Santamarina y Steta > Mexico City, Mexico > Firm Profile

Santamarina y Steta > The Legal 500 Rankings

Mexico > Labour and employment Tier 1

Santamarina y Steta‘s market-leading labour and employment practice, sits ‘at forefront of the latest labour issues’ in Mexico. Operating from its offices in Mexico City, Monterrey and Querétaro, the firm fields a 21-strong team ‘with great knowledge and expertise in the labour area’, and which provides high-level expertise regarding transactional matters, collective bargaining agreements, health and safety, social security and litigation. Fronting the department are Juan Carlos de la Vega, a seasoned practitioner in the field; Andrés Rodríguez, who is lauded for his ‘great expertise in labour matters’; and Francisco Udave, who is experienced in handling high-profile cases filed by top executives and gains praise for his ability to ‘articulate the complexities associated with his practice with great clarity’. They are closely supported by counsel Álvaro Álvarez, who specialises in collective and individual labour matters, both advisory and contentious; Queretaro-based senior associate Víctor Hugo Coria and associate Raquel Ortiz in Monterrey.

Mexico > Banking and finance Tier 2

Fielding a 17-strong team, which is lauded for always being ‘attentive and readily available to serve its clients’, as well as its lawyers' ‘knowledge of financial legislation’, seasoned full-service firm Santamarina y Steta remains a solid presence in the banking and finance sector. A regular advisor to both lenders and borrowers, the practice handles a wide variety of finance projects, from preparing loan agreements and conducting loan restructurings with Mexican and foreign institutions, to the design and implementation of financial structures for international finance projects. The ‘exceptional’ Juan Carlos Machorro, who is well-versed in project finance, heads the department, with strong support from partners Alberto Saavedra; Sergio Chagoya, who has experience handling mandates from government entities; Ricardo Orea, who has represented various financial institutions on the financing of infrastructure projects in the energy, road, public healthcare and port sectors. Associate Margarita Casarin handles banking and finance matters as part of her broader practice.

Mexico > Real estate Tier 2

Practice head Vicente Grau is an active figure in the transactional real estate arena, as part of a broader practice that also takes in economic competition, antitrust and estate planning; he leads Santamarina y Steta's 11-strong practice group, which covers a broad range  of matters, from the acquisition, leasing, development, construction and sale of real estate, to related financing structures and securitisation, including the contribution of properties to FIBRAS, CKDs, and guarantee trusts. Grau works closely with fellow Mexico City-based partner Aarón Levet, who has broad experience in M&A, joint ventures and financing for the hospitality and industrial real estate segments. Key support comes from Claudia Rodríguez, who focuses primarily on the industrial, retail and residential segments; and senior associate Isaac Zatarain (real estate, natural resources, renewable energy and environmental law).

Mexico > TMT Tier 2

Santamarina y Steta fields a ‘professional, responsive, and kind’ practice group -five-lawyers strong- is renowned for its dexterity handling transactional and regulatory TMT-related work, as well as its capability on compliance issues, administrative matters and representation. Corporate specialist Jorge León-Orantes, whose practice encompasses telecoms, broadcasting, IT, e-commerce, data protection and privacy, along with M&A, co-leads the department together with fellow senior partner César Cruz (in Monterrey), who covers all aspects of data privacy and protection mandates. Mexico City-based Paola Morales, who was promoted to counsel in January 2021, and senior associate Diego Rubén Acosta in Monterrey, provide key support with additional expertise on telecoms, IT, e-commerce, data protection and privacy, along with corporate, M&A and foreign investment knowledge.

Mexico > Capital markets Tier 3

Santamarina y Steta is a popular choice for a broad range of clients, from investment funds, brokerage firms and lending institutions to issuers, underwriters, placement agents, dealers and trustees. Among its extensive areas of expertise are debt and equity offerings, public tender offers, debt exchanges involving public companies and derivatives. Alberto Saavedra - who was previously managing partner at the firm - has broad expertise in the capital markets sphere, particularly in the structuring of debt programmes. He heads the practice, closely backed by veteran partner Sergio Chagoya. Associate Diego Ostos is another active member of the practice.

Mexico > Competition and antitrust Tier 3

Santamarina y Steta is a well-established presence within the competition arena, with an established track record assisting with merger reviews, litigation, compliance, cartel investigations related to monopolistic practices, leniency protection, and advisory mattes (such as the evaluation of commercial policies and commercial agreements). In accordance with the firm's strong transactional practice, the eight-strong group is particularly active in M&A clearance matters, and is co-led by the ‘excellent’ Ernesto Duhne, who excels in merger control mandates as well as general advisory work; and Vicente Grau. A strong second line of associates includes Ivan Szymanski, who is already garnering the praise from clients.

Mexico > Corporate and M&A Tier 3

World Law Group alliance-member Santamarina y Steta is a fixture of Mexico's legal market and has long maintained corporate and M&A work as the central pillar of its practice offering. With 25-year veteran transactional specialist Juan Carlos Machorro at the helm, the sizeable team is a regular advisor to a broad mix of domestic and international clients on day-to-day matters (including compliance), as well as significant -generally mid-market- M&A transactions, spin-offs, joint ventures and other operations, where it displays undoubted expertise. The team consists of a deep, partner-level bench of 10 highly experienced practitioners operating from the firm's offices in Querétaro, Monterrey and Mexico City, and backed by an associate group over 25-strong. Key practitioners include former managing partner Alberto Saavedra; firm chairman Jorge León-Orantes, César Cruz, José Ramón Ayala and of counsel Jorge Barrero, along with a younger generation that includes Carlos Argüelles, Pablo Laresgoiti and Ricardo Orea. The department, which is particularly active in sectors such as automotive and infrastructure, launched an M&A "task force" earlier this year, and brought in Ilse Bolaños as a senior associate from Creel Abogados, SC in March 2021.

