US firm Snell & Wilmer has hired a partner quartet from Pérez-Llorca to open an office in Mexico City, the firm’s second in the country.
The incoming partners are José Rivero, Jacinto Ávalos, Alfredo Chávez and Luis Enrique Cervantes, who join alongside a group of associates. The team bring expertise across corporate finance, M&A, real estate and labour and employment law.
Barb Dawson, chair at Snell & Wilmer, said: “We are excited to welcome this outstanding team to establish our Mexico City office and expand our capabilities across Latin America. Mexico City is a natural extension of our geographic footprint, as we have offices in every US state that borders Mexico, and a key market for advising clients in Latin America.”
Rivero joins as Mexico City managing partner after two years at Pérez-Llorca, which acquired his previous firm Gonzalez Calvillo, where he spent more than 18 years, latterly as Mexico M&A and private equity head. Earlier in his career, he had spells at White & Case in Mexico City and Mijares Angoitia Cortes y Fuentes.
Avalos was also part of the Gonzalez Calvillo team that merged with Perez-Llorca in 2024. He spent more than seven years across two spells at Gonzalez Calvillo, punctuated by just under a year at Latham & Watkins in New York. He started his career at Mexico City firm Creel García-Cuéllar Aiza y Enríquez.
Chávez had been at Gonzalez Calvillo for more than 25 years, becoming a partner in 2002. He was previously an attorney at Santamarina y Steta.
Enrique Cervantes joined Gonzalez Calvillo as counsel in 2019, having previously been a senior associate at De la Vega & Martinez Rojas. He also had earlier spells at Littler Mendelson and BSN Bufete Sánchez-Navarro.
Rivero said: “Snell & Wilmer provides our team with a strong, selective and established US platform, an entrepreneurial culture and a genuine commitment to building a first-class presence in Mexico. By combining Snell & Wilmer’s US and cross-border capabilities with our team’s experience and relationships in Mexico, we are creating a compelling platform for clients operating across both markets.”
Snell & Wilmer opened its first Mexican office back in 2008 in Los Cabos on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The firm advises Mexico-based organisations and US and international clients with interests in the country.
Other firms opening offices in Mexico recently include Ogletree Deakins, which in September hired a trio of partners from Littler to launch in Monterrey.
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