Julio Rivera de los Reyes
Partner
Biography
Julio brings over 40 years of legal experience spanning Mexican and U.S. jurisdictions, focusing on corporate transactions, real estate investments, infrastructure projects, and regulatory compliance.
Julio advises clients on high-value mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and cross-border transactions across various sectors, including hospitality, retail, manufacturing, energy, and transportation. He also structures trusts and security interests to strengthen the legal and financial soundness of complex deals.
Julio is recognized for his deep expertise in real estate transactions, including the conversion of agrarian land into private ownership, land-use compliance, and title regularization. He structures real estate investment funds—including FIBRAs—and advises clients on landmark developments involving hotels, industrial parks, retail complexes, and multi-use facilities.
In infrastructure matters, Julio counsels public and private entities on developing legal-financial frameworks, public-private partnerships, and concession structures for highways, urban rail systems, port terminals, and other major projects. He also advises on the regulatory, corporate, and financial components essential to infrastructure projects in Mexico.
Additionally, Julio designs and implements customized compliance programs to proactively mitigate risks. His dual-jurisdictional expertise also enables him to guide foreign companies through the Mexican legal and regulatory landscape, offering strategic support on market entry, import/export operations, and compliance with international trade regulations.
The Ministry of Economy authorized Julio as Corredor Público No. 56, empowering him to provide fully integrated transactional services. In this role, he authenticates commercial contracts, certifies corporate acts, performs expert valuations, and serves as a certified commercial arbitrator. Clients benefit from his efficient, secure, and seamless transactional support—all within a single practice.
Before co-founding Rivera Garcia, Julio spent nearly a decade as managing partner of the Mexican office of a prominent Texas firm, overseeing substantial transactional growth and strategic projects. Previously, he practiced at top-tier firms in Mexico City and Chicago, building an established track record of cross-border success.
- Universidad Panamericana, Corporate and Tax Law.
- Northwestern University School of Law, Advanced Professional Studies for Lawyers.
- University of Illinois, LLM.
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Law Degree.
- Mexico
Representative Cases
- Advised leading European steel-processing and structural-solutions firms on acquiring and developing industrial facilities in Mexico, including comprehensive structuring of local joint ventures.
- Represented a prominent U.S. retail developer in negotiating and structuring joint ventures with a major Mexican real estate firm to establish outlets in key urban centers.
- Advised multiple U.S. franchise brands on corporate structuring, due diligence, and transactional documentation for their successful market entry into Mexico.
- Structured and implemented real estate investment funds and corporate subsidiaries for several hotel operators.
- Represented national and international investors in sophisticated hotel transactions and related foreign investment structuring.
- Represented a major cinema operator in the sale of 330 theater screens to a leading domestic competitor, managing corporate transactional matters and regulatory approvals, including antitrust clearances.
- Negotiated and documented a 20-year contract extension for a wastewater treatment provider in a municipality in Mexico, addressing intricate transactional and contractual issues.
- Advised U.S. companies on structuring maquiladora operations along Mexico’s northern border, including corporate, transactional, and regulatory guidance.
- Advised leading European steel-processing and structural-solutions firms on real estate matters including land acquisitions, zoning approvals, permitting, and compliance for developing industrial facilities in Mexico.
- Represented a prominent U.S. retail developer on real estate acquisitions, zoning compliance, permitting, and title verification for the development of key shopping centers.
- Advised multiple hotel chains on real estate acquisitions throughout Mexico, conducting due diligence and structuring real estate investment funds to support their expansion.
- Advised a major port authority on a wide range of real estate matters—including zoning, permitting, and title clearance—for the development of a multi-use terminal at a key Mexican port.
- Counseled U.S. clients on real estate acquisitions and compliance with zoning, permitting, and site development regulations for manufacturing and export facilities along Mexico’s northern border.
- Advised a state entity on developing comprehensive legal-financial models and PPP structures for a major mass-transit corridor project.
- Represented a federal government ministry in establishing legal-financial frameworks underpinning decades of federal highway concessions under a new toll highway scheme.
- Advised a federal government ministry on structuring, bidding, and supervising the implementation of a multi-system suburban railway.
- Advised a national development bank on the structuring and bidding processes for a public-private partnership involving a significant highway project spanning multiple states.
- Represented a railway construction consortium in managing contract compliance and external oversight related to rolling stock procurement for a key interurban train section.
- Coordinated the bidding process for a port authority’s concession to construct, equip, and operate a multi-use terminal at a major port.
- Conducted a compliance audit for a major port container terminal operator to ensure adherence to contractual obligations under a Mexican concession agreement.
- Advised a major cinema operator on compliance and regulatory matters, including securing governmental approvals and antitrust clearance for the sale of 330 theater screens to a competitor.
- Designed and implemented an extensive compliance program for a leading construction firm, including self-regulation measures, codes of conduct, and internal ethics and control procedures.
- Provided compliance counsel during negotiations and documentation for a 20-year contract extension for wastewater treatment services in a municipality in Mexico.
- Advised U.S. companies on regulatory compliance and cross-border compliance frameworks necessary for establishing maquiladora operations along Mexico’s northern border.