Camerons takes sole legal place on PM's Latin trip

PPP ADVICE: City firm seeks opportunities in Mexico and Brazil

CMS Cameron McKenna was the sole representative of City lawyers to accompany the prime minister's trade trip to central and south America earlier this month.The firm was invited on the trip by organisers Trade Partners UK, which asked it to join for its expertise in public/private partnerships (PPP), an area of strong interest in Mexico.Robert Philips, a partner in Camerons' project finance group, attended along with Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, chairman of NM Rothschild, to advise on PPP.Mr Philips said he attended three sessions in Mexico talking to policymakers and developers about transport and energy.Fellow Camerons partner Fiona Woolf has already advised the Mexican government in relation to the restructuring of its electricity supply, and the firm is acting in London for the preferred bidder for one of the three proposed tranches of the London Underground PPP.

That company is also bidding for another tranche for which the preferred bidder has yet to be announced.Mr Philips also went to Brazil, where he said there are 'real opportunities for lawyers'.Although Bureau Francis Lefebvre - the French member of Camerons' CMS network - has a small office in Brazil, Mr Philips said the firm is watching developments there closely, with a view to possible expansion.Jeremy Fleming