She left the Supreme Court rather than stand for election under the reform that swept out Mexico's old judiciary; six months later, Ríos Farjat is a partner at Holland & Knight, a US firm that has litigated against the Mexican State.

This article by Obed Rosas originally appeared in the August 7, 2026 edition of SinEmbargo, a leading independent Mexican digital news outlet.

Mexico City, August 7 (SinEmbargo).— Former Justice Margarita Ríos Farjat joined the law firm Holland & Knight as a partner, a firm that has taken part in Mexico in major corporate, financial and energy operations, as well as in disputes in which private companies have faced the Mexican State and its regulatory bodies. Her practice has included international investment arbitrations and administrative litigation related to decisions by federal authorities, particularly in regulated sectors such as telecommunications and energy.

Holland & Knight has taken part in Mexico in a wide variety of corporate, regulatory, transactional and litigation matters, with a particular presence in the telecommunications, technology, automotive, infrastructure, energy and trade sectors. Its clients include large multinationals such as Telefónica, AT&T, Eutelsat, Chrysler, Daimler, Toyota and Hard Rock Café, as well as e-commerce companies, pharmaceutical firms, private equity funds and Mexican government entities.

“We are pleased to welcome Margarita to Holland & Knight. She is widely recognized for her exceptional career as a jurist, public official and adviser, and she brings unparalleled experience in constitutional, tax and regulatory matters in Mexico,” said Luis Rubio Barnetche, executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Mexico City office. “Although Margarita joined us six months ago, she has already integrated perfectly into the Firm and is having a significant impact across all our practice areas, strengthening our capabilities.”

Margarita Ríos Farjat during a Supreme Court session

Margarita Ríos Farjat left the Supreme Court and joined Holland & Knight as a partner, a firm with experience in litigation, arbitration and regulatory disputes in Mexico. Photo: Cuartoscuro

Ríos Farjat was one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) who resigned from the country’s highest court after deciding not to take part in the judicial election approved in the 2024 Reform, and who, in addition, were granted a lifetime retirement benefit in November 2024.

The Judicial Reform provided for the possibility that judges could opt to bring forward their retirement in order to receive a lifetime retirement benefit. “The Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation who conclude their term for not running or for not being elected in the extraordinary election of 2025 shall not be beneficiaries of a retirement benefit, except when they submit their resignation from the post before the closing date of the call set out in section I of article 96 of this Decree, which shall take effect on August 31, 2025; in these cases, the retirement benefit shall be proportional to their length of service,” reads the seventh transitory article of the Reform.

Margarita Ríos Farjat joined the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018 as head of the Tax Administration Service (SAT). A year later, in 2019, she was nominated by President López Obrador to the Supreme Court, where she voted against government provisions that distanced her from the ruling movement and the President. López Obrador himself said in September 2022 that he had “made a mistake” in nominating her and Justice Juan Luis González Alcántara Carrancá.

“I said: ‘I’m going to have the chance to nominate justices.’ I did my math, plus those already there, decent ones. ‘Well, it may be that we manage to have a majority, not to back me in abuses, but to reform the Judicial Branch so that there is really justice in Mexico.’ And guess what? I was wrong, because I made nominations but, once I nominated them, either because of the post or because they changed their minds: they’re no longer thinking about the transformation project and about delivering justice,” the President said at the time.

Margarita Ríos Farjat as head of the SAT under Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Margarita Ríos Farjat joined Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government in 2018 as head of the SAT, a post she left a year later to reach the Supreme Court. Photo: Isaac Esquivel, Cuartoscuro

A Revolving Door?

The U.S. firm Holland & Knight acknowledged in a statement on July 13 that Ríos Farjat’s “broad knowledge and experience in constitutional and tax law, particularly with regard to Mexico’s complex legislative and regulatory framework,” will allow her to “provide practical advice on a wide range of matters, including administrative issues, government regulation, regulatory compliance, tax planning and disputes, financial regulation, arbitration, insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, international judicial cooperation, and complex commercial transactions and disputes.”

