About
CARLOS MENA LABARTHE IS A PARTNER IN THE FIRM'S MEXICO CITY OFFICE. HIS PRACTICE FOCUSES ON ANTITRUST, INVESTIGATIONS AND COMPLIANCE.
Carlos represents clients in antitrust, competition, and regulatory matters. His practice covers cartel investigations, abuse of dominance proceedings, market investigations, merger control approvals for complex transactions, and antitrust compliance programs. He regularly coordinates antitrust filings across Latin American jurisdictions. His experience and approach have been recognized by his clients. In interviews with Chambers and Partners, one client commented: "I couldn't say enough good things about Carlos Mena Labarthe. He is smart, business-minded and easy to work with."
Prior to joining the Firm in July 2017, Carlos worked for more than ten years at the Mexican competition authority (COFECE), where he served as the first head of the Investigative Authority, Director General for Cartel Investigations, and Head of the Planning, Public Relations and International Affairs Unit. In that capacity, he developed the authority's investigation procedures, including its dawn raid procedures, the Leniency Program, the forensic technology laboratory, and the Market Intelligence Unit. He led paradigmatic cases in sectors such as retail, food, medicine, hospital services, transportation, and financial services, and was responsible for negotiating the current Federal Economic Competition Law with congress. He also worked at the United States Federal Trade Commission and represented Mexico in international forums including the OECD and the International Competition Network.
In 2015, Carlos was selected as one of the 40 best competition lawyers under 40 years of age in the world by Global Competition Review. He has been recognized as a leader in the practice by several international publications.
Carlos obtained his law degree with honors from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in 2003, a master's degree in business law from the Madrid Bar Association with notable mention in 2004, and a master's degree in Economic Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science with the prize for best performance in his class in 2005. He has been a professor at ITAM since 2007, where he founded the Law and Regulation and the Competition Law diploma courses, and has co-authored nine books on economic competition and regulation. He is a member of the International Cartel Task Force in the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association, a columnist for El Financiero, and a Non-Governmental Advisor to the competition authority.