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Welcome to Studying Law Around 
the World. 

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I'm Claudio Claus. 
In each episode, I talk with 

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lawyers, law students, and 
professors from different parts 

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of the world to talk about legal
education, careers, and what the

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profession looks like in real 
life. 

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We talk about the hard parts, 
the surprises, and the decisions

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that shaped their paths. 
Whether you're planning to study

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abroad, thinking about working 
in another legal system, or just

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curious about how law works 
around the world, this podcast 

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is for you. 
Today I have the opportunity to 

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interview Monica Moda. 
She's a lawyer with Bashan in 

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Mexico. 
She is an associate in the firm 

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in the corporate law area, in 
the Mexico City office, and her 

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practice has been developed in 
the areas of corporate 

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contracts, M and A, foreign 
investments and also real 

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estate. 
Thank you so much for taking the

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time to be in the podcast today,
Monica. 

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I really appreciate it. 
Thank you for inviting me and 

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hello everyone. 
Awesome, and just start your 

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interview today. 
I'd love for you to introduce 

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yourself to our. 
Guests, of course, my name is 

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Monica Mora. 
I work in Basham Rinci Correa, 

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which is a Mexican firm, is the 
old oldest firm in Mexico and I 

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practice, as you already 
mentioned, M&A, corporate real 

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estate and I am focused mainly 
in the luxury goods matters. 

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So I'm glad to be here. 
Amazing. 

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Once again, really appreciate 
you taking the time to join the 

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podcast today and going on to 
learn a little bit more about 

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your story. 
When I was preparing for this 

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episode, I learned that you 
graduated with honors from 

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Universidad Panamericana. 
Now you work at Bashan, one of 

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Mexico's top firms. 
So I wanted to ask you if there 

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was something that specifically 
drew you to specializing 

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corporate and a law over any 
other practice area? 

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Yeah, I, I started as a in-house
attorney. 

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So while I was working as an in 
house attorney, I have the 

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opportunity to learn about a lot
of areas of the law in Mexico. 

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And also my first law clerk job 
was in litigation. 

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So trying a little bit of all 
the areas of law, it cost my 

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attention to you know, how 
corporate law and contracts, but

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the economy and how can you 
negotiate a lot and well, that's

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what drew my attention to that 
area specifically. 

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Amazing. 
I'd love to tap into that. 

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Since you just mentioned your 
in-house work. 

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I, I actually did see that you 
spent nearly three years as an 

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in house lawyer for Nike. 
So I'd, I'd love to hear a 

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little more about how, how did 
that look like for you and also 

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working at such a major 
transnational brand, if that 

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changed their perspective and, 
and also if that in any way help

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you to understand the needs of 
your current corporate clients. 

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Yes and but Nike was wasn't my 
first job as an in house 

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attorney at first I starting 
Flextronics which is a factory 

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manufacturing company based in 
Guadalajara, which is where 

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where I am from. 
I was born and raised over there

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and I study over there. 
So my first job was in 

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immigration matters. 
I didn't like it at all, but I 

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know that there are a lot of 
people that like it because I 

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think that it is mainly with it 
has to go with your personality.

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You know, you have to, to be 
passionate about what you're 

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doing. 
In that time it, it was OK for 

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me because I could study. 
Meanwhile, I was a lock clerk 

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and then I had the opportunity 
to to join Nike as a in-house 

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attorney and to support the 
legal director. 

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And you know, Nike is a great 
company. 

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I am really, really glad that I 
started over there. 

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But at least generally, I think 
that if I have a size started in

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house attorney, I think that I 
lack a lot of expertise. 

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While I was experiencing that 
those early years, you know, I 

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was able to learn a lot about 
the company and learned a lot 

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about the sports world, which 
was quite fun. 

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But the truth is that one, while
I was really young, I think that

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I hired a lot of attorneys to do
this specific matters that I was

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that I was eager to do. 
So that's something that made me

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realize that I was not going to 
be a in-house attorney for all 

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my life. 
So that's when I choose to 

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change factory brats and then I 
join Avash Amber into Korea at 

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10 years ago. 
So, and I am here, I'm still 

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here and I think that my, my 
career, my career path has been 

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growing through the Hawaii 
ambition it. 

