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LEGALTICA GUIDE

English-speaking lawyers in Mexico City

Below you will find lawyers in Mexico City who work in English, with their contact details, so you can write to the firm directly. It is free and commits you to nothing. Here is what foreigners in the city usually need a lawyer for, how to check that someone is licensed and how fees are agreed in Mexico.

The rest of Legaltica is in Spanish.

Legaltica editorial team
12 FIRMS
8 OFFICIAL SOURCES

THE GUIDE · FULL READ

What foreigners in Mexico City usually need a lawyer for

  • Residency: temporary or permanent residence, renewals and changes of status with the National Migration Institute (INM).
  • Buying property: Mexico City is outside the coastal and border restricted zone, so foreigners can own property directly after signing an agreement with the Foreign Ministry.
  • Leases, as a tenant or landlord, and disputes over deposits.
  • Setting up a company, contracts and employment matters.
  • Family matters such as divorce, custody and inheritances.
  • Criminal matters, as a suspect or as a victim.

How to check a lawyer in Mexico

Unlike in Spain, practising law in Mexico does not depend on joining a bar association (colegio or barra). What the professions law in Mexico City requires is a law degree registered with the Education Ministry (SEP) and a cédula profesional, the professional licence, and, with limited exceptions, courts reject anyone without a registered degree acting as your representative.

Ask for the lawyer’s cédula number and look it up for free in the SEP’s Registro Nacional de Profesionistas, which shows the name, degree and institution.

Lawyers in Mexico City who speak English

Tell a firm what you need, in English: they receive your message and your phone number, and you see theirs straight away. It’s free and you’re not committing to anything. Languages are taken from each firm’s profile. Firms marked “Registered with Legaltica” manage their own profile.

  1. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Ciudad de México
    LANGUAGES
    ES · EN · FR · ZH

    Migralaw - Abogados Migratorios en México

    4.6 · 160 Google Speaks English

    MIGRALAW - Abogados Migratorios en México is a migration law firm in Mexico City, based in Granada, with presence in Polanco, Condesa, Santa Fe and Pedregal. Its team works in English, French and Chinese, and handles visas, migration regularization and naturalization.

    You can contact them for visa and residence matters, work permits, or nationality issues in Mexico City. If your case also involves immigration procedures for a company, they offer business services too.

    CALL THEM IF you need help with visas, residence, naturalization, or work permits in Mexico City

  2. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Ciudad de México
    LANGUAGES
    DE · EN · ES

    Jiménez-Ruiz | Abogados

    4.9 · 8 Google Speaks English

    Jiménez-Ruiz | Abogados is a boutique firm in Colonia Juárez, Mexico City. It works in English and German and focuses on administrative litigation, civil and commercial disputes, and constitutional relief, with claims against the government and state liability.

    You can contact them if your case involves a dispute with a public authority, administrative proceedings, or a claim against the State. If your situation also includes civil or commercial litigation, they can assist there as well.

    CALL THEM IF you have a dispute with a public authority or need administrative or constitutional litigation

  3. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Ciudad de México
    LANGUAGES
    ES · EN

    MGS ALEVAROZ CORPORATIVO

    Speaks English

    MGS ALEVAROZ CORPORATIVO is a Mexico City corporate law firm that works in English and Spanish. Its practice areas include administrative law, public procurement, environmental law, corporate law, agrarian law, associations and NGOs, and copyright.

    You can contact them if your business needs legal support on corporate matters, regulation, public contracts, or environmental issues. If your case also involves structuring operations or markets, they analyze those points too.

    CALL THEM IF you need corporate, regulatory, public procurement, or environmental legal support

Fees: get a written contract

Mexico City’s professions law requires a contract between lawyer and client setting out the fees and the obligations of each side for work that is not covered by an official fee schedule. Ask for it in writing before you pay, and make sure it says whether VAT, court costs and translation are included.

Lawyer or notario público?

A Mexican notario público is very different from a US notary public: it is the official who formalises deeds such as a property purchase and, in that case, also calculates and pays over the tax on the sale. The notary does not negotiate for you or represent you in a dispute; for that you need your own lawyer.

If you are arrested in Mexico City

You have the right to a lawyer of your choice from the moment of arrest; if you do not or cannot choose one, a public defender is appointed. The prosecutor can hold you for no more than 48 hours before releasing you or bringing you before a judge (double that in organised crime cases).

Documents from abroad

Documents issued in another country, such as birth or marriage certificates or a power of attorney, usually need an apostille if the issuing country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, plus a Spanish translation. Ask your lawyer which translator the authority will accept before you order one.

MORE FIRMS

Lawyers in Mexico City who speak English

Showing 12 of 220 firms.

Frequently asked questions

Ask for their cédula profesional number and look it up in the SEP’s Registro Nacional de Profesionistas.

Yes. Mexico City is outside the restricted zone, so after signing an agreement with the Foreign Ministry you can own the property directly, without a bank trust.

Fees are agreed with the lawyer, and the law requires a contract that sets them out. Ask for a written quote before you pay anything.

No. A notario público formalises deeds such as property purchases; they do not negotiate for you or represent you in a dispute.

You can choose your lawyer from the moment of arrest, or a public defender is appointed. The prosecutor can hold you for up to 48 hours before you must be released or brought before a judge.

Official sources

Ley Reglamentaria del Artículo 5o. Constitucional, relativo al ejercicio de las profesiones en la Ciudad de México (art. 25: registered degree and professional licence; art. 26: only registered professionals may act in court; art. 31: written fee contract) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Registro Nacional de Profesionistas: consulta de cédulas profesionales Secretaría de Educación Pública · checked
Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (art. 16: 48-hour limit on detention by the prosecutor; art. 20 B VIII: right to a lawyer or a public defender; art. 27 I: foreign ownership and the restricted zone) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Ley de Inversión Extranjera (art. 10 A: Foreign Ministry agreement to buy outside the restricted zone) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (the notary calculates and pays over the tax on property sales) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Ley de Migración (temporary and permanent residence, visitors up to 180 days) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Instituto Nacional de Migración Gobierno de México · checked
Apostille Convention: status table Hague Conference on Private International Law · checked

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and amounts change: check the official sources below or ask a lawyer about your own situation.