Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has continued to expand its Houston office and its global transactional offering with the hire of energy partner Fernando Cano-Lasa.
Fernando specialises in transactional work within the energy and infrastructure sectors, and joins HFW’s Houston office on 22 April from Squire Patton Boggs.
He is the second transactional energy partner to join HFW in Houston in the past eight months, after Derek J. Anchondo arrived in September 2018 from Greenberg Traurig.
HFW has now added nine new transactional partners globally since January 2018, with hires in London, the Middle East, Asia and the United States. The firm recently launched a transactional practice in Shanghai with the recruitment of a team from Squire Patton Boggs.
Glenn Legge, Partner, HFW Houston:
“This is another very significant hire for us in Houston. Fernando has vast industry expertise, having spent more than a decade working for Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas company, and also has significant experience across Latin America, which is a key region for us as a firm. “We now have one of the top specialist energy transactional teams in Houston, and have ambitious plans to further strengthen our US offering across our core sectors and services.”
Fernando advises clients on corporate transactions including commercial agreements, energy operations and compliance. He acts for U.S., Mexican and international organisations on matters in the United States, Mexico and across Latin America. Fernando previously spent over a decade as in-house counsel at state-owned Mexican oil and gas company Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), including five years as Vice President of Legal and Strategy at Houston-based subsidiary PEMEX Procurement International, Inc.
Fernando is a native Spanish speaker and will work closely with Derek in developing the firm’s fast-growing Latin America practice. HFW acts for several clients in the Brazilian energy sector and in 2018 entered into a cooperation arrangement with a newly-established Brazilian law firm, CAL.
Fernando Cano-Lasa, Partner, HFW:
“I am very excited to be joining a firm with such an extensive international network and a strong focus on the energy sector. It is difficult to find a team with this level of specialization and expertise. I’m also looking forward to helping further strengthen HFW’s transactional practice in the United States and Latin America, where I see the opportunities are endless.”
HFW’s global energy and resources practice now has 33 partners and more than 90 lawyers in offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Energy is one of the firm’s six core sectors, alongside aerospace, commodities, construction, insurance and shipping.
HFW now has 10 partners and 24 lawyers in Houston, having launched in the city in January 2017 via a fully-integrated merger with US law firm Legge, Farrow, Kimmitt, McGrath & Brown. The office advises multinational clients on dispute resolution, transactions and regulation in the energy, oil and gas, shipping, insurance, finance, construction, and travel and cruise sectors.
Source: www.hfw.com