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So I think that it was a good 
experience for me. 

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I learned a lot how to deal with
the client to, to understand the

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clients needs. 
But I think that nowadays and 

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for the, the experiences that I 
wanted to have, maybe starting 

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in a lot and a lot of learning 
the basics at first will be also

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a great idea. 
But I'm, I don't have any 

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regrets. 
You know, I, I had a great time 

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over there. 
I learned a lot of sports, law 

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and retail. 
I, I was over there while the, 

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the World Cup in Brazil had took
place. 

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So I learned a little bit of 
Portuguese over there and with 

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some Olympic Games. 
So I think that those were some 

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experiences that I wouldn't 
change, but maybe it cost me a 

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little bit of hard work when I 
where I started a position in a 

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firm like fashion. 
And that makes sense. 

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Incredible. 
It's very interesting because 

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most of the in-house counsel 
people that I have interviewed 

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here in the podcast, most of the
lawyers, they did have some firm

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experience and then 
transitioning entering house. 

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So it's always interesting to 
see how careers can just take 

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such different shapes and you 
can kind of build your own 

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journey. 
And I and I love that you shared

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how that was for you. 
And I think that some, well, 

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there's, it has to go with your 
personality. 

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You know, for example, I have a 
friend, a close friend that, you

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know, she loves to be an in 
house attorney. 

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She hates to be in a firm. 
And while I because later in my 

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experience here in Bashan, I had
two seconds, one in Mexican, 

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which is a Mexican company with 
mines and a lot of banks and 

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stuff like that, but a lot of 
businesses. 

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And then I joined my pill as a 
as a legal director for four 

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months. 
So it was different my 

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experience starting in in a 
company and then when I, when I 

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have a little bit more of 
experience to join those 

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companies, it was different. 
But I think that it was great, 

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you know, it was quite fun. 
You know, it was the time to be 

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in Nike and I learned a lot. 
I, I have great friendships over

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there nowadays. 
Some of them are my clients. 

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So I don't regret, but it's not 
the common path, you know. 

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And when I joined Basham, it 
took me a lot of hard work to to

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recover the the specialization 
that I needed to succeed in the 

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firm. 
'S fantastic. 

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No, very, very interesting to 
hear. 

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And considering where you are in
the world now practicing Mexico,

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I wanted to ask you just 
quickly, you know, there's a lot

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of very interesting things going
on, a lot of foreign investment 

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in Mexico. 
And I'm wondering what are some 

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things that that come up for you
as you know, challenges or 

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questions that international 
clients will bring to you at 

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this moment? 
We have, we have been facing a 

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lot of amendments to law because
we change from upright party to 

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a left party. 
So nowadays some of those 

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amendments are difficult to 
explain to our clients because 

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we have to comply with law and 
some relations seems to be off 

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to them or seems to be a little 
bit interested. 

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For example, we just face a 
change in anti money laundry law

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in order to incorporate a 
Mexican entity or to do any kind

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of change in their corporate 
structure. 

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And we have to provide a lot of 
information even though that in 

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those countries is not allowed 
to provide that information and 

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we have to ask for information 
of their spouses. 

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So that's really hard to explain
to the clients. 

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Also some labour changes also 
trigger and makes our clients to

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question why we're asking for 
all of that information. 

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But at the end we need to comply
with law and it's hard to 

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explain to them. 
But at the end they all of them 

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comply. 
But it's a big challenge because

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it delay the arrival of some 
entities in Mexico and of course

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all the regulatory compliance 
that sometimes is scared to 

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understand for example, in some 
local jurisdictions just such 

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ask Internet roll. 
We have to comply with local and

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to federal laws, which is which 
seems kind of a lot for some of 

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our clients. 
So it's hard to explain to them.

