When Mexican law firm Ritch Mueller was founded in 1975, big ticket transactions in the country could be counted on one hand.
Starting as a boutique firm focused on financial services, Ritch Mueller has blossomed into a legal powerhouse with 13 practice areas covering all major categories. It has 25 partners and more than 100 attorneys.
Luis Nicolau, a partner at the firm since 1990, says doing business and practicing law in the country have changed as dramatically as the country itself over the past few decades.
“We have gone from a sector where the most interesting thing was a foreign bank doing a credit operation to a robust sector with relevant investors in many market segments,” he says. “There would be huge fanfare if a bank did a $100 million operation, but today billion dollar deals seem to happening every week.”
If the transaction is relevant, Ritch Mueller, which wins Law Firm of the Year: Mexico, is likely involved.
“Our firm over the years has tried to do four things: be agile in our response, provide a commercial service to our clients and offer a value added. The fourth, and what distinguishes us from other firms, is our service and insights. It is quality over speed,” says Nicolau.
The firm was involved in countless transactions over the past year, including the country’s biggest deals, including the sovereign’s $7.5-billion bond and the $8.3 billion refinancing of the state-owned oil company, Pemex.
Pablo Perezalonso says that while Ritch Mueller’s principal activity continues to be financial transactions, the firm is now much more active in arbitration and litigation.
“We are a full-service firm, without having lost the essence of specializing in financial services,” he says. “We have been able to grow and move forward by being flexible and, at the same time, prudent.”
Ritch Mueller continues to change with the market and the needs of clients. The firm has recently strengthen its tax law capabilities, adding a new partner who specializes in fiscal planning, and is focusing more heavily on the area of compliance.
The real estate area, particularly commercial and industrial real estate, has boomed now for more than a decade and should continue. It is closely linked to the impact of the free-trade between Canada, Mexico and the United States and a new push is expected from the nearshoring.
Perezalonso, who has been at the firm since 1994, says Ritch Mueller is more than providing legal services. “We help our clients achieve their objectives. In other words, we have their backs,” he says.