IBG Legal
Our team
Founding Partner
Enrique Benet-Gregg
Business, Real Estate, Litigation and Regulatory Strategy
Enrique develops business, litigation and regulatory strategies for foreign investors, developers, property owners and hospitality businesses in Mexico. Based in Cancún and Mexico City, he connects commercial objectives with investment structures, ownership, financing, contracts and permits. His practice covers real estate development, regulatory compliance, negotiation, and constitutional, administrative, civil and commercial litigation. He is also a visual artist, writer and conservationist, and serves on the advisory board of Saving Our Sharks.
- Education
- LL.M., Cornell Law School.
- Law degree, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM); thesis completed in 2003.
- Joint Cornell–Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne programme (2001): European Union law, comparative corporate finance and banking law, and the French and European legal systems.
- Languages
- Spanish, English and Catalan. Proficient reading and writing knowledge of French, with limited conversational proficiency. Basic German.
- Memberships
- Advisory board member, Saving Our Sharks.
Career and experience
Enrique Benet-Gregg is the founding partner of IBG Legal. Based in Cancún and Mexico City, he develops business, litigation and regulatory strategies for foreign investors, developers, property owners and hospitality businesses operating in Mexico. His practice focuses on real estate investment, development and construction, business structuring, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution, particularly in Quintana Roo, Mexico City and Los Cabos. It builds on a family tradition in Mexican real estate law dating back to 1943.
His work centres on translating commercial objectives into workable legal strategies. He assesses how ownership, financing, contracts, permits and potential disputes interact throughout an investment or development project, helping clients structure investments, organise business relationships and protect their interests through negotiation and constitutional, administrative, civil and commercial litigation.
Business, real estate and development strategy
Enrique advises on the acquisition, development, construction, operation and protection of real estate assets. His work includes corporate investment vehicles, bank trusts (fideicomisos) in Mexico’s restricted coastal zone, title and regulatory due diligence, condominium arrangements, development agreements and hospitality contracts.
He assists clients in designing the legal and contractual relationships supporting their projects, including arrangements between investors, landowners, developers, operators and service providers. His strategic advice addresses the allocation of responsibilities, commercial risk, contractual protections and the options available when a project encounters difficulties.
His regulatory practice includes construction and real estate development requirements, land use and zoning, construction permits, environmental permitting and coastal regulation. He helps clients assess the relationship between property rights, project plans and the authorisations required for development and operation, identifying regulatory dependencies and incorporating them into the wider business strategy.
He also advises on anti-money laundering compliance applicable to real estate transactions and on the legal implications of investment structures involving foreign participants.
Litigation and dispute strategy
Enrique develops litigation strategies around each client’s commercial objectives, the available evidence and the remedies capable of protecting or enforcing the client’s rights. His contentious practice includes constitutional amparo, expropriation defence, administrative challenges, and civil and commercial proceedings arising from property transactions and foreign investment.
His work includes contractual enforcement, investment recovery, property title formalisation, and disputes involving developers, business relationships and condominium projects. He evaluates negotiation and judicial proceedings as part of a coordinated strategy, taking account of procedural requirements, regulatory issues and the underlying economics of the dispute.
His selected experience as lead partner includes:
- Foreign investment recovery: Representing five Canadian purchasers who invested in residential units in a Riviera Maya development that were not delivered. The mandate involved five parallel commercial proceedings in Playa del Carmen seeking recovery of invested capital and contractual penalties, supported by analysis of purchase agreements, payment evidence and developer obligations.
- Constitutional protection of property rights: Representing foreign investors in two amparo proceedings challenging administrative and notarial inaction that prevented the execution of property title deeds following completed transactions. The matters concern the protection of investors’ property interests and the formalisation of ownership through escrituración.
- Environmental and coastal regulatory strategy: Advising Ocean Biosphere and Saving Our Sharks on regulatory strategy and institutional engagement involving SEMARNAT, PROFEPA and state environmental authorities. The work includes federal maritime land zone requirements (ZOFEMAT) and legal structures supporting marine conservation and ecosystem restoration initiatives along Mexico’s Caribbean coastline.
Enrique has also contributed to the development of the legal and regulatory framework for the chiropractic profession in Mexico as an adviser to the Colegio de Profesionistas Científico Quiroprácticos de México. This work reflects his broader interest in the relationship between professional activity, business development, public regulation and institutional frameworks.
