Juan Francisco Méndez is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the Firm’s Corporate Department. He has extensive experience in cross-border transactions, including financings, restructurings, acquisitions, investigations and other complex corporate matters. Fluent in English and Spanish, Juan Francisco’s practice primarily focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Juan Francisco advises leading companies and investment banks throughout the region. He has worked on a wide range of equity, high yield and investment grade debt, and hybrid securities transactions, as well as restructurings, liability management transactions, acquisitions, joint ventures, syndicated loans and acquisition financings. He has worked on transactions with América Móvil, Macquarie Mexico FIBRA, Cultiba, CFE and Cemex in Mexico; Banco Macro, YPF, Pan American Energy in Argentina, Embraer and BRF—Brasil Foods in Brazil; CFR Pharmaceuticals, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, CSAV and SAAM in Chile; GrupoSura, Ecopetrol, Sura Asset Management and Exito in Colombia; Cementos Pacasmayo, Interbank, InRetail Peru and Minsur in Peru; and Despegar.com and Cinemark throughout the region. He has handled matters for JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HSBC, Deutsche, UBS, BTG Pactual and Itaú, among others. He has also represented Firm clients such as The Blackstone Group.
Juan Francisco was recognized by Chambers Latin America 2013-2019 as a leading lawyer in Latin America–wide Capital Markets, where a client described him as an “analytical lawyer with a practical approach to problem-solving.” He has also been recognized as a leading U.S. attorney with a focus on Mexico by The Legal 500 Private Practice Powerlist 2017 and 2018. Juan has significant experiences working on both U.S. and Latin American transactions and is capable of seamlessly navigating his clients through diverse cultures and business practices.
Juan Francisco received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law; his B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he was in the Distinguished Majors Program; and an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University School of Law.
Juan Francisco is a member of the International Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.