Litigation
We represent individuals, companies, and their officers in labor conciliation and in labor, commercial, administrative, and civil proceedings, amparo actions, and white-collar criminal matters, before state and federal courts. We operate in Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Jalisco and the State of Mexico, with a presence in Baja California and Mexico City.
Labor conciliation
Goal: Resolve the dispute at the conciliation hearing, with a settlement that closes every claim.
Before filing suit, workers and employers must attend the Conciliation Center, whose procedure may not exceed forty-five calendar days. If the company fails to appear, it is fined 50 to 100 times the Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA) and is deemed to reject any settlement.
We attend with a representative authorized to bind the company and a costed settlement offer. If the parties agree, the settlement is signed and ratified at the same hearing; its wording determines which claims are released.
Disputes exempt from pre-suit conciliation include those over discrimination, sexual harassment, social security, freedom of association, and which union holds a collective bargaining agreement.
Dismissal
Goal: Have the dismissal documented before the worker sues.
A termination requires written notice stating the conduct that justifies it and the dates on which it occurred, delivered to the worker at the time of dismissal or filed with the court within the following five business days. Without that notice, the law presumes the dismissal was unjustified, unless proven otherwise.
The worker has two months to sue; the period is suspended during conciliation and does not run until the worker personally receives the notice.
Labor trial
Goal: Answer on time and with all the evidence, so the case is decided on the company's documents.
If conciliation fails, the company has fifteen days from service of process to answer the complaint, offer evidence, and, where appropriate, counterclaim. If it does not answer in time, the plaintiff's claims are deemed admitted, except those contrary to law, and the company loses the right to offer evidence, except evidence, offered before the preliminary hearing, that there was no employment relationship, that no dismissal occurred, or that the facts are untrue.
On receiving a complaint, note the date of service of process and gather:
- the individual employment contract and its amendments;
- payroll receipts and attendance records for the period claimed;
- the termination notice and proof of its delivery;
- the certificate of failed conciliation and any prior settlement with the worker.
Commercial litigation
Goal: Collect what is owed through the fastest route the document allows.
When a debt is evidenced by a negotiable instrument, a judgment, or a public instrument, the creditor may bring an executory commercial proceeding, which begins with a demand for payment and, absent payment, the attachment of assets. Once assets are attached, the defendant has eight days to pay or raise defenses.
Other disputes are generally heard in oral commercial proceedings. Before enforcing or defending a contract, we review which document supports it; that determines the route and the measures available.
Administrative and civil proceedings, and amparo
Goal: Set aside the fine or the government act that does not comply with the law.
We challenge administrative sanctions through administrative appeals and in court; if an inspection ends in a fine, we first review the order, the inspection record, and the decision. We also handle civil proceedings connected with the company's operations.
We file direct amparo against final judgments and rulings that end the proceeding, and indirect amparo, among other cases, against general rules and acts of authorities other than courts.
White-collar criminal matters: defense and complaints
Goal: Have the company and its officers arrive at the Prosecutor's Office with a defined strategy, never improvising.
A legal entity may be held criminally liable for the offenses the law specifies for legal entities, committed in its name, on its behalf, or for its benefit where it failed to exercise due control over its organization. That liability is independent of the liability of its representatives and directors.
We defend companies and, where their interests do not conflict, their officers from the first summons by the Public Prosecutor's Office. We set the strategy before anyone gives a statement or produces a document.
When a company is the victim of fraud, embezzlement, or theft by employees or suppliers, we file the criminal complaint and act as its legal counsel throughout the proceeding.
Other practice areas
Advisory
We design the legal strategy that anticipates and prevents asset-related disputes and those arising from commercial, union, and government relations.
View area → 02Compliance & Due Diligence
We review background and contingent liabilities before an acquisition, a new business relationship, or the signing of a contract, and design labor compliance programs.
View area → 08Individuals
Asset protection, marital property agreements, housing, executive contracts and negotiated executive exits.
View area → —All practice areas
Index of the ten practice areas.
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