Education and academic focus
Enrique holds an LL.M. from Cornell Law School and a law degree from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). In 2001, he participated in the joint Cornell–Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne programme, studying European Union law, comparative corporate finance and banking law, and the French and European legal systems.
His academic background encompasses comparative business law, constitutional and administrative law, contracts, evidence, commercial litigation strategy and remedies, and the relationship between law and financial markets. His studies at Cornell also included environmental law, cyberspace law and copyright.
His 2003 ITAM thesis, Servicio Público y Legislación Postal. Caso Específico: El Servicio Particular de Envíos (Public Service and Postal Legislation: The Case of Private Delivery Services), was supervised by Antonio Cuéllar Steffan. It examines the constitutional and administrative boundaries between postal services reserved to the Mexican State and specialised delivery activities undertaken by private businesses.
Using the delivery of bank statements by private operators as its principal case study, the thesis addresses state monopolies, natural monopoly theory, administrative authorisations, freedom to conduct business and regulatory uncertainty. Drawing on French and US approaches to public service regulation, it considers how the legal classification of an activity affects private participation in regulated markets and analyses proposed reforms to Mexico’s postal legislation.
Academic coordination and legal philosophy
In 2014, Enrique served as an academic coordinator of ITAM’s Diploma Programme in European Investment Law (Diplomado en Derecho Europeo de la Inversión), delivered in collaboration with Isla Business Group. He shared academic coordination with Rodrigo Quintana and Rafael M. Córcoles.
His engagement with legal philosophy includes participation in the Eduardo García Máynez seminars during 2000–2001, featuring jurists including Rodolfo Vázquez, Joseph Raz, Robert Summers, Owen Fiss, Manuel Atienza and Ernesto Garzón Valdés. He has also helped organise legal philosophy events connecting Mexican and US academic communities.
His academic contributions include the English-to-Spanish translation of David Wippman’s article “No sobreestimar la Corte Penal Internacional”, published in April 2004 in Isonomía, ITAM’s journal of legal theory and philosophy. Written by Wippman while a professor at Cornell Law School, the article examines the International Criminal Court’s potential and practical limitations, including accountability, deterrence, state cooperation and institutional legitimacy.
Publications and writing
Enrique contributes analysis on real estate, foreign investment, corporate structures, regulation and dispute resolution to the IBG Legal Library. His writing also examines the relationship between legal institutions, business, economic change, technology and international affairs.
His books include:
- Investing in Mexico: The IBG Legal Guide for Foreign Buyers, Investors, and Developers.
- The New Game of Power: Technology, Money, and Geopolitics in 2025, also available in Spanish as El nuevo juego del poder.
- The Antarctic Question: Law, Sovereignty, and the 2048 Geopolitical Test.
His essays on Medium explore law, geopolitics, technology, philosophy and consciousness.
Selected legal publications in Spanish:
- Structuring a Cancún development with foreign capital: a company, a development trust, or both
- Defence of real estate developers before SEDETUS
Art and conservation
Alongside his legal practice, Enrique is a visual artist, writer and conservationist. Working as Enrique Benet, he creates paintings, sculpture, installations and digital art exploring perception, symbolism and the relationship between art and conservation.
He founded and co-designed the Nommos art car and camp at Burning Man and serves on the advisory board of Saving Our Sharks. His conservation activities complement his professional involvement in environmental regulation and coastal initiatives in the Mexican Caribbean.
Senior Associate, Head of Litigation
Sofía Rangel Mora
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Sofía heads IBG Legal’s litigation practice from Mexico City, handling civil and commercial disputes, amparo and the enforcement of creditors’ and property owners’ rights nationwide. She coordinates strategy and court submissions with Gabriela Aparicio Molina and the litigation team. Her work connects contracts, security and title issues with indirect amparo, suspension applications, mortgage litigation and enforcement of judgments and court-approved settlements. She also advises on bank trusts for foreign buyers and secured lending documentation.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Diploma in civil law.
- Languages
- Spanish, English and basic French.
- Mexican professional licence number
- 10151621
Career and experience
Sofía Rangel Mora is a senior associate and head of litigation at IBG Legal. Based in Mexico City with a national practice, she focuses on civil and commercial disputes, constitutional amparo and the enforcement of creditors’ and property owners’ rights. She has worked with the firm’s founding partner since 2012.
She coordinates litigation strategy and the review of court submissions with Gabriela Aparicio Molina and the wider litigation team, linking proceedings across Mexican jurisdictions with the underlying corporate and regulatory issues.
