Enrique Espejel
Biography
Overview
Enrique Espejel co-heads White & Case's disputes practice in Mexico. Enrique specializes in complex commercial and ESG litigation matters, cross-border disputes, class action litigation, tort lawsuits, as well as white-collar proceedings, internal investigations and related civil litigation. Enrique is a leading litigator for various online service providers (OSPs) and tech giants doing business or with interests in Mexico. His areas of expertise include the representation of major Mexican and foreign financial institutions and multinational companies before Mexican trial and appellate courts. He is widely recognized as an important figure in the bankruptcy litigation practice, with extensive experience representing both debtors and creditors in complex insolvency cases.
Enrique coordinates the litigation strategies for Internet and technology global corporations doing business or with interests in Mexico. Among important litigation strategies for these international tech companies are representation before Mexico's Consumer Protection Agency, the Data Protection Authority, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (similar to the US FDA), civil and commercial courts, IP agencies and courts, prosecutors and other public regulatory agencies and authorities.
His compliance and White Collar experience includes conducting internal corporate investigations and representing Mexican, US and other foreign multinational companies and their governing boards and committees in matters involving fraud, accounting and regulatory issues, often in the context of investigations and enforcement actions.
Enrique regularly gives lectures on contentious risk and litigation in Mexico, insolvency litigation, bankruptcy proceedings, bank liquidations, and anti-corruption legislation.
Experience
Noteworthy representations include:
Leading external counsel and litigator in complex commercial cases and regulatory investigations for the most important technology companies in Mexico and globally. Enrique has extensive experience in representing clients in Mexico in litigations and regulatory investigations in the tech, internet and social media space;
Leading external counsel and litigator for global and national banking and financial institutions in Mexico. Since the year 1999, Enrique has acted as one of the leading external counsels and litigators for global as well as local, banking, financial and insurance institutions (and their Mexican subsidiaries and businesses), such as Citigroup, HSBC, Banorte, Banca Afirme, AXA, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole and Société Générale, among others, in compliance, commercial litigation, bankruptcy, regulatory, anti-corruption, digital fraud, cybersecurity and investigations;
Leading external counsel and litigator for local and international companies in the most complex bankruptcies in Mexico. Since the year 2000, Enrique has represented local and international clients in the largest bankruptcies in Mexico such as: Corporación Durango, Satélites Mexicanos, Mexicana Airlines, major homebuilders´ bankruptcies,GEO, Homex and Urbi; bankruptcy of the largest construction company in Mexico ICA, leading energy and oil corporations Abengoa and Oro Negro. Enrique has also acted as leading external counsel and main litigator in the liquidation proceeding of several banks, such as Banco Unión, Banco Obrero, Banco Bicentenario, among other major cases.
Pioneering in legal support of young Mexicans with mental health disabilities. Enrique with the disputes lawyers and legal interns, together with the charity institution named APyRE, launched in 2020 the first-ever pro bono in Mexico aimed to assist and represent young Mexicans with mental health disabilities in need of a professional representation in their guardianship proceedings to ensure and defend their rights as individuals.
Speaker at the seminar ACI Mexico Summit on Anti-Corruption & Compliance Programs", on the panel Cryptocurrency: The Newest, Emerging Anti-Corruption & AML Compliance Risk to Flag Now. Mexico City.
Speaker at the seminar "The bankruptcy agreement in depth" organized by the Private Procedural Law and Insolvency Committee of the National Association of Corporate Lawyers (ANADE).
Speaker at the conference organized by Ernst & Young concerning the tenth anniversary of the enactment of the Mexican Business Reorganization Act.
Chambers, Global Practice Guide 2022 Enforcement of Judgements, Mexico, Trends and Developments (co-author with Diego Mora-Jensen, and José Joaquín Pacheco).
The pre-packaged business reorganization proceeding; its applicability and admissibility as a method to resolve the insolvency of Controladora Comercial Mexicana (COMERCI).
Topics on Commercial Insolvency Law in light of the professional practice that should be reviewed in an amendment of the Mexican Business Reorganization Act.
Of Carts and Horses: Is There Room for Attachment or Enforcement Ahead of Recognition of Arbitral Awards in Mexico? published by Ejecutivos de Finanzas, Oct. 2010 issue. (Co author with Rafael Llano)
Benchmark Litigation - Latin America Awards - Mexico Litigator of the Year, 2021
Leading Lawyer
Dispute Resolution: Civil & Commercial Litigation – Mexico
(Chambers Global 2018 – 2022)
Leading Lawyer:
Dispute resolution – Mexico:
(The Legal 500 Latin America 2020 - 2021)
Leading Lawyer:
Commercial Litigation – Mexico:
(Best Lawyers 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
Litigation Star:
Arbitration, White Collar crime, Commercial
(Benchmark Litigation, 2020 - 2021)
