WBD’s LATAM Practice, Partners José Luis Vittor & Francisco Balduzzi, Recognized by Legal 500

For the second consecutive year, Legal 500 has honored Womble Bond Dickinson’s Latin America practice and Partners José Luis Vittor and Francisco Balduzzi as City Leaders in Houston.

Legal 500 wrote, “Womble Bond Dickinson‘s emergent Latin America practice is led out of the Houston office by José Luis Vittor, a partner in the Finance Group who specializes in structuring, financing and project development matters, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors, along with cross-border banking, M&A, and foreign direct investments; he also leads the firm’s oil and gas practice. Fellow partner Francisco Balduzzi is a former head of legal (for Latin America and Asia Pacific) at Barrick Mining Corporation and is co-chair of the mining practice group of the firm; he also specializes in cross-border and international corporate and commercial investment transactions and disputes involving Latin America. Since the recruiting of a leading arbitration practice in the US with the arrival of Alex de Gramont, the Latin America practice expanded with the firm’s establishment of a strategic alliance with Brazil’s Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira & Agel Advogados in March 2025, further building out its reach in the region, with a particular focus on the energy sector and the recent hire of project development and finance London partner Colin Graham.”

From Womble’s office in Houston, Texas, the LATAM Practice Team advises international and U.S. companies doing business throughout Latin America, particularly in M&As, cross-border contracts, financing transactions, project development, regulatory matters, environmental issues, and international arbitration.