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 has developed close trusted relationships, advising leading companies, international investors and investment banks on some of their most important matters 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, dispositions, joint ventures, syndicated loans and acquisition financings. Juan Francisco has worked on transactions with, among others, América Móvil, FIBRA Macquarie México, and CFE in Mexico; Banco Macro, YPF Luz, Pan American Energy, Grupo Galicia and Genneia in Argentina; Embraer and BRF—Brasil Foods in Brazil; Embotelladora Andina, CFR Pharmaceuticals, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, CSAV and SAAM in Chile; GrupoSura, Ecopetrol, Sura Asset Management and Exito in Colombia; Intercorp, Cementos Pacasmayo, Graña y Montero, Interbank, InRetail 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. He has also represented Firm clients such as The Blackstone Group.
Juan Francisco has significant experience working on both U.S. and Latin American transactions and is capable of seamlessly navigating his clients through diverse cultures and business practices. He was recognized by Chambers Latin America 2013 - 2021 as a leading lawyer in Latin America–wide Capital Markets, as well as by The Legal 500 Latin America 2019 as a Tier 1 practitioner in capital markets. He has also been recognized as a leading U.S. attorney with a focus on Mexico by The Legal 500 Private Practice Powerlist 2017 - 2019. Recently, Juan Francisco was recognized by The Latin American Corporate Counsel Association (LACCA) as a LACCA Approved Practitioner (2021) in Latin America, as well as an IFLR 1000 “Notable Practitioner” (2020).
Juan Francisco received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law; and his B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he was in the Distinguished Majors Program.
Juan Francisco is a member of the International Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.