Mexico: Iberian law firm Pérez-Llorca and Mexican law firm González Calvillo agree to merge

Pérez-Llorca and González Calvillo have announced today the signing of of a merger agreement, which means the entry of Pérez-Llorca into the Mexican market and it is the first merger between two leading firms in the Iberian Peninsula and Mexico.

• Pérez-Llorca enters the Mexican market through the first merger between two leading firms in the Iberian Peninsula and Mexico
• González Calvillo’s partners will become partners of Pérez-Llorca
• Following the agreement with González Calvillo, Pérez-Llorca’s initial platform in Mexico will comprise approximately 100 lawyers and around 160 professionals
• The agreement is the first step in an ambitious project to create the leading legal practice in Mexico, and will be accompanied by a build-up and growth strategy
• The aim is to provide optimal service to clients on both sides of the Atlantic, US firms, large multinationals and financial sponsors

Pérez-Llorca, a leading law firm in the Iberian Peninsula, and the elite Mexican law firm González Calvillo have announced today the signing of a merger agreement that will enable Pérez-Llorca to enter the Mexican market. González Calvillo provides an initial platform of approximately 100 lawyers and around 160 professionals in its main office in Mexico City and in the Monterrey office. Pérez-Llorca’s existing Iberian platform comprises 400 lawyers and around 600 professionals.

The agreement involves full legal and financial integration. The partners of González Calvillo will become partners of Pérez-Llorca. This is the first time two leading firms in their respective markets, Mexico and the Iberian Peninsula, have agreed to merge.

Pérez-Llorca and González Calvillo are widely recognised in their markets and endorsed by international directories such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Latin Lawyer 250 Elite, who feature both firms and their professionals in the highest positions of their rankings.

The project aims to develop the top law practice in Mexico, with a leading position in large transnational transactions, financings and litigation. To do this, a development committee will be appointed, involving the Mexican partners and pursuing a major build-up and growth strategy in Mexico. The objective is to serve clients on both sides of the Atlantic, US firms, large multinationals and financial sponsors, participating in the flow of investment to Mexico from the United States, Canada and the rest of Latin America, as well as between Mexico and the Iberian Peninsula, and to continue to expand local client relationships in these two markets.

The firm plans to play an important and constructive role in the future of the Mexican legal market, in the study and development of Mexican law, and to make a contribution to Mexican society and institutions through pro bono work and by supporting projects of national interest.

The agreement is expected to be ratified by the boards and partners of both firms in the second quarter of 2024, with applicable regulatory approvals anticipated in the same timeframe.

In the words of Pedro Pérez-Llorca, Senior Partner of Pérez-Llorca, “I am extremely pleased to announce the integration of González Calvillo into Pérez-Llorca. Mexico and Spain, in that order, are the two largest Spanish-speaking economies, are strongly connected to the United States and the European Union, and are increasingly closely linked to each other. This agreement, and the growth in Mexico that will follow, will allow us to serve our clients with excellence in both markets, as well as to continue to provide international career development opportunities for our teams.”

Enrique González Calvillo, founding partner of González Calvillo, stated that “for González Calvillo, this is an important opportunity to consolidate our presence in Spain, and Europe in general, and at the same time it enables us to offer our referral firms in the United States and Latin America our support and representation that was previously limited only to projects and dispute resolution in Mexico. I believe that our merger with Pérez-Llorca will mark a milestone, a before and after, in the legal profession in our country.”

International scope

In January 2024, Pérez-Llorca appointed Iván Delgado as International Executive Partner, with the mandate to lead and drive the firm’s international strategy. With the agreement with González Calvillo, Pérez-Llorca has taken a major first step in its plans to establish itself in Mexico.

In under a year, the firm has opened an office in Lisbon, staffed by more than 25 professionals with full transactional capacity, and is now opening up to the Mexican market, the leading economy in the Hispanic world and a critical hub in the flow of transatlantic investments.

Pérez-Llorca will offer its clients around the world the most comprehensive and highest quality legal services in Mexican, Spanish, Portuguese and European law from its offices in Barcelona, Brussels, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid and Monterrey. Pérez-Llorca also has offices in London, New York and Singapore, the three major financial capitals of the world, from where it maintains close relations with international clients and law firms. Altogether, Pérez-Llorca will have nine offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia and around 800 professionals.

In Delgado’s words: “following the merger with González Calvillo, Pérez-Llorca will become the leading partner for US, European and Asian companies requiring high-end transactional, litigation or regulatory legal advice, and the firm to turn to for their most complex matters in the Iberian Peninsula and Mexico.”

González Calvillo is an elite firm with expertise in large Mexican, cross-border and international transactions and matters. This merger enables the Mexican firm to consolidate and significantly expand its service offering and professional base, and to cement its long-held position as a major benchmark in the Mexican legal market. Rodrigo Rojas, Partner at González Calvillo and member of its Executive Committee, concludes that “as a result of the merger, our practice is significantly consolidated and expanded. It allows us to continue to provide the world-class service that Mexican and international markets have come to recognise us for, but expands the horizon of possibilities for our clients and team in an accelerated, robust and sustainable manner.”