Felipe Chapula Almaraz is a partner at CCN, where he became the first non-founding partner of the firm where he has worked as an attorney since 1996. He is the partner in charge of CCN’s offices in Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez.  His legal practice includes corporate, mergers and acquisitions, anti-trust, automotive and construction materials issues, as well as implementing business and customs strategies for exporters operating in accordance with numerous free trade agreements signed by Mexico, particularly with respect to rules of origin and certificates of origin. Mr. Chapula is experienced in tax and customs law and has worked on numerous complex international business transactions. Mr. Chapula speaks English and Spanish fluently and is accustomed to representing U.S., European, Central American and South American clients in their operations and investments in Mexico, as well as with many Mexican companies operating domestically. Among the notable legal matters worked on over the years is Mr. Chapula’s work with the automotive industries on two of the most complex anti-trust cases resolved by Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission. He has also worked on the conversion of a traditional maquiladora operation for a multi-national communications company operating only between the United States and Mexico, into an export platform for the client’s Central American and South American businesses, doing so duty free via implementation of free trade agreement strategies to enable increased exporting efficiency.