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But I think that due to the 
geographical conditions of 

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Mexico, it's important and and 
with all the nurturing trend, I 

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think that Mexico is an economy 
that it's really great to 

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invest. 
So at the end it's some there 

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those are some of our 
difficulties to nowadays are 

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with new clients arriving to 
Mexico, Orchid purchasing some 

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companies in Mexico lot we 
explaining them and with the the

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team of specialists that we 
have, we have success with that,

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but it's it's hard sometimes. 
Well, thank you so much for 

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sharing. 
That's, that's always very 

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interesting to know what's going
on in different countries and 

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what are, you know, the, the 
current challenges that the 

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legal professionals are facing 
speaking about, you know, this 

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international scenario and, and 
you know, the national component

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to it. 
I also know you're an active 

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member of the International Bar 
Association and more 

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specifically in the Young 
Lawyers Committee. 

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I wanted you to ask you a little
bit about the, the networking 

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aspect at the, you know, the 
value you get from being a part 

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of the IBA. 
How has this experience been for

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you? 
It's quite fun. 

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I never thought that it would be
so fun, but I am the Mexican, 

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the Mexican representative of 
the German Lawyers Committee and

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I have been attending to the IBA
for three years now. 

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I started quite young, further 
the age of the persons who are 

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attending. 
And I think that it's a really 

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huge opportunity because I never
thought the importance of 

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producing your own work in the 
firm, you know, having a network

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that is willing to send you work
and to trust in your work, it's 

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something really valuable in 
your career path. 

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You know, if you want to be a 
partner, I think that is 

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something that you need to do. 
So the other day was statement 

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into our webinar about Woman's 
in the rain makers and they said

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that prior to via partner, you 
need to do a lot of networking 

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for for at least seven years and
you know, and no one tells you 

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that. 
So the thing here is that I 

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think that it's a great 
opportunity. 

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You make great friends, but also
you learn a lot about of 

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different jurisdictions and you 
start to positioning you in the 

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firm as a person who can bring 
work to the firm, which is 

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really important. 
They also can see how you work 

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and how responsible you are. 
So if you, I don't know if we, 

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we both work together with 
during the day, I have a 

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conference in order to set up a 
panel or something like that. 

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You can see my work and you can 
trust in me. 

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So then if you have any, any in 
Mexico, you will share it with 

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me. 
You know you will, you will 

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refer clients and it's really 
important for your career path 

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to have referrals. 
So for me, it has been a great 

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experience. 
I am also part of the John 

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called CEO of Latin America. 
And that it's funny because 

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while I was preparing because we
host 2 year, one year ago here 

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in Mexico. 
I don't know if you attempt, but

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it was a great conference to 
attend. 

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And you know, as I was a Mexican
one, I organized a lot of events

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and met a lot of people and 
stuff like that and it drove me 

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to know the right persons. 
And nowadays they, an 

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association of international 
women's in law, choose me as 

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their president in Mexico, which
is a really big deal. 

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So I think that it wouldn't be 
possible if I if I wasn't doing 

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all of this work in the IBA and,
you know, knowing the right 

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people. 
And it's hard because I know 

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that I don't know if this was 
your first conference or not, 

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but for the for first timers, 
it's hard because you are a 

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little bit lost. 
You know, we are young 

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attorneys, but I am 36. 
I'm not so young anymore. 

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But for this conference, we are 
the young ones. 

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And The thing is that you start 
to, to, to be in the same events

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that the, the persons, the right
persons and the persons with the

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right science that, that they 
can also mentor you. 

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So I found a lot of mentors, 
women mentors, because here in 

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Mexico is not, it's, it's not a 
lie to say that we don't have a 

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lot of Mexican woman's attorneys
to be partner in some friends 

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and stuff like that. 
Even though in chambers, we are 

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the country with less ranking 
woman. 

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So it's, it's something that we 
need to take care of. 

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And I think that in these kind 
of events I found the mentorship

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that I was trying to find. 
Fantastic. 

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No, that's amazing. 
And I'm glad you brought up the,

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the IBA or for instance, it was 
actually my first international 

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Bar Association conference this 
year in Toronto. 

