Latin America
Primary contacts
Thomas C. Mellor, Juan-Pablo "John" Crespo, Felipe Alice, Carter Brod, Ethan W. Johnson, Humberto Padilla Gonzalez, Ulises R. Pin, Melissa C. Rodriguez, Alison Tanchyk, Carl A. ValensteinMorgan Lewis has a vibrant Latin America practice with a number of competitive advantages. Across the region our key practices include energy, telecommunications, project development, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, and financial restructuring. We also have strong capabilities in tax, regulatory, investment management, real estate, labor and employment, litigation, and international arbitration, among other areas. Many of our practices are routinely ranked by Chambers Latin America, The Legal 500 Latin America, Latinvex, Latin Lawyer, and other publications as leading practices in the region.
Our offices in Houston and Miami have deep cultural and business ties to Latin America, and with more than 2,200 legal professionals around the world, our firm’s size allows us to do more work for clients in Latin America across a broader array of areas than many of our competitors. Additionally, our globally recognized practices have attracted a strong network of local counsel in the region that we rely on for advice.
A Region in Transformation
We understand that Latin America is increasingly important to our clients as the region continues to be profoundly transformed by the dramatic rise of the middle class. The effect of this demographic shift on markets is dramatic. Consider the energy sector: While demand growth for electricity in the United States has slowed, demand in Latin America is expected to double between 2010 and 2030, requiring $430 billion in new investment. The telecomm industry tells a similar story, with a number of companies announcing recent investments in Latin America totaling billions of dollars.
From energy, financial services, technology, and infrastructure to consumer and retail, the markets in Latin America for many of our clients provide more opportunity for growth than in the United States. And our clients in the Asia-Pacific region are investing in Latin America for additional reasons, including to secure the natural resources needed to help fuel emerging economies. In all of these situations and more, our team gives clients confidence that their matters will be handled with creative, compelling solutions.
Brazil
Morgan Lewis has a thriving team dedicated to Brazil, which is both an exciting and daunting market for our clients. Despite a recent economic slowdown, Brazil maintains well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors; has a rapidly expanding middle class; continues to expand its presence in world markets; and is on many experts’ short list of those countries to most affect the 21st century. Our lawyers have worked on a number of leading matters in Brazil, especially in the areas of finance, restructuring, energy, telecoms, investment management, labor and employment, and antitrust. We are consistently sought out in both flourishing and uncertain times.
Cuba
Our Latin America team has advised clients on business issues related to Cuba for decades. Drawing on our experience, we assist clients with understanding the emerging opportunities and navigating the existing legal and regulatory complexities associated with business activities in Cuba. We are familiar with the history and laws relating to US policy on Cuba, including the long-standing embargo, the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC’s) regulations, the various statutes codifying the Cuba sanctions, and the myriad changes that have taken place since the United States announced in 2014 a historic overhaul in US-Cuba relations.
Mexico
As the United States’ second-largest export market and third-largest source of imports, and with a highly developed manufacturing sector and numerous free-trade agreements, Mexico is important to our clients both in the United States and around the world. Our lawyers have worked on a number of leading matters in Mexico, especially in the areas of finance, restructuring, energy, telecoms, corporate/M&A, investment management, labor and employment, and antitrust.