Mexico > Dispute resolution: litigation Tier 3

Boasting a nine-strong litigation team, full-service Mexican firm and market stalwart Santamarina y Steta is well-known for handling conflicts and lawsuits involving national and foreign corporations arising from civil and commercial disputes. The team, which boasts ‘extensive knowledge’, is co-led by partners Carlos Olvera and Carlos Brehm, the pair praised for their ‘excellent business vision’, together with Roberto Fernández del Valle. The practice, which in recent years has evidenced an increase in work requiring mediated and other alternative resolution methods, also has a good track-record handling insolvency disputes, as well as experience acting for individuals and families in sensitive and/or high-profile civil liability and damages cases.

Mexico > Intellectual property Tier 3

Department-head Jose Pablo Pérez Zea, a seasoned expert in franchising and licensing, and who also excels in litigation and prosecution regarding intellectual property rights, leads the six-strong IP practice at Santamarina y Steta. Praised for being ‘very collaborative, and always ready to provide serious, prompt and effective solutions’, the team is regularly called upon to represent companies from the pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and automotive industries, and works seamlessly with other areas of the firm such as tax or M&A. Completing the practice are: Daniel Legaspi, who was appointed counsel in January 2021 and handles trade marks, franchising and licensing (and is also an accredited arbitrator on copyright issues); and senior associate Efraín Olmedo, an experienced litigator.

Mexico > International trade and customs Tier 3

The ‘highly qualified team’ at Santamarina y Steta continues to strengthen its presence in the international trade and customs sphere, thanks to its powerful skills handling a broad range of matters, particularly regarding the structuring of operations in line with customs obligations, FTAs, IMMEX (the maquiladora system), tariff and non-tariff matters, taxation, anti-dumping, verification-of-origin procedures, and associated disputes. Experienced partners Alejandro Luna and Ernesto Duhne head the department, which has earned a good reputation among multinational companies in the automotive, health, technology, aerospace, marine, pharmaceutical, retail and agro-industrial sectors. Associate Michel Zelaya, who has a ‘good handling of complex issues’, is another key asset of the practice.

Mexico > Life sciences Tier 3

Highly regarded for its ‘specific knowledge of the functioning of regulatory authorities’, Santamarina y Steta's life sciences practice is a popular choice for clients from the pharmaceutical, medical devices, cosmetic, seed, fertiliser, plant nutrients and food industries, for its expertise on compliance with applicable Mexican law, regulations and standards. Administrative litigation, corporate transactions and international trade and commerce matters related to the life sciences sector also feature in the department's workload. Boasting significant skills assisting companies with compliance and regulatory advice, Alejandro Luna leads the department, closely supported by mid-level associate Mariana Larrea.

Mexico > Projects and infrastructure Tier 3

Santamarina y Steta specialises primarily on the finance side of project and infrastructure development and has a solid track record representing governmental agencies (both local and foreign), state-owned and private banking institutions and private companies. The nine-strong practice is led by a pair of well-versed practitioners and corporate finance lawyers:  Juan Carlos Machorro and Sergio Chagoya who combine some 50 years’ experience -including on project finance and infrastructure matters- between them. Additional support comes from partner Ricardo Orea, and senior associate Margarita Casarin.

Mexico > Environment Tier 4

Senior associate Juan Carlos Aguirre, who joined the practice in October 2019, coordinates the environmental department at Santamarina y Steta. The department primarily focuses on environmental and regulatory due diligence, hazardous waste management, compliance audits and the regularisation of environmental obligations. Aguirre is closely supported by seasoned partner Aarón Levet, who regularly advises domestic and international clients on the environment aspects of transactional matters, particularly in the hospitality and industrial real estate sectors; and senior associate Isaac Zatarain, who specialises in environment and natural resources, renewable and clean energy and real estate, among other matters.

Mexico > Insurance Tier 4

The ‘agile, precise and very polite’ Francisco Torres, based in Monterrey, heads the department at Santamarina y Steta, which is highlighted for studying ‘not only the regulation but also what motivated the regulation’. The seven-strong practice advises local insurance companies and foreign carriers undertaking insurance activities in Mexico, in consultancy matters, insurance product review, regulatory authorisations, and contractual and policy document reviews. Key support comes from Mexico City-based partner Carlos Olvera, who brings his considerable skills in litigation.

Mexico > Tax Tier 4

With experienced partner Mariano Calderón at the helm, full-service firm Santamarina y Steta garners praise in the tax arena for its significant litigation capabilities, while having also built a solid track record handling tax consulting and structuring matters. Calderón specialises in tax, constitutional and administrative litigation, taxation, foreign trade and anti-money laundering matters; while noteworthy practitioner Karina Robledo, appointed counsel as of January 2021, focuses on domestic and international tax matters - mainly acquisitions (due diligence), transfers, mergers, spin-offs and all types of corporate reorganisation. Senior associate Jair Vaca, well-versed and active in litigation, is another name to note.

Mexico > Energy and natural resources Tier 5

Corporate and finance specialist, Juan Carlos Machorro steers the solid energy practice at Santamarina y Steta, which attracts praise for its ‘thorough knowledge of the energy regulatory framework’, and has a proven track record representing international investors in energy and financial projects and agreements across Mexico. Mid-level associate Ramses Franco provides key support to a team that houses broad experience in negotiating with Pemex, the federal electricity commission (CFE) and local regulators, regarding oil, gas and power projects and infrastructure transactions - including renewable energy matters, where the team is frequently active on the structuring aspects, project implementation and related transactions.