JONES DAY PROFILE LATINLAWYER First Published in Latin Lawyer Volume 13 • Issue 3
LATINLAWYER JONES DAY PROFILE T hree weeks after Lehman Brothers’ lawyers, clients and prospective clients While Mexican firms are often collapse, when the western world before deciding that the fjrm had to be pre- associated with a failure to looked on in horror as the fjnancial sent in two countries – Mexico and Brazil. institutionalise, recently it has been sector came tumbling down, a Contrary to what most fjrms were doing, the US firms’ Mexican offices facing group of Jones Day partners including Riesgo says they thought it best to do it in problems. Jones Day partners Luis managing partner Stephen Brogan and that order. “While we have a great capital Riesgo and Fernando de Ovando tell Latin American practice head Luis Riesgo markets team, we immediately realised that Rosie Cresswell why they think their gathered for a meeting at their offjce in we wanted to expand our practice in the approach is different Washington, DC, where it was decided that region well beyond capital markets. When the fjrm should open up in Mexico City. other fjrms were going to São Paulo in “Banks were crashing, fjrms were thinking 2007 and 2008, Jones Day decided it was about how many lawyers to fjre to keep more important to serve industrial clients in partners’ profjts up and there we were on Mexico. It was natural for us to capture the the top fmoor of our DC offjce taking the work. We saw Mexico was sowing the seeds decision to open in Mexico,” remembers of rule of law.” Riesgo. Last year, Jones Day made its Fast forward six years and Jones Day is commitment to the country even clearer armed with just over 40 lawyers in Mexico with a string of lateral hires. In January, the who are positioned to make the most of fjrm kicked ofg with the hire of former the boom that many believe the country Grupo México GC Alberto de la Parra is on the brink of experiencing. The fjrm to its banking and infrastructure practice. A opened in January 2009 when it absorbed month later his arrival was complemented De Ovando y Martínez del Campo, an by environmental lawyer Mauricio Llamas eight-partner fjrm known for its strength (an environmental boutique founder). Hot in banking and M&A work and led by on their heels was Héctor Tinoco , the Fernando de Ovando, who has strong ties former GC of Banco de México. Banking to big Mexican names such as Ixe fjnancial and fjnance was a particular area of focus: group and Banorte. Since then the offjce the fjrm brought in Alejandro Chico has grown from 20 lawyers to 41 lawyers, from transactional boutique Bufete Robles including a partnership of 14. Miaja SC. More recently, it boosted its Jones Day turned its attention to Latin disputes department with the hiring America in earnest in 2007 when it came of Antonio González , from the fjrm to realise that the rule of law was improving he founded. Further hires are afoot. De in many countries in the region, at which Ovando wants to add a white-collar crime point more clients were likely to feel practice to the fjrm’s repertoire and is in comfortable investing there. Jones Day’s talks with a group of lawyers about managing partner Brogan believes that in joining. This ties in to the wider fjrm’s today’s world there is a direct correlation focus on the rule of law and the fact between the rule of law and investment. that Mexico still has very real problems “It’s not about money now,” explains with corruption – as Wal-Mart and Riesgo. “Y ou can fjnd US$2 billion, US$10 Citigroup know only too well. The fjrm billion to invest – the problem is enforcing is also interested in IP – specifjcally patent contracts. In countries such as Mexico, litigation and invention. Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Chile the rule of No consensus law has improved and continues to improve, making it more secure for investors. There So many lateral hires in such quick are other countries in Latin America where succession isn’t common among Latin there is no rule of law and those are the American fjrms and de Ovando welcomes ones that are lagging behind.” the fact that Jones Day’s business model A team visited Latin American countries allows for such a strategy. He argues that it over a period of two years, talking with shows that Jones Day is in it for the long Image: Sergey Nivens/iStock/Thinkstock First Published in Latin Lawyer Volume 13 • Issue 3
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