Her practice connects litigation strategy with the contractual, security and title issues underlying an investment. She handles indirect amparo proceedings and applications for suspension, mortgage litigation, enforcement of judgments and court-approved settlements, and commercial claims for foreign investors.
Her work spans Quintana Roo and other Mexican jurisdictions, including coordination of enforcement through judicial requests between domestic courts. This brings together the merits of a claim, the procedural steps required to pursue it and the mechanisms available to enforce the resulting judgment or settlement.
Her advisory work includes bank trusts (fideicomisos) for foreign buyers, debt recovery and secured lending documentation. She communicates with international clients in English, connecting the underlying investment and contractual issues with the progress of the proceedings.
Publications
She contributes to the IBG Legal Library on real estate acquisitions, due diligence, trusts, condominium structures, development regulation and coastal property in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Los Cabos.
Publications by Sofía Rangel Mora — IBG Legal Library
Selected publications in Spanish:
Senior Associate
Gabriela Aparicio Molina
Civil, Commercial and Banking Litigation
Gabriela handles civil, commercial, banking and administrative disputes in Cancún and Mexico City. She advises foreign investors and financial institutions on real estate matters, contractual enforcement, debt recovery and asset protection. Her experience includes condominium disputes, claims arising from Riviera Maya investments and amparo proceedings concerning title formalisation. She coordinates litigation strategy with Sofía Rangel Mora, prepares court submissions and represents clients at hearings, drawing on a background in banking and insolvency litigation.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad Anáhuac. Diploma in Forensic Criminology. Programmes at the Escuela Nacional de Formación Judicial on the National Code of Civil and Family Procedure, artificial intelligence in justice and alternative dispute resolution.
- Languages
- Spanish and English. She holds the Cambridge First Certificate in English.
Career and experience
Gabriela Aparicio Molina is a senior associate at IBG Legal. Her practice spans civil, commercial, banking and administrative disputes in Cancún and Mexico City, with a focus on enforcing contractual and property rights, recovering debt and protecting assets.
She advises foreign investors and financial institutions on disputes involving Mexican real estate. Her experience includes commercial claims arising from property investments in the Riviera Maya, proceedings across multiple jurisdictions, condominium governance disputes and constitutional amparo, including proceedings concerning the formalisation of title deeds.
At IBG Legal, she coordinates litigation strategy with Sofía Rangel Mora, prepares and reviews court submissions and represents clients at hearings. Her background in banking and insolvency litigation informs her work on the procedural and evidential requirements of asset protection and recovery.
Before joining IBG Legal, she headed the litigation department at Aldave y Cuellar Steffan, S.C., served as a principal lawyer at Bitar Romo & Asociados, S.C., and handled litigation and portfolio recovery for financial institutions at Cuevas y Villarreal, S.C. Her earlier experience includes service as a court clerk in the 19th Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District and co-founding her own practice.
She began collaborating with IBG Legal in August 2020 and joined the firm fully in December 2020.
Of Counsel
Iván Canut Espinosa
Administrative Litigation, Hospitality Regulation, Real Estate and Corporate
Iván combines hospitality regulation and administrative litigation in Mexico City with industrial real estate and corporate advice in Querétaro. He advises hotel owners and operators on administrative inspections, operating licences and regulatory regularisation, including proceedings before INVEA and annulment litigation. In Querétaro, his work covers industrial property, land use, ejido land and the establishment of foreign companies, connecting the asset’s legal position with the business’s regulatory and corporate requirements.
- Education
- Law degree, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). Master's degree in Law, Centro Cultural Itaca.
- Languages
- Spanish and English.
- Mexican professional licence number
- 3759531
Career and experience
Iván Canut Espinosa is of counsel to IBG Legal. His practice combines hospitality regulation and administrative litigation in Mexico City with industrial real estate, land use and corporate advice in Querétaro.
Hospitality regulation and administrative disputes
He advises hotel owners and operators on administrative verification proceedings, operating licences and regulatory regularisation. His contentious work includes proceedings before the Mexico City Administrative Verification Institute (INVEA) and annulment litigation before the Mexico City Administrative Court.
His work connects the defence of administrative proceedings with the regulatory requirements for the continued operation of the property. This includes addressing the relationship between verification measures, operating permissions and the regularisation of the business.
Industrial real estate and investment
In Querétaro, he advises on industrial property, land use, ejido land and the establishment of foreign companies. He considers the legal position of the asset alongside the regulatory and corporate requirements of the business operating from it.
His additional experience includes aviation title due diligence before Mexico’s civil aviation registry for a US law firm.
