Mexico City-based firm Creel García-Cuéllar Aiza & Enríquez has strengthened its partnership with the elevation of three lawyers.

Mercedes Haddad will continue her work with the banking and finance practice, while Mauricio Serralde and Begoña Cancino devote themselves to competition and IP matters, respectively.

Serralde handles all manner of pre-merger filings, investigations, administrative procedures, constitutional proceedings, leniency applications, and advocacy issues. He recently advised US Airways Group on a pre-merger filing regarding the strategic business of American Airlines; H.J. Heinz Company in relation to a pre-merger filing concerning the purchase of Heinz by an investment consortium comprised of Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital; and Office Depot in relation to a pre-merger filing concerning its tie-up with OfficeMax.

Mexico has recently reformed its competition and antitrust framework, and Serralde said that right now, it’s all about becoming accustomed to the changes.

“The last two years have seen a lot of changes in the competition regime,” Serralde told IFLR1000. “A new competition law was enacted, and we are adapting to the new changes. There are now two regulators – the New Federal Economic Competition Commission and the Federal Telecommunications Institute. These new authorities are acquiring more experiences, so we expect the procedures to become more fluid. Hopefully in 2015, it will be a year of consolidation that will be reflected in more efficient procedures and the launching of more investigations."

Serralde added that he anticipates a boom in competition work in energy and telecommunications as a result of the reforms in those areas.

“Last year at the firm was a record year for our competition practice,” he added.

Haddad, who joined the firm in 2005, specializes in capital markets, asset securitization, and structured finance transactions. Before joining Creel García-Cuéllar Aiza & Enríquez, she practiced at Gallástegui & Lozano.

Haddad and her team represented initial purchasers Credit Suisse Securities and BBVA Securities on the $350 million private placement of senior high-yield notes due 2020 issued by Office Depot México. The team completed the placement in September 2013.