Laura M. Nava

Laura Nava is an attorney admitted to practice law in Mexico. Ms. Nava is licensed as a Certified Foreign Legal Consultant by the State Bar of California for advice on Mexican law. Her practice focuses on assisting clients with Mexican trade, financing and investment transactions. She practiced law in Mexico from 1989 to 1996, as in-house corporate counsel for a computer company and in Tijuana, Mexico, as an associate for a corporate law firm, in the areas of corporate law, trademark law, real estate law and labor law.

Recent Work/Representative Matters

Ms. Nava's international work focuses on Mexico, and includes the following:

Representation of various US investors regarding investment in Mexican companies, including due diligence, structuring and documentation.

Representation of various US companies involved in maquiladora operations in Mexico, including representation on financing issues, labor issues, general corporate matters, and real estate.

Representation of various US real estate investors regarding purchase of Mexican real estate, including due diligence, structuring and documentation.

Representation of Mexican landowners regarding sale or joint development of Mexican real estate, including response to due diligence requests, structuring and documentation.

Representation of a US developer of condominiums and a resort hotel in Mexico, including advice on the condominium regime. For another hotel developer, we are advising on purchase and development of land, including finance issues. The land in question is ejido land, and we have developed expertise in the ejido regime.

Advising a major US publicly-held homebuilder who is evaluating commencement of a large-scale homebuilding effort in the border region of Mexico.

Liaison with Mexican companies regarding US operations.

Liaison with Mexican entrepreneurs and families regarding US tax planning, including US estate tax planning.

Representation of various Mexican companies in their US litigation.

Representation of Conexant Systems, Inc (NASDAQ), as to Mexican law issues, on the sale of Conexant's semiconductor assembly, module manufacturing and test facility, located in Mexicali, for $150 million in cash. This involved issues of Mexico's corporate law, labor law, intellectual property law, customs law, and the law pertaining to maquiladoras.

Representation of Heller Financial (now a part of GE Capital) on two Mexico-related lending transactions totaling $20 million, involving non-recourse loans to a leasing company doing business in Mexico. The loans were secured by leases with Flextronics and Celestica, respectively, including the lease receivables and the equipment in Mexico subject to the leases.

Representation of Sempra Energy (NYSE), the parent company for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas, with respect to its Mexico projects. For its gas pipeline projects, we were involved in forming the Mexican joint venture companies and drafting the joint venture agreements.

Memberships

Centro Empresarial de Tijuana, *Coparmex,* (Tijuana Business Center)

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Phi Delta Phi International Fraternity