About

Number of years practice:

23

Principal practice areas:

International Tax, Corporate, M&A, Real Estate

Bar admissions:

Mexico

Languages spoken:

English, Spanish

Manuel Rajunov focuses his practice on tax consulting and transactional advice to foreign investors doing business in Mexico, as well as advising Mexican investors on their investments overseas. Based on his over 20 years of experience, Rajunov’s practice has an emphasis on real estate, corporate and securities, as well as mergers and acquisitions. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and contributor to publications on topics relevant to his areas of focus.

What differentiates your Mexico-facing practice from those of your US competitors and peers?

As an international tax lawyer with deep knowledge of the US, Mexican and international tax landscapes, I provide clients with unique, multidimensional counsel to help them achieve their business goals. Additionally, having spent my entire career working in a US legal environment, I am able to bridge cultural differences between Mexico and the US in a way that most practitioners are not able to.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of advising Mexico-based clients from an office in the United States?

An advantage to being based out of an office in the United States for my Mexico-based clients is that they have an ally and advisor in the country in which they need to do business. Greenberg Traurig is unique in that we have offices around the world, including Mexico and multiple locations in the US, providing my clients with a huge platform to utilize in achieving their goals. Although I am not on the ground every day, this does not create an issue. Being resident in Texas with close proximity to Mexico, with a vast network of contacts in Mexico, including a Greenberg Traurig office, any circumstances requiring local interaction are easily addressed.

What changes in the commercial and/or legal market do you anticipate in the 12 months ahead in Mexico?

Mexico is going through a period of political change as well as economic uncertainty. In the legal market, I look for Mexican law firms to be more conservative in their growth and close ranks until the uncertainty passes. Foreign law firms will likely also be impacted.

What influence will legal technology have on US/Mexico working practices in the future?

The high-level of technology the legal industry is adapting as a whole is facilitating greater collaboration between US and Mexico, easing the complexity of cross-border deals and accomplishing clients’ legal goals more effectively.

What is your perception of in-house counsel’s priorities in terms of client service when working with US-based law firms?

I think their biggest concerns are responsiveness, quality and cost certainty. GCs want to make sure their lawyers are on top of their needs, maintain a high-quality standard and, as always, want to ensure their legal spend is under control.

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