About the author
Javier F. Becerra studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City and graduated on June 6, 1967. Undertook postgraduate studies in England, in the field of comparative law, at Cambridge University and as a member of Trinity College. Worked for more than 40 years with the Mexico City law firm of Messrs. Basham, Ringe y Correa, first as an associate and then as a partner; for several years was a member of the firm’s management committee and, from 2000 through 2003, was its managing partner.
His practice comprises several areas of legal science: civil and business law, M&A, banking and securities law, real estate, antitrust, export contract manufacturing operations, trusts and commercial arbitration. Has specialized in intricate international contracts and transactional work, particularly mergers and acquisitions, advising important multinational clients, which have provided him with considerable experience and a deep vision of the several areas of the law, providing the structure and legal tools for the operation of industrial, commercial and service companies, as well as being involved in court actions and administrative-law procedures affecting such companies.
The interaction with foreign lawyers, especially from the U.S., has allowed him to identify and study a large number of Mexican-law concepts, theories and institutions and compare them with their counterparts under U.S. law, in order to transfer them to legal English or explain them when no equivalents are to be found, so as to facilitate the daily communication required by the international practice of law.
This has been enhanced by the Legal English workshop that he introduced and has been conducting at the Escuela Libre de Derecho for more than 30 years that permits his many students to understand, learn and compare the Mexican and the U.S. legal terminology, discover their similarities, modalities, subtleties, discrepancies and inconsistencies, and be in a position to use legal language properly.
He is the author of the Dictionary of Mexican Legal Terminology (Spanish-English) and of the Dictionary of United States Legal Terminology (English-Spanish), both published by the Escuela Libre de Derecho, and also of the online version of the latter (https://diccionariojfbecerra.com); he has written several articles, which have been published in specialized journals, and has also taught international contract courses at the Escuela Libre de Derecho and given lectures and webinars on legal terminology in several cities around the country and abroad.
