Biography: Franchise

Jorge Mondragon has been a partner in the Mexico City based law firm of Gonzalez Calvillo, SC since 1998. He received his law degree with honours from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in 1993 and a postgraduate degree in Corporate Law from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico in 1996.

Since 1993 he has been providing legal and business advice to multinational and Mexican companies in all types of franchising, distribution and licensing transactions, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, corporate controversies, foreign investments, antitrust regulation and labour consulting.

Mr Mondragon heads the firm's franchising and distribution practice group and serves as senior vice chair of the international franchising committee of the International Bar Association (IBA). He is also an active member of the International Franchise Association (IFA); the American Bar Association's (ABA) forum on franchising; and the Mexican Bar Association (MBA). He has given presentations on Mexico's franchise and commercial law at seminars, symposiums and conferences organised by the IBA, the IFA, the ABA and the MBA.

Mr Mondragon's expertise includes advice and design of legal, contractual and corporate structures for the implementation of franchise systems and distribution schemes, and the identification, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights locally and internationally, including advice in business structure and commercial related matters, providing also the necessary tax counsel.

He advises clients on planning and managing a complete franchise, licence or distribution business and the intellectual property portfolio, reporting on the laws, regulations, treaties, requirements, processes, renewals and other issues that constitute effective protection. Mr Mondragon also advises clients in complying with regulatory provisions applicable to franchisors.

He has published several articles and materials, including Mexico Considers Amendments to the Industrial Property Law on Franchising Matters, Franchise Lawyer (ABA, 2005); the Mexican chapter of International Franchise Sales Laws, published by the ABA's forum on franchising in 2006; the Mexican chapter of Privilege and Confidentiality: An International Handbook, published by the International Bar Association in 2006; and Getting the Deal Through - Franchise 2007, 2008 and 2009, published by Law Business Research.

Mr Mondragon has been a professor of the negotiation course at the Universidad Panamericana Law School in Mexico City and has been listed in The International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers since 2004.