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Gabriela Alana

Maria Gabriela Alaña Castro

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About
Gabriela Alaña represents Mexican and international real estate developers of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and resort projects in real estate transactions. She assists in the structuring, implementation and negotiaton of transactions including the acquisition, development and construction of office buildings, shopping centers, industrial facilities, hotels, timeshare resorts and residential projects, as well as the implementation of timeshare, fractional and whole-ownership regimes, and financing in connection with real estate projects and leasing of properties.

Gabriela has broad experience representing clients in acquisitions and dispositions. She counsels clients in matters related to the development and implementation of corporate and financial structures. She additionally counsels a broad range of national and international clients in connection with their data privacy matters in Mexico.
Areas of FocusReal Estate

EXPERIENCE

  • Represented a major architecture group in connection with a JV with a large Canadian pension fund for an amount of US$130 million to develop and operate various mixed-use real estate developments located in strategic locations in Mexico City and other States of Mexico
  • Represented a major architecture group in the acquisition of a 190,000-square-foot property to expand an existing high-end mixed-use real estate development in Mexico City
  • Represented a real estate investment group in the acquisition of properties in various states in Mexico for US$40 million. Additionally assisted in the negotiation of JVs with local partners for the development, management and operation of industrial parks located in sundry states
  • Represented a Mexican developer in a JV for the construction, development and operation of a mixed-use project, including office and retail, in the high-end Polanco area in Mexico City
  • Represented an engineering and architecture group in the structuring of a high-end residential beachfront project to be located in Punta Mita, Nayarit through a master trust structure
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
Education
  • University of San Francisco, LL.M., International Business Transactions, 2000
  • Law, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 1996

Awards

The Legal 500 Latin America

  • Leading Lawyer, Mexico Real Estate (2019, 2021-2022)
  • Next Generation Partner, Mexico Real Estate (2017-2018)
Additional Awards
  • Real Estate Law, Best Lawyers in Latin America® (2020)

Pro Bono

Gabriela serves as the Pro Bono Coordinator for DLA Piper’s Mexico City Office and a member of the firm’s North American Pro Bono Committee.

She additionally coordinates and participates in legal workshops organized by Fundación Appleseed México, A.C. in favor of Civil Society Organizations to increase their legal literacy and the level of compliance of its obligations in connection with data protection matters.

Further, Gabriela assists in the Mexico Pro Bono Standards, a project committed to standardizing pro bono work in Mexico and promoting pro bono culture among law students, law schools, law firms, private entities and the government.

Prior Experience

Before joining DLA Piper, Gabriela was a partner at Gallástegui y Lozano, S.C., which merged into DLA Piper in February 2015. Earlier in her career, Gabriela practiced at a prominent Mexican law firm, focusing on real estate, corporate and securities matters. She additionally worked in the legal department of a major Mexican bank.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Board of Directors, ONG Fundación Appleseed México, A.C.
  • Board, DLA Piper's Global Scholarship Program

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