Total Creditor Protection

Whether you are selling on credit, or making a direct loan, you fit the profile of a “creditor”, and you need protection against your debtor. The risk of non-payment will always be there, but you have to make sure that you minimize such risk to the extent possible.

There are plenty of things that creditors can and should do to reduce risk, both before and after the sale or loan, all of which having to be planned in advanced and established as business policies for execution on a daily basis. If a creditor is to reach total protection, he needs to be mindful of four key areas that are mandatory for risk mitigation in Mexico and Latin America: 1) credit management, 2) secured transactions, 3) debt collection, and 4) litigation.

These services can only be provided in a cost-effective manner by a team that brings a mix of technical and professional expertise, with a proven track-record of solving and preventing problems specific to creditors. This is what HMH Legal is all about: providing total creditor protection to its specific client base.

Professional Services

While debt collection agencies and business consulting firms may be able to help with debt collection and credit management issues, we believe that the most reliable and sound advice for business affairs in Mexico and Latin America comes only from those firms that rely on good legal counsel. Buyers and borrowers (both future debtors), will react and respond to creditors in part to their perception of the performance levels of their courts and legal system, and by what they believe their creditors will be able to do in such courts. This is not just common sense; it is basic economics. Specifically, debtors respond to incentives. Do to the many challenges that courts face throughout this region, the legal process many times becomes debtor-friendly. Debtors know about this, and sometimes they take advantage.

To offset this situation, creditors have to level the playing field. This starts with helping sellers and lenders secure their transactions through proper documentation, which will give them the needed edge in court. This not only helps reinforce their legal position, but it creates the required incentives for debtors to perform voluntarily, and thus, avoid litigation. We believe this area of secured transactions to be a critical part of the credit management function; one that can only be fulfilled with the help of the experienced lawyer.

On the other hand, only attorneys with litigation experience will be able to asses a particular legal cause, and thus, provide the necessary input for effective negotiation and sound decision-making during pre-legal collection efforts. If such friendly endeavors should fail, only the experienced and local litigation attorney will be able to develop the soundest strategy, and put up a strong case for litigation in that jurisdiction.

Therefore, the legal professional would be an essential figure in a firm that intends to offer total creditor protection.

Technical Services

While a team of lawyers is necessary for filing legal actions and doing transactional work to protect the business of the creditor, there are different areas of creditor protection that do not necessarily involve legal work and can actually benefit from experts in other areas. This is where experts in credit management and debt collection come in.

Not only do these savvy technicians provide such services in a cost-effective manner, but because of their experience and expertise, they can bring a perspective and approach that lawyers simply have trouble following. Debt collection is a mix of art and sport, where only the best salesmen are able to achieve success on a consistent basis, all while avoiding litigation. Credit management is purely a business function, usually alien to the typical lawyer whose concerns are strictly legal in nature.

Therefore, for striking a balance between cost and effectiveness, you need the savvy and experienced technicians, in addition to that good legal counsel.

Before Sale/Loan

Creditor protection should start well before the sale or loan takes place. This encompasses technical services in credit management to establish credit policies and allow a better assessment of buyers and borrowers, as well as professional services in secure transactions to properly document a transaction and level the playing field for the creditor. In fact, this is definitely the stage where creditors should concentrate efforts to avoid future losses or increased costs in their business transactions.

After Sale/Loan

Creditor protection may be required after the sale or loan takes place. This encompasses technical services in debt collection to pursue any outstanding balances by debtors through an amicable phase, as well as professional services in litigation to commence any such legal action in cases where those amicable efforts fail, or when there is a pressing need to secure creditors’ rights through the courts. While this may not be a recurrent need, creditors need a qualified group of experienced professionals who can help them reach sound decisions and act fast.

Debt Collection

The core of our business is out-of-court collection and litigation, concentrating on commercial claims or B2B matters. HMH Legal uses savvy pre-legal collectors as well as experienced litigation attorneys to assist creditors in collecting debt. These professionals are involved early in the initial stages of the collection process, which is amicable. Only when a solution is not reached during the first stage, we turn our cases to our litigation experts to assess the possibility of legal action.

HMH Legal has been able to cast a wide network of collection partners and associates throughout Mexico and Latin America, who fit our unique profile and possess needed skills, such as: 1) litigation experience; 2) debt collection expertise; 3) local presence; 4) knowledge of international law; and 5) willingness to work under contingency fees. In addition, all our partners, associates, and staff follow the proprietary process and policies for collection established by our firm, to guarantee the best chances of success. All of this, along with our online reporting system (available 24/7), makes us the ideal go-to firm for placing an account for collection in Mexico and Latin America.

