Global law firm Baker & McKenzie has added a corporate, M&A and capital markets partner to its Mexico City office. Partner Lorenzo Ruiz de Velasco joined the firm January 15 from Mexico City-based boutique firm Blanco Carrillo, which focuses on acquisitions, finance, capital markets, real estate and corporate transactions.
“I was contacted by the managing partner of Baker & McKenzie Mexico. He explained the firm’s needs and future business development projects, which both represented challenges for me professionally and personally,” Ruiz de Velasco explained.
Before coming to Baker & McKenzie, the attorney worked at Blanco Carrillo for 10 months as a partner. His resume includes experience at a mix of global and local firms, including local firms Nader Hayaux & Goebel and Santamarina & Steta and global firms Dechert and White & Case.
At his past firms, Ruiz de Velasco advised both underwriters and issues on debt and equity transactions and focused on offerings in both the U.S. and Mexico. He spoke to IFLR1000 about the difficulty of attracting local and foreign interest in the Mexican capital markets.
“The Mexican market is a good source of financing and liquidity for local and foreign issuers; the problem is, issuers aren’t familiarized with their options. Nevertheless, I believe that regulators are making an effort to modernize disclosure requirements and adequately supervise products offered to the general public and institutional investors, in order to make capital markets in Mexico more attractive,” he said.
In 2003, Ruiz de Velasco earned his JD from Universidad Iberoamericana, Ciudad de México. He received his Master of Laws from Northwestern University in 2007 and in the same year he earned a Certificate in Business Administration, also from Northwestern.