The Mexican firm SMPS Legal announced the addition, effective October 19, 2026, of Carlos Martínez Rico as a partner in Tax Consulting and Foreign Trade, strengthening one of the firm’s strategic practices and expanding its capabilities to advise national and international clients on highly complex tax matters, as well as on foreign trade, a key area that seeks to meet the growing demands of the market.
The recent additions of Carlos Martínez Rico and Patricia López Padilla Barrera represent a strategic step in the growth of SMPS Legal’s tax practice, bringing complementary capabilities that strengthen both tax consulting and dispute resolution. This further enhances the firm’s ability to support national and international clients in their most complex and strategic tax decisions.
This strengthening consolidates a tax practice with greater depth and scope, prepared to respond to increasingly sophisticated and relevant issues for our clients. The complementary experience of Carlos and Patricia reinforces an advisory model that combines strategic vision, technical expertise, and a high degree of responsiveness.
More from Carlos Martínez Rico
Carlos joins the firm as a partner to strengthen its Tax and Transactional Consulting practice. He has over 20 years of experience advising national and international clients on taxation, tax disputes, and complex corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructurings.
His practice is distinguished by a comprehensive approach that combines tax design with corporate and regulatory structuring in cross-border projects. He has actively participated in the negotiation and implementation of strategic alliances, joint ventures, and co-investment schemes between global ultra-luxury brands (in the hospitality and real estate sectors) and private equity funds or stock market vehicles (CKDs, CERPIs, FIBRAs) in Mexico and Latin America.
Carlos has a solid reputation in the international market for his ability to optimize the tax impact of complex transactions, advising multinational companies, banks and financing entities, sovereign wealth funds and developers on the application of international treaties, BEPS standards and multi-jurisdictional reorganizations.
Prior to joining SMPS Legal, he worked as a legal advisor at leading global law firms based in New York and Mexico, giving him a global standard transactional vision in structuring highly complex mergers, acquisitions and financings.
Additionally, it advises companies on foreign trade, providing support in the tax planning of international operations, the design of structures for import and export, promotion programs, customs compliance and optimization of supply chains.
Throughout his career, Carlos has advised clients on large-scale transactions in strategic sectors such as Ultra-Luxury Hospitality, Real Estate, Private Equity, finance, global derivatives, public offerings, cross-border M&A, aviation, technology, fintech, manufacturing and entertainment.
He is a lawyer from the Escuela Libre de Derecho, where he also serves as a professor of International Tax Law at the postgraduate level, and has postgraduate courses that include an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.
“The arrival of Carlos and Patricia represents a key milestone in our expansion strategy. Carlos’s experience in the global market and at top-tier international firms brings unique value to our clients who execute complex cross-border transactions and strategic restructurings. His ability to connect tax sophistication with transactional structuring consolidates SMPS Legal as an indispensable partner for high-impact corporate decisions,” said Jorge San Martín, managing partner.
With these additions, SMPS Legal continues to consolidate a tax practice that integrates consulting, transactional structuring, international taxation, contingency prevention and litigation, with a business vision focused on supporting clients in increasingly complex and strategic decisions.
