Ricardo Orea > Santamarina y Steta > Mexico City, Mexico > Lawyer Profile

Santamarina y Steta excels at representing development financing institutions, including local banks, international and multilateral institutions, as both lenders and borrowers; it also has expertise in financial workouts. Its active Monterrey office is regularly instructed by high-profile borrower clients in the northeast of the country and complements the ‘responsive’ team led by Juan Carlos Machorro from Mexico City; he has extensive experience in investment and manufacturing projects. Sergio Chagoya represents lenders, sponsors and borrowers in a range of financial transactions including public offerings, securitisations and privatisations; ‘exceptional lawyer’ Ricardo Orea advises banks and other financiers on energy, transport and asset-backed financing transactions; and Diego Ostos provides counsel on debt issuances and cross-border financial transactions. Of counsel Margarita Casarin – who works on syndicated and structured finance, project finance and infrastructure projects – is an additional name to note.

The team at Santamarina y Steta advises both debtors and creditors on local and cross-border debt restructurings, and has particular strength representing clients in the aviation, infrastructure and finance sectors. At the helm in Mexico City are Carlos Olvera, an expert in civil and commercial litigation, restructuring, workouts and insolvency; and Ricardo Orea, who has experience in both insolvency and restructuring matters. Civil and commercial litigator Carlos Brehm co-leads the practice from the Monterrey office.

The ‘extraordinarily skilled’ practice at Santamarina y Steta is regularly instructed by local and international banks and developers, and energy, construction and telecoms companies for its assistance with the planning, development, execution, and financing of urban infrastructure projects. The group is directed by a trio of partners, comprising: Juan Carlos Machorro, who focuses on the development and implementation of investment and manufacturing projects in Mexico; Sergio Chagoya  (described by one client as ‘the lawyer you want in your legal team … the go-to person for closing difficult negotiations’), who advises lenders, sponsors and borrowers on infrastructure projects, public offerings and securitisations; and Ricardo Orea, who focuses on financing for energy, transport and social infrastructure projects, as well as asset-backed financing transactions. Diego Ostos is an additional key partner-level contact, and specialises in banking and finance, capital markets, project finance, infrastructure, M&A, PPPs and government procurement. Senior associate Margarita Casarin (corporate and financial law, including syndicated, structured and project finance) is also noted.