“I am honored to join Holland & Knight, a firm whose commitment to excellence and international reach matches my desire to provide the highest quality legal advice. I am pleased to apply my experience to help clients face complex legal challenges and to continue contributing to strengthening the rule of law and economic growth in Mexico,” said Ríos Farjat, quoted by the firm. “I hope to contribute to the Firm’s already outstanding Latin American Practice and to continue my lifelong commitment to the rule of law, the promotion of human rights and the provision of high-value legal services to drive business growth, convinced that these three factors lead to regional prosperity.”

The U.S. firm Holland & Knight has taken part in Mexico not only in major corporate, financial and energy operations, but also in disputes in which private companies have faced the Mexican State and its regulatory bodies.

One of the most significant cases was that of Eutelsat S.A. against the United Mexican States, an investment arbitration initiated in 2017 before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), under the body’s additional facility mechanism.

Holland & Knight statement on the hiring of Margarita Ríos Farjat

Holland & Knight’s statement on Ríos Farjat’s hiring.

Holland & Knight represented the French company in a dispute valued by the firm itself at approximately 235 million dollars. The conflict was related to a concession in the telecommunications sector and was brought under the bilateral investment protection agreement between Mexico and France.

It was in September 2021 that an international tribunal decided to dismiss the claim of more than 120 million dollars filed by Eutelsat, which in 2014 acquired SATMEX and its concessions to occupy geostationary orbital positions. The firm accused the Ministry of Communications and Transportation of acting arbitrarily by refusing to reduce the free satellite capacity reserved for the State, in addition to harming its investment expectations and giving it discriminatory treatment.

The ICSID tribunal dismissed Eutelsat’s arguments, determined that Mexico had not breached its international obligations, and ordered the company to pay part of the costs and legal expenses of the arbitration.

Holland & Knight has also taken part in litigation against decisions by Mexican regulatory bodies. Among the notable matters is its representation of Grupo Eco, an operator of service stations under the ARCO brand, in various administrative nullity suits against resolutions of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). The disputes were related to the authority’s refusals to authorize permit modifications tied to the rebranding of service stations, taking the energy regulator’s decisions before the administrative courts.

These files are part of a broader Holland & Knight practice in Mexico focused on disputes between private investors and public authorities.

The firm itself notes that its lawyers have intervened in complex litigation and commercial and investment arbitrations related to Mexico, while specialized directories recognize its experience in regulatory, administrative and investment disputes. In that arena, the Eutelsat case is particularly significant because it shows the firm taking a dispute originating in acts of the Mexican State outside the national courts and toward an international mechanism for the settlement of disputes between investors and States.

In litigation and dispute resolution, in addition to the Eutelsat case against Mexico, it represented Hard Rock Café International in disputes that dragged on for more than a decade, including two arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce and judicial proceedings in Mexico and the United States. It also took part in NAFTA Chapter XIX disputes related to steel, footwear, agricultural products and fructose, as well as in the first dispute-resolution proceeding before ALADI over computers exported to Peru.

The firm’s practice likewise covers major corporate and industrial operations. It has advised on acquisitions of Mexican chemical, food and pharmaceutical companies; investments in aircraft maintenance and repair; franchise alliances; the installation of manufacturing plants in Mexico; and operations of the automotive and maquiladora industries. Its record includes structuring the sale of Chrysler’s electrical wiring division, advising the joint venture of Daimler and Automotores Mexicanos, and establishing Toyota’s operations in Mexico.

Finally, the firm has also worked directly with Mexican public agencies and entities. It represented the then Ministry of Communications and Transportation in the legal and regulatory analysis to expand public access to broadband internet; advised a state-owned bank on infrastructure tenders and contracts; took part in a nitrogen supply project for oil extraction; and in a major outsourcing project with the Ministry of Finance to build, operate and maintain tax data processing infrastructure.

About the Author

Obed Rosas is editor of SinEmbargo's Investigative Unit and head of its Books section, where he has also served as News Desk Chief and Social Media Editor. He co-hosts Poderos@s alongside Muna Dora, and Siete Días, alongside Álvaro Delgado, programs on SinEmbargo Al Aire. He has worked at other outlets such as Expansión, Newsweek en Español and Revista Zócalo. He holds a degree in Communication and Journalism from UNAM's FES Aragón and also studied Hispanic Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the same university.

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