Daniel is an attorney qualified to practice in Mexico and New York and has been a member of García Barragán Abogados for more than 10 years were he leads the Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution department. He has more than 14 years of professional experience. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration and alternative means of dispute resolution, as well as mergers and acquisitions, banking and financial law, fintech compliance, and energy and infrastructure issues.

What motivated you to pursue a career in commercial litigation?

Having a commercial law background including corporate and finance matters paved the way for a smooth transition into commercial litigation when specialising as a dispute resolution attorney, allowing me to combine my commercial law experience with my disputes practice developed in New York and Mexico.

What are the advantages of having diverse geographical and sector experience? What benefits does it deliver to clients?

Having the opportunity to litigate in different countries and under different legal systems enables me to better understand the needs and expectations of foreign clients when entering a new litigation in Mexico or involving Mexican parties or Mexican law. Speaking the same language as foreign clients in terms of their background and experience with litigation in their place of origin plays a fundamental role in working side-by-side with the client, which is paramount for a case.

How do you establish a detailed understanding of a client’s business to advise them effectively in a disputes context?

The nature of the business of the client, the involved parties, or the implications of the triggering of litigation may generate adverse results on the overall business of a client despite the outcome of a case.

The analysis of such ramifications and under cost/benefit considerations determines the advice of whether a client should move forward with a case.

Apart from the legal practice, you are a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a member of the Mexican Delegation before UNCITRAL Working Group II. How do these roles enhance your litigation practice?

Teaching allows me to be updated with any legal trends, reforms, but more importantly the caselaw ,which is vital in any litigation. Also, it takes me back to the basis of law, procedural norms, and reaffirms knowledge that is part of my day-to-day activities.

Also, being a member of the Mexican Delegation before UNCITRAL Working II Group allows me not only to be a part in the creation of an international framework that enables the facilitation of commerce and commercial disputes. This experience enhances my litigation practice as it allows me to understand first-hand the judicial and arbitral trends of countries that are part of Working Group II to understand their incorporation in Mexico and shape them in the international context.

In what ways, and in what sectors, are you seeing climate-related litigation?

Climate-related litigation is definitely growing in Mexico as part of force majeure defences from defendants that are unable to comply with their obligations due to climate conditions (for example in supply or sale of agriculture goods), but also as a new set of Amparo (habeas corpus) actions that aim to deter measures and projects that affect the environment and through the enforcement of the human right to a healthy environment as well as through the use of the legitimate interest (interés legítimo) concept in Mexico.

Climate change is reshaping the way companies conduct business, but also the growing interest of individuals and organisations to enforce pro environmental standards and norms will definitely increase the number of climate-related litigations.

Your clients span from multinational corporations to private clients. What similarities and differences should be considered when representing and advising these two diverse client bases?

In terms of practice, attention to detail and client service should not differ when advising or representing multinational corporations, private clients, or even small companies.

Under certain conditions having a client with more resources allows an attorney to have access or make a better use of resources and tools which should be taken advantage of.

What technologies are having the greatest impact on litigation proceedings?

In complex litigation evidence analysis and management software is one of the best technologies in terms of saving substantial amounts of time and human resources in document review and classification.

What has been your greatest achievement to date?

Probably establishing the arbitration, litigation, and dispute resolution practice of García Barragán Abogados. Prior to 2010 the firm had been a leading law firm on corporate and finance matters and clients for more than 35 years. In this year I decided to open the disputes department and after more than 10 years it has matched the corporate and finance practice in terms of clients, revenue, visibility, and overall prestige.

I have an unnegotiable commitment to my clients as well as the firm’s ethical standards, which I believe have allowed me to appreciate this achievement but also to establish new milestones ahead.