since research concluded the firm has further built out its capabilities with the hire of former Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C. associate, Gizeh Polo Ballinas, as a partner; tasked with developing the office’s capital markets capability, he arrived in October 2023. Since publication, the practice has been further strengthened with the February 2024 hire of Mariana Campos; with extensive in-house experience including Barclays Bank (Mexico), BIVA and JP Morgan, Campos is a 20-year veteran of  the banking and finance sector, also handling capital markets, financial regulatory matters and banking transactions.