Publications
He contributes to the IBG Legal Library on industrial real estate, investment structures, development regulation and corporate matters. His writing also addresses real estate tokenisation and the governance of artificial intelligence.
Publications by Iván Canut Espinosa — IBG Legal Library
Selected publications in Spanish:
Of Counsel
Mauricio Mendoza Martín
Civil and Commercial Litigation, Real Estate and Trademarks
Mauricio combines civil and commercial litigation, real estate advice and trademark registration. He handles matters in Mexico City, Querétaro, Los Cabos and Cancún, and has worked with IBG Legal’s founding partner since 2010. His contentious practice includes debt recovery, preparatory proceedings and commercial claims. He also advises foreign investors on Mexico City property matters and handles trademark registration before IMPI, connecting brand protection with businesses’ commercial and property needs.
- Education
- Law degree, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
- Languages
- Spanish and English.
- Mexican professional licence number
- 8593763
Career and experience
Mauricio Mendoza Martín is of counsel to IBG Legal, with a practice combining civil and commercial litigation, real estate advice and trademark registration. He handles matters in Mexico City, Querétaro, Los Cabos and Cancún.
He has worked alongside the firm’s founding partner since 2010 and also practises through Jimenez & Mendoza Abogados, S.C.
His contentious practice covers debt recovery, preparatory proceedings and commercial claims. His experience includes proceedings in Veracruz for a Mexican corporate group. His real estate work includes advice to foreign investors on property matters in Mexico City.
His trademark practice includes registration proceedings before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), complementing his work for businesses on commercial and property matters.
Publications
He contributes to the IBG Legal Library on the acquisition, ownership and operation of real estate in Mexico City. His publications examine due diligence on tenanted buildings, land use, investment holding structures and development joint ventures. His writing also covers FIBRAs and CKDs and the tax treatment of non-resident owners and sellers.
Publications by Mauricio Mendoza Martín — IBG Legal Library
Selected publications in Spanish:
Of Counsel, Criminal Law
Juan Alberto Bermejo Varela
Criminal Law and Oral Litigation
Juan Alberto advises on criminal law and oral litigation in Quintana Roo and Mexico City, with a national practice. He addresses the criminal dimensions of real estate and commercial disputes, represents victims in the accusatory criminal justice system and handles procedural fraud complaints involving documentary and handwriting evidence. His experience includes defending foreign nationals and coordinating with embassies, alongside work as general counsel to a hospitality group and service in municipal public administration.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Diploma in Accusatory Criminal Procedure and Oral Litigation Techniques, Universidad La Salle Cancún (2014).
- Languages
- Spanish.
- Memberships
- Full member, Centro de Mediación, Arbitraje y Compliance de México (CEMACC)
- Mexican professional licence number
- 4307705
Career and experience
Juan Alberto Bermejo Varela is of counsel to IBG Legal in criminal law and oral litigation. He works in Quintana Roo and Mexico City, with a national practice, advising on the criminal dimensions of real estate and commercial disputes.
His practice includes representation of victims within Mexico’s accusatory criminal justice system, complaints involving procedural fraud and the coordination of criminal investigations with forensic documentary and handwriting evidence. His defence experience includes matters involving foreign nationals and coordination with their embassies.
His background combines private practice with experience as general counsel to a hospitality group and service in municipal public administration. He served as Director of Operations for Municipal Public Security in Benito Juárez and advised the municipal government on international affairs.
His international affairs work included the Cancún–Pinamar sister city agreement and support for the opening of the Consulate General of Argentina in Cancún.
Associate, Immigration
Carlos Muñoz Romero
Immigration and Corporate
Based in Mexico City, Carlos leads IBG Legal’s nationwide immigration practice. He advises companies, foreign investors and executives on temporary and permanent residence, work authorisations, consular visas and employer registration before the National Migration Institute. He also handles naturalisation proceedings before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His work connects immigration requirements with company formation and shareholder meetings for businesses establishing operations in Mexico.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad La Salle; undergraduate studies 2013–2018.
- Completed master’s studies in Financial Law, Universidad La Salle (2021–2023).
- Languages
- Spanish and English (advanced).
Career and experience
Carlos Muñoz Romero is an associate who leads IBG Legal’s nationwide immigration practice from Mexico City. He advises companies, foreign investors and executives on the immigration requirements of establishing, working and residing in Mexico.
His practice covers temporary and permanent residence, work authorisations, consular visas and employer registration before the National Migration Institute (INM). He also handles naturalisation proceedings before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).
