Editors’ Note

Patricia Menéndez-Cambó is also Co-Chair of the Global Energy & Infrastructure Practice, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to assuming the leadership of the firm’s Global Practice Group, she headed the firm’s Latin American Practice.

In leading within so many parts of the firm, how do you balance your time?

Although I represent clients from around the world, my primary focus is on European transactions with an emphasis on deals involving companies from Spain and the Americas. I assist clients primarily with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and corporate transactions, as well as cross-border financings and capital markets matters, serving as lead counsel on numerous first-time cross-border transactions.

Would you provide a description of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Practice?

Our multidisciplinary team has wide-ranging experience representing U.S. and international clients who do business in Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, etc., as well as advising global clients on business ventures in the United States. Our experience throughout the regions enables us to offer clients market-specific local knowledge and resources. Our team includes lawyers who have been chief legal officers at major multinational companies and who have spent years solving real-world problems worldwide.

What are the strengths of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Energy & Infrastructure Practice?

We have the capability to bring together a multidisciplinary team of professionals from across the firm to assist clients with a broad range of project finance and infrastructure development opportunities, whether those exist in the U.S. or around the world. The Global Energy & Infrastructure team advises energy companies, utilities, project developers, investors, regulators, government entities, and other industry participants on key issues and challenges affecting their businesses.

How important is it to maintain that client interaction even with all of your management responsibilities?

I remain actively involved in the strategy and operations of my clients’ business, providing practical solutions to their business problems and serving as a catalyst for launching, growing, and maintaining successful businesses. This is a role I have played throughout my career in different settings. I previously served as Subdirectora General for Telefónica S.A. and General Counsel to a number of their subsidiaries and affiliates, assisting them with global expansion. During my tenure as in-house counsel, I was also a Director for a number of entities within the Telefónica Group throughout Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

I have managed to combine my professional success with my personal passion for supporting the growth and advancement of Hispanic women lawyers. At the firm, I led the development of a “role model” program throughout the Americas aimed at partnering today’s women leaders with members of the next generation. The program focuses on closing the economic gender gap and improving social norms by establishing a network of role models for women in the Americas.

Additionally, I have been an active member of the World Economic Forum’s Gender Parity group, which is committed to promoting women’s leadership and gender parity worldwide. Recently, I was recognized with the “Outstanding Contribution to Gender Diversity” award as part of the 2014 Chambers USA Women in Law Awards. I truly enjoy working in the U.S. and internationally to raise awareness of the issues affecting women lawyers. It is critical that the next generation of young women receive the mentoring and educational opportunities they need in the workplace to maximize their future leadership potential.•