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Definitely couldn't miss it when
you have it, you know, in in 

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your hometown. 
So it was just an amazing 

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conference. 
And as you said, there's so much

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going on. 
And then I think that this is 

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something that everybody talks 
about you, you don't know really

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what the conference isn't you 
it's happening because there's a

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lot of the a lot of the firms 
are are making private events 

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and then you just getting 
invitation if you know the right

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people and all of that. 
So I probably learned about it 

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too late, unfortunately. 
But now I know for the upcoming 

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years a little bit more of how 
the dynamic goes and how to make

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the most out of the conference. 
I think there is, there's a 

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thing, there's like a benefit, 
but also a bedside period being 

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hosted in your home city because
you experienced it, right. 

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So I'm sure it's a lot better 
when you get to go to someone 

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else's city and then you 
actually take that time really 

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off for that. 
So it's been interesting to 

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navigate all of that. 
But I wanted to ask you, you 

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know, specifically about the the
Toronto conference now backing 

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November 2025. 
Just for context, we're 

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recording this podcast in 
January 2026. 

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So I wanted to ask you, you 
know, was there any specific 

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personal highlights that you 
took from the event? 

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Was there, you know, take away 
that you brought back from the 

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conference to your practice? 
Yeah, you know, all the AI 

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components was like the main 
topic. 

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I love it because you know, as 
we are reviewing which kind of 

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AI to hire in the firm and you 
know all of these questions of 

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how it will, because it is the 
gossip like AI will do all the 

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junior associates work or the 
work. 

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It is just great to see how 
other firms and other 

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jurisdiction have navigated with
these new topics. 

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It also will highlight for me 
was the retreat that we have in 

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Niagara Falls, which is a great 
opportunity to discuss with 

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young attorneys how they are 
navigating to this path, You 

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know, making friends. 
I think that is the base of what

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IBA's is made for. 
You know, maybe there's a lot of

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conference and everything, but I
think that the, the human 

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contact that you have in those 
conferences, the, and all the 

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events and all the priorities 
and all the meetings and 

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everything with the, the 
launches and everything makes 

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you understand how other 
jurisdictions are dealing with 

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the same challenges that you are
dealing with. 

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And maybe you didn't thought 
that a jurisdiction would be 

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interested in your, in your 
country to invest or, and you 

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convince them. 
And it's, and, and you learn 

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because I'm the younger one of, 
or, or of our idea team. 

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And it's a great experience to 
learn how the business is made 

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by the, the senior partners that
are attending. 

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So for me, the highlight will 
be, of course, the networking 

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and all the AI information that 
we take home and we are 

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implementing right now. 
I think that it's great. 

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And of course, you know, the, 
the, just the experience, I 

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think that is worth it. 
It's really tired. 

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00:17:38,410 --> 00:17:41,980
All the times that I attend to 
the IBA, I just lost my voice. 

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But at the end, I think that 
it's it's worth it. 

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00:17:47,190 --> 00:17:50,400
I totally understand that and 
I'm glad I I really got that 

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00:17:50,410 --> 00:17:52,800
privilege to attend this year. 
I'm looking forward to to 

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attending in upcoming years as 
well. 

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I hope to to be able to 
contribute even more in the 

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00:17:57,690 --> 00:18:02,320
upcoming additions for share. 
The success of the IBA is not 

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00:18:02,330 --> 00:18:07,840
just to attend to one event, 
it's to attend many years so you

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00:18:07,850 --> 00:18:10,720
can can take care of the 
relationship that you are 

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00:18:10,730 --> 00:18:12,320
building. 
So the thing and my 

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00:18:12,330 --> 00:18:16,080
recommendation for you and your 
audience is that if you're 

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00:18:16,090 --> 00:18:19,620
planning to attend, try to 
attend as many ideas as 

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00:18:19,630 --> 00:18:21,460
possible. 
I know that sometimes it is hard

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00:18:21,470 --> 00:18:23,560
because of the Yeah. 
And and of course, if you don't 

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00:18:23,570 --> 00:18:28,360
have your firm support as if I 
am as I have, sorry, I think 

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00:18:28,370 --> 00:18:34,290
that you have to choose maybe 
the local or the regional forums

304
00:18:34,300 --> 00:18:38,160
that are nearby and to attend, 
but always attend to the same 

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00:18:38,170 --> 00:18:42,740
events so you can cultivate your
relationship with your fellows 

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00:18:42,750 --> 00:18:45,570
attorneys around the world. 
Very, very interesting. 