His work connects immigration requirements with the corporate organisation of the client’s business. Alongside immigration matters, he advises on company formation and shareholder meetings, addressing the relationship between a business establishing operations in Mexico and the individuals who will work or reside in the country.
He joined IBG Legal in 2026, following immigration and corporate practice at Ramírez, Gutiérrez-Azpe, Rodríguez-Rivero y Hurtado, S.C., and immigration practice at De la Vega y Martínez Rojas. He previously trained at Goodrich Riquelme y Asociados. His earlier training also includes corporate and notarial work.
Associate
Douglas Jiménez Sánchez
Civil and Commercial Litigation, Real Estate and Corporate
Based in Cancún, Douglas handles civil and commercial litigation, real estate and corporate matters. He manages the day-to-day handling of IBG Legal’s Tulum real estate portfolio, focusing on off-plan purchase disputes, contractual defaults, notarised demands, negotiations with developers and oral commercial proceedings. He also coordinates company incorporations for foreign investors before Mexican notaries. His previous work as a lawyer and deed drafter brings a notarial perspective to his property and corporate practice.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco; undergraduate studies 1990–1995.
- Postgraduate studies in Constitutional Law and Amparo, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (2010–2012).
- Doctoral studies in Law, Universidad Olmeca (2013–2015).
- Languages
- Spanish (native) and English (advanced).
- Mexican professional licence number
- 2563002
Career and experience
Douglas Jiménez Sánchez is an associate in IBG Legal’s Cancún office. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation, real estate and corporate matters, drawing on experience in labour disputes, notarial work and public administration.
He leads the day-to-day handling of the firm’s real estate portfolio in Tulum, advising investors and buyers on disputes arising from off-plan purchases. His work includes contractual defaults, formal notices and payment demands supported by notarial certifications, negotiations with developers and litigation strategy, including oral commercial proceedings.
He also coordinates company incorporations for foreign investors before Mexican notaries public. His previous work as a lawyer and deed drafter at Notary Public No. 10 in Villahermosa and Notary Public No. 5 in Tabasco provides a notarial dimension to his property and corporate practice.
Professional background
He served as a department head in the transparency area of the Executive General Coordination of the Office of the Governor of Tabasco (2019–2021), handling information requests and matters before the Tabasco transparency authority, ITAIP. His labour law practice at Enterprise Consultant Group, S.C., included conciliation, defence of claims and settlements. His experience at law firms in Tabasco also encompasses civil, family and commercial disputes, labour matters and contracts.
He worked at Pemex Exploración y Producción from 1998 to 2014, initially as a criminal lawyer and subsequently as a technical specialist. He taught law at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Tabasco campus (2011–2015), and served as general director of Escuela Moderna Decroly, S.C. (2015–2016).
Associate
Miguel Ángel Ruiz García
Litigation, Regulatory and Consumer Protection
Miguel Ángel handles real estate disputes, consumer protection and administrative and corporate matters in Mexico City, Quintana Roo and Los Cabos. He advises foreign investors and property buyers in disputes with developers over off-plan purchases and timeshare agreements. His work includes commercial debt recovery, oral proceedings, real property attachment applications and mortgage litigation. He also represents clients in complaints and conciliation before PROFECO and works on concessions, permits and regulatory compliance for businesses and development projects.
- Education
- Law degree, Universidad Humanitas, Cancún campus (2024).
- Languages
- Spanish (native) and English (basic).
- Mexican professional licence number
- 15734189
Career and experience
Miguel Ángel Ruiz García is an associate at IBG Legal. He works on real estate disputes, consumer protection and administrative and corporate matters in Mexico City, Quintana Roo and Los Cabos.
He advises foreign investors and property buyers in disputes with developers, including claims arising from off-plan purchases and timeshare agreements. His work includes commercial debt recovery proceedings, including oral proceedings, applications for attachment of real property and mortgage proceedings before the courts in Playa del Carmen and Cancún.
He also handles complaints and conciliation hearings before the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (PROFECO). His practice brings together the contractual basis of the buyer’s claim, negotiations with the developer and the procedural requirements of consumer and judicial proceedings.
His regulatory work covers concessions, administrative permits and compliance for businesses and development projects. His experience also includes proceedings before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). He connects contractual, regulatory and procedural issues when preparing the client’s position.
He joined IBG Legal in 2021 and obtained his law degree from Universidad Humanitas, Cancún campus, in 2024.