Experience

Below are our success stories and the most representative cases undertaken by our lawyers

Environment

• Legal counsel to a U.S. company, part of a consortium, which won a tender to construct and operate the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant (la Planta de Atotonilco).
• Obtainment of an environmental impact approval for a tourism project with multimillion-dollar investment in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.
• Obtainment of the amendment of an environmental impact authorization of a marina fuel station, reducing a relevant economic contingency.
• For an international fund, performance of an investment feasibility analysis of an infrastructure project involving more than 8 billion gallons of water. It established the legal impediments and thus prevented the investment.
• For a coastal tourism project, renewal of the Mexican Federal Maritime Zone concession, for triple the time initially allowed.
• Regularization of developments in areas of Mexican Federal Zones and River Basins for an important real estate developer.
• Obtainment of work permits in the Federal Maritime Zone for a coastal tourism project.
• Development of an environmental audit for the sale of hotel property to an international hotel group.
• Environmental legal audits for industrial plants for an automotive parts company and regularization of its compliance obligations.
• Environmental audits and strategy development for an important tourism development of 1800 acres, 3 golf courses and 3 five star hotels.
• Environmental legal advice regarding an energy company co-generation plant and liquefied natural gas storage.
• Development of a legal strategy for the operator of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, to obtain a place for the sludge final disposal.

Climate Change

• Climate Policies Implementation

  • General Law of Climate Change of Mexico: Review and contribution to the Law’s mitigation chapter. Contracted by the Environmental Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
  • Mexico’s Special Climate Change Program: Development of the agreements to be executed between the Federal Government and i) States; ii) Private Sector; iii) NGOs, for the implementation of the program.
  • Paris Agreement/Peru’s government: Compliance strategy advice given to implement the Peru’s NDC.

• Climate Finance

  • Mexico’s Emission Trading Scheme: Adviser to Mexico’s government for the ETS legal implementation, and the regulation of financial entities participation. Development of the Technical Manual of the Mexico ETS together with Climate Focus, Factor Co2 and Kanji.
  • Mexico City’s Climate Change Fund: Development of its legal structure and framework.
  • Mexico Climate Change Fund: Development of its operations rules.
  • National carbon offsets market: Development of a legal framework for the implementation of the carbon offsets market; elaboration of the guidelines for the execution of Bilateral Agreements between Mexico and other countries for the selling of offsets.

• Mitigation

  • CDM projects: Adviser to European companies on GHG reduction projects under Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and voluntary schemes in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina and Turkey.
  • World’s first Programmatic CDM program to be registered by the United Nations: structured and documented the implementation of an energy efficiency program for an Australian company.
  • Legal Guide for Coordinating Entities of Programmatic CDMs: Elaboration and coordination, together with MGM Innova and Ernst & Young Mexico.
  • 8 Programmatic CDMs in Latin America and Africa: Structured, documented, and implemented for governmental institutions and the private sector. Programs advised covered the following sectors: energy efficiency, renewable energy, methane capture, and cookstoves.
  • Gabon’s government investment in a multimillion carbon programme: Development of a legal audit.
  • Luxembourg’s government investment in CDM project: carried out environmental audit.

• Adaptation 

  • First adaptation program for tourist development. Tourism sector adaptation to climate change: Guidance and supervision of first adaptation plan to tourism sector developed in Mexico (Los Cabos). The advice covered the development of compliance strategy.
  • Green Climate Fund Regional Climate Change Adaptation Program for the Central American Corredor Seco in the Agricultural Sector: Led the development of the program proposal. Six countries were supported: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Panamá, and Honduras.
  • Green Climate Fund Climate Change Adaptation Program (agriculture and forestry – coffee sector for El Salvador): Led the development of the program proposal.