Mr Derek Woodhouse > CMS Woodhouse Lorente Ludlow > Mexico City, Mexico > Lawyer Profile
CMS Woodhouse Lorente Ludlow Offices
PASEO DE LA REFORMA 115, 15TH FLOOR
COL. LOMAS DE CHAPULTEPEC
CP 11000, MEXICO
Mexico
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Mr Derek Woodhouse
Work Department
Energy, Oil & Gas, Electricity, Renewables, Projects, Infrastructure, Project Finance, PPP.
Position
Senior Partner
Career
Derek is a Mexican lawyer specialized in energy, infrastructure and public private partnerships (PPP). He started his professional career in 1992 as part of the Mexican Federal Government, where he spent 2 years in the Energy Ministry and 6 in the newly created Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). He became the Deputy General Director of Legal Affairs at CRE and then Chief of the Power Reestructuring Unit, working on the legal and regulatory reforms that allowed private participation in the Mexican natural gas and power sectors throughout the 90s.
In 2000 he was recruited by CMS in London, where he advised governments, banks and private companies on the design, financing and development of energy and infrastructure projects in Europe, Asia and America, incluidng the adoption in Mexico of the UK’s PFI in 2004 know as the PPS program.
He came back to Mexico City in 2005 to head the infrastructure practice of a New York based law firm. In 2009 he founded Woodhouse Lorente Ludlow SC, which is now part of CMS, and has been advising the Mexican Federal Government on power and PPP reforms and on pathfinder projects including the first wave of PPS, the Federal Prison Program, the electricity reform of 2013/2014 and the Mayan Train. He has also been advising sponsors, lenders, contractors and project companies in relation to infrastructure projects typically funded on a project finance basis in a variety of sectors including power, roads, health, transportation, education, custodial and national defence.
Languages
Spanish, English.
Education
- Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico City, Law Degree, 1988 – 1996
- George Washington University, International Law Institute, Washington D.C., United States, Postgraduate Studies, Introduction to the United States Legal System, 1997
- Harvard University, Center for International Development, Boston, Massachussets, United States, Postgraduate Studies, International Program on Privatization, Regulations and Corporate Governance, 1999.
Lawyer Rankings
Mexico > Energy and natural resources
(Leading individuals)Having historically played a major role in advising the Mexican government on an overhaul of the electricity market and restructuring the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), CMS Woodhouse Lorente Ludlow
is an established powerhouse of the Mexican energy and natural resources space, advising international and national private clients on the full range of matters. Under the López Obrador administration, a focus on energy sovereignty and a protectionist outlook has resulted in an increased contentious workload. Other regular instructions include handling business agreements of all types across electricity generation (both traditional and renewables), and up-, mid- and downstream oil and gas. Practice co-heads Derek Woodhouse and Luis Fernandez Lagunas have extensive experience advising government bodies, as well as companies dealing with such; Woodhouse has notable expertise regarding power generation and PPPs, and Fernandez Lagunas across a range of energy project types. Giancarlo Schievenini is a key contact in transactional and regulatory matters, and senior associate Gabriel Salinas provides additional expert support on electricity matters. Fellow senior associate Manuel Ferrara – formerly at energy regulatory body, CRE – is a litigator with experience in energy-related controversies.
Latin America: International firms > Projects and energy
CMS has a large Latin America-based team (across its offices in offices in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru) which undertake local law and English law engagements. The firm enhanced this offering through a cooperation agreement with Brazilian law firm FAS Advogados, in cooperation with CMS in 2023. It has a strong record in energy (including oil and gas, electricity and renewables). In the renewables sector, it has made an impression in solar, wind and green hydrogen. It has also worked on headline infrastructure projects in Mexico, Peru and other jurisdictions; a Mexico City-based team advised Grupo Typsa in connection with the design, construction, and maintenance of ‘El Tren Maya’, a railway that will traverse the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Rio de Janeiro managing partner Ted Rhodes is an experienced figure in oil and gas, and offshore projects and transactions; he has a growing presence in renewables. Daniel Rodríguez is a notable name in Bogota, along with Derek Woodhouse and Enrique Lorente Ludlow
in Mexico City, and Carlos Hamann in Lima.