307
00:18:45,580 --> 00:18:47,680
Thank you for sharing that. 
Something that I think we 

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00:18:47,690 --> 00:18:50,880
haven't mentioned yet, and it 
was very interesting as I 

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00:18:50,890 --> 00:18:53,880
learned about your profile, is 
that you also taught legal 

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00:18:53,890 --> 00:18:56,300
ethics. 
So I'd love to hear a little bit

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00:18:56,310 --> 00:18:58,300
about this experience as a 
professor. 

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00:18:58,550 --> 00:19:01,720
And not only that, the main 
audience of the podcast here are

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00:19:01,730 --> 00:19:05,600
early career professionals, law 
students just getting out of law

314
00:19:05,610 --> 00:19:07,400
school. 
And I wanted to ask you if 

315
00:19:07,410 --> 00:19:10,550
there's, you know, a few things 
that maybe you've experienced 

316
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,640
yourself or you see associates 
that where you know, starting up

317
00:19:13,650 --> 00:19:16,380
their careering law juniors 
coming into the profession. 

318
00:19:16,850 --> 00:19:21,300
Are there a few things be then 
skills or mindsets that you 

319
00:19:21,310 --> 00:19:25,220
believe that are maybe lacking a
little bit in the in this new 

320
00:19:25,230 --> 00:19:28,680
generation coming in and that 
might be crucial for them to 

321
00:19:28,690 --> 00:19:32,820
understand, develop and grow as 
they once you have a future in 

322
00:19:32,830 --> 00:19:37,990
this profession? 
Solve skills are essential if 

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00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,570
you want to succeed as an 
attorney. 

324
00:19:39,580 --> 00:19:44,590
Sometimes we think that if it's 
enough to prepare, in my case, 

325
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,370
preparing the best contract that
you can do, but it wouldn't, it 

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00:19:48,380 --> 00:19:50,530
wouldn't. 
If you want to, to pursue a 

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00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:52,110
partner track, I think that it 
would. 

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00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,580
It would not be enough. 
You need to this to learn about 

329
00:19:56,590 --> 00:19:59,900
soft skills. 
You need to learn how to 

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00:19:59,910 --> 00:20:05,060
negotiate. 
How to, for example, being as a 

331
00:20:05,070 --> 00:20:09,090
woman in this kind of field, you
need to, to learn how to 

332
00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:11,220
navigate with machos, for 
example, right? 

333
00:20:11,230 --> 00:20:15,060
So how can I answer to that to a
person that is not willing to 

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00:20:15,070 --> 00:20:16,780
negotiate with me because I am a
woman? 

335
00:20:16,850 --> 00:20:20,380
Some things that no one, nobody 
tells you about that. 

336
00:20:20,390 --> 00:20:24,000
And in my experience, it's great
to have mentors In Mexico, we 

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00:20:24,010 --> 00:20:25,960
have a lot of mentorship 
programs. 

338
00:20:26,010 --> 00:20:29,370
So if you have the chance that 
to, to get into one, I think 

339
00:20:29,380 --> 00:20:32,180
that it would be great. 
But if not, you can ask a 

340
00:20:32,190 --> 00:20:36,540
professor to, to provide some 
guidance and mentorship. 

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00:20:36,590 --> 00:20:39,560
And if you're in a firm, you 
need to have a sponsor and no 

342
00:20:39,570 --> 00:20:41,960
one tells you that. 
So I think that it's crucial to 

343
00:20:41,970 --> 00:20:47,080
have such soft skills and 
something that I learn about my 

344
00:20:47,090 --> 00:20:52,000
students after COVID pandemics 
is that, you know, all these 

345
00:20:52,010 --> 00:20:56,460
social media produced like, like
a, a false dream of how you have

346
00:20:56,470 --> 00:20:59,420
to perform your, your career 
path. 