For more information on all related services, please visit our main section on debt collection. To submit a claim for immediate collection, please use our claim form. For information on areas covered by our firm please see our interactive map.

Litigation

While the core business of HMH Legal is debt collection, the nature of the firm and its roots lies in litigation. Our lawyers have been hand-picked to meet our profile, which requires certain traits to provide success and cost-effective results to our clients: 1) litigation experience; 2) debt collection expertise; 3) local presence; 4) knowledge of international law; and 5) willingness to work under contingency fees. In addition, HMH Legal employs a proprietary process for litigation, which includes strategic planning and project management for all cases.

Moreover, our flexible fee structure and contingency arrangement is what separates HMH Legal from other litigation firms in the area, and what allows credit managers to pursue debt collection claims through legal means. We believe that only by sharing the risk and cost of litigation we are able to put ourselves in the shoes of the clients, which allows us to be truly sensible and empathetic about their concerns. All of this is what makes our firm competitive, internationally focused, and separates us from the rest.

The following is a list of some of the services that our litigation attorneys have full capability to provide:

• General civil and commercial litigation for recovery of debt
• Creditor representation during insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings
• Enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards through judicial courts
• Service of process and obtainment of evidence in aid of foreign legal proceedings
• Prosecution or criminal actions for fraud and to pierce the corporate veil, in aid of debt collection

For more information on all related legal services, please visit our main section on litigation. To submit a claim for immediate collection or litigation assessment, please use our claim form. For information on areas covered by our firm please see our interactive map.

Credit Management

HMH Legal is able to assist credit managers during the due diligence process of investigation and assessment of buyers and borrowers, as well as with the implementation of policies specific to the credit management function. While our professionals specialized in secured transactions will help with policies and procedures that relate to the terms of sale or loan, as well as those that govern the use of collateral and other security devices, our experts in credit management can assist creditors with all other required functions to assess credit risk properly and minimize exposure. Among many of the services provided related to due diligence work, we can point out the following:

Company verification
• Online databases and lawsuits investigations
• Corporate and business information at local public registries
• Assets and liens searches at local public registries
• Business and financial report from prospect’s interview
• Appraisals of real estate and movable assets by certified appraisers
• Skip tracing of individuals
• Private investigations
• For more information on these and other related services please visit our main section on credit management.

Secured Transactions

At HMH Legal, we believe that the spectrum of secured transactions is wide, encompassing all kinds of legal strategies to protect creditors and investors by giving them legal options for redress with an advantage. For a strategy to be successful, you need an experienced team of lawyers that have a proven track record of seeing and dealing with related problem-cases in litigation, which is necessary to achieve a sound due diligence work and develop proven plans to avoid similar problems in the future. In the areas of sales and loans, these professionals need to be aware of and sensible to the credit management function, in order to develop sound policies and procedures that will complement those of the credit manager, and be implemented with ease. With this in mind, HMH Legal casts a unique team of professionals and experts that allows for the best advice and legal services in the area of secured transactions.

Under these circumstances, HMH Legal has been able to assist all kinds of creditors and investors in securing multiple projects and transactions. Whether it’s a direct sale or loan by a foreign exporting company or a commercial lender, or an investment project (franchising, licensing, joint ventures, purchase of business assets or real estate, etc.), our team has the ability to properly assess risk, and implement strategies to give clients a strategic advantage in order to prevent or successfully resolve problems in court.

For more information on all related services, please visit our main section on secured transactions.

Mediation

HMH legal provides comprehensive private mediation services to help resolve or prevent, as efficient and cost-effective as possible, disputes (inclusive of debt collection) or litigation arising from commercial transactions, or from other non-business related matters. In keeping with the fundamental objective of mediation, the Firm's services are geared to facilitating resolutions by the parties themselves to avoid protracted and expensive litigation, through an experienced and impartial individual whose role is to provide options for the parties through an atmosphere that is favorable to reaching an agreement. Our mediation services group is headed by Liliana Hernandez, a certified mediator and lawyer who has extensive experience in the field acquired by having helped individuals and companies settle hundreds of cases through the Center for Alternative Justice in the State of Baja California.