Profile

Mr. Vega-Byrnes is fluent in Spanish, has a working knowledge of Portuguese, Italian and French, and a basic knowledge of German, Dutch, Japanese and Mandarin. He has studied the laws of various civil code jurisdictions around the world. He understands that a knowledge of not only the laws but also the business and social customs of a country or region are instrumental in closing difficult transactions where cross-cultural knowledge and sensitivity is key.

Mr. Vega-Byrnes was a partner at Winston & Strawn in Chicago from 1998 to 2002, working with the Project Finance and Leasing Practice Groups. From 1990 to 1998, he was an associate at Baker & McKenzie's Chicago office in the Latin America Practice Group, doing international M&A in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Basin. He also handled privatizations and concessions, joint ventures, distribution and licensing, real estate and construction projects and advised clients on corporate, tax, labor and other legal aspects of doing business in Latin America. From 1993 to 1994, Mr. Vega-Byrnes worked in the Monterrey, Mexico, office of B&M, on Mexican real estate and construction projects, corporate and labor matters. He also did an International Clerkship in the firm's Mexico City office in 1989.

Mr. Vega-Byrnes received a J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School in May 1990. He was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1990, and in New York in 2003. He is a member of the American Bar Association's Section of Business Law, the Section of International Law and Practice, and the Construction Law Forum, the Illinois State Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Vega-Byrnes has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law, and is currently a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Representative Clients: Hyatt Hotels Corporation; Yum! Brands, Inc.; Grupo Bimbo, SAB de CV (Mexico); Grupo Posadas, SAB de CV (Mexico); ShoreBank International Ltd; E. Pihl & Son AS (Denmark); Equator Capital Partners LLC; Embotelladora La Cascada, SA (El Salvador); Smart Carriers Services BV (Netherlands); Triple Jump BV (Netherlands).

Past Clients: AES Panama, SA; Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd; Monsanto; Motorola; Overseas Private Investment Corporation; ShoreCap Management, Ltd.; US EximBank; West LB.