347
00:20:59,670 --> 00:21:05,440
You know, maybe we can watch 
some junk attorneys or 

348
00:21:05,450 --> 00:21:10,020
influencers to achieving great 
goals like having a Ferrari when

349
00:21:10,030 --> 00:21:13,700
they are 25. 
But I think that everything that

350
00:21:13,710 --> 00:21:16,680
is worth it takes a lot of 
effort. 

351
00:21:16,810 --> 00:21:21,400
So nowadays, I think that the 
young, the younger generations 

352
00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:26,340
want everything really fast and 
they need to learn to be patient

353
00:21:26,410 --> 00:21:31,360
because it's not something 
really, it is not easy to pursue

354
00:21:31,370 --> 00:21:34,490
your career part in a firm or 
the company or anything. 

355
00:21:35,150 --> 00:21:37,800
You will have challenges and you
will have consequences. 

356
00:21:37,810 --> 00:21:41,330
Sometimes you will lose a job, 
sometimes you will someone else 

357
00:21:41,340 --> 00:21:45,120
will climb faster than you are 
because another thing that is 

358
00:21:45,130 --> 00:21:51,620
not in your, in your expertise, 
maybe they need a, a labour 

359
00:21:51,630 --> 00:21:53,310
partner and journal of labour 
partners. 

360
00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,480
So you're not going to be 
partners so fast. 

361
00:21:56,580 --> 00:22:01,660
What, what I think that I would 
recommend them is to have 

362
00:22:01,670 --> 00:22:05,520
patience and have a lot of 
effort and learn and, and, and 

363
00:22:05,530 --> 00:22:09,680
to do something that makes them,
makes them different for the 

364
00:22:09,690 --> 00:22:13,260
rest of the competition because 
this profession is really 

365
00:22:13,270 --> 00:22:17,390
competitive. 
So you have to have difference 

366
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,970
difference matters that make you
shine. 

367
00:22:21,980 --> 00:22:25,590
You know, for example, you can 
you can learn another language 

368
00:22:25,740 --> 00:22:29,290
is not enough to learn English 
because you know, here in 

369
00:22:29,300 --> 00:22:34,490
Mexico, all all the old city 
learn English And sometimes even

370
00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:37,850
though that that because all the
gentrification and stuff like 

371
00:22:37,860 --> 00:22:40,850
that, we have to learn English. 
But now you have to learn 

372
00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:42,610
another language is 
recommendable. 

373
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,010
Then another suggestion would be
to learn soft skills, as I 

374
00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:50,310
already mentioned, and also to 
took care of their mental health

375
00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:54,440
and over themselves because my 
generation, millennials were 

376
00:22:54,450 --> 00:23:00,140
known to like forgetting about 
ourselves and letting the work 

377
00:23:00,150 --> 00:23:03,980
and everything else come first. 
But I think that that if you are

378
00:23:03,990 --> 00:23:07,000
not great in your mind or in 
your body, you're not going to 

379
00:23:07,010 --> 00:23:10,270
be a great attorney. 
So that's some of our other of 

380
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:15,200
the tips that I will like to 
provide to junk attorneys and of

381
00:23:15,210 --> 00:23:18,480
course if they need some advice 
that you can provide my link 

382
00:23:18,490 --> 00:23:21,270
need account or some on my 
e-mail and they can contact me 

383
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,310
directly. 
But I think that the best advice

384
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,500
will be that. 
Thank you so much, Monica. 

385
00:23:26,510 --> 00:23:29,340
It was a great opportunity to 
learn more about your 

386
00:23:29,350 --> 00:23:32,340
background, learn more from your
insights as well. 

387
00:23:32,550 --> 00:23:35,000
Really wanted to thank you for 
taking the time to being in the 

388
00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:37,140
podcast today and thank you all 
for tuning in. 

389
00:23:37,510 --> 00:23:41,620
Thank you for inviting me and 
hope it was worth it. 

390
00:23:41,630 --> 00:23:45,610
Help someone over there. 
And absolutely will.