A fresh entry to the rankings this year, AVAH Legal is a firm with ambitious young partners who have quickly developed a substantial base of prominent clients. The practice was formed in December 2009, after 15 people left the IP and litigation division of Mijares Angoitia Cortés y Fuentes. Amongst them were Agustín Velazquez, a former partner of Mijares who founded its IP department in 2003, and associates Alberto Huerta, Alvaro Huerta, Mariel Velez, Marimar Bordes and Tomas Arankowsky, who went on to become partners of AVAH. They were later joined by several other former staff of Mijares.
Since its conception, the firm has been expanding rapidly. In May 2010, Victor Vila came on board as a partner, bringing over a dozen people from his Guadalajara firm with him. Following further recruitment, AVAH has grown to 40 people in two offices in Mexico City and Guadalajara. It has attracted clients including Google, Hershey, FIFA, Pernod Ricard, Danone and Televisa. Peers said that the firm is particularly strong in trade mark litigation. "They are doing very well," one competitor remarked.
The firm received ample praise from clients; one described its members as "smart and internationally minded", "great litigators and good in negotiation" and "among the very best in the IP field". Another patron said: "They are very professional. They are very interested in giving good quality support and they are very proactive. They don't send a memo or a report of 15 pages just to charge you a bill. They prepare a good brief and do good work." Velasquez was characterised as "a young lawyer who is very practical and effective" and Velez and Alvaro Huerta were also singled out for praise by clients.