Expert evidence on Mexican law · U.S. and English proceedings
Mexican law, explained for the court that has to apply it.
Aldo José Ocampo Castañares is a Mexico City litigator with more than 35 years in insurance, reinsurance and civil liability. He is instructed by U.S. and U.K. law firms to give independent expert evidence on Mexican law in disputes litigated outside Mexico: written reports in English, joint statements, and testimony when the court requires it.
United States
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
United States
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
England & Wales
Business and Property Courts of England and Wales
Standing
A practising litigator, not a career witness.
His opinions come from active practice before Mexican trial courts, collegiate circuit courts and the Supreme Court, where the law he explains abroad is being argued and decided every week.
“A specialist in insurance matters with a high level of expertise and depth.”
Chambers & Partners, Latin America 2027
“Aldo Ocampo has the most experience and knowledge in the insurance sector.”
The Legal 500, Latin America
“Exceptional strategist and a formidable litigator.”
The Legal 500, client feedback
Expert record
Selected instructions.
Matters are described by forum and issue only. Party names, instructing firms and case numbers are disclosed to prospective instructing counsel on request, where permitted.
| Year | Forum | Dispute | Questions of Mexican law |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Business and Property Courts of England and WalesInstructed by English solicitors for the defendantExpert report | Reinsurance placement dispute between a Mexican insurer, a Mexican reinsurance intermediary and a foreign insurance group. | Regulatory duties of a reinsurance intermediary in a placement with a foreign reinsurer.
|
| 2025 | U.S. District Court, Central District of CaliforniaInstructed by U.S. counsel for the plaintiffExpert report | Commercial dispute arising from operations of a Mexican aerostructures manufacturing subsidiary. | Civil liability and damages under the Civil Code for the State of Sonora.
|
| 2024 | U.S. District Court, Eastern District of MichiganInstructed by U.S. counsel for the plaintiffsExpert report | Insurance coverage dispute between a U.S. manufacturer and its insurers. | Legal nature and operation of the maquiladora industry.
|
| 2018 | London reinsurance marketInstructed by English solicitors for a reinsurerExpert opinion | Offshore energy loss: fire on an oil and gas compression platform in the Bay of Campeche. | Coverage under a Mexican-law property policy and the position of the reinsurer. |
Further instructions are not listed where confidentiality obligations apply or proceedings remain open.
Fields of evidence
Where his evidence carries weight.
Instructions are accepted within the fields he practises daily in Mexico. Outside them, he will say so and, where useful, recommend a colleague.
Insurance and reinsurance
Formation and interpretation of policies, coverage, notice and proof of loss, limitation, bad-faith and default-interest exposure, cedant–reinsurer relations, and the regulatory framework for insurers and intermediaries.
LSCS · LISF · CUSF · CNSF practice
Civil liability and damages
Fault-based and strict liability, moral damages, quantum, liability of the State and of state-owned companies, and the constitutional right to full reparation that now shapes Mexican damages law.
Federal and state Civil Codes · Art. 1 Constitution · SCJN case law
Marine, energy and aviation
Hull and machinery, cargo, offshore energy and aviation risks written in Mexico, including the interaction between Mexican policy wordings and London market reinsurance.
LNCM · LISF · market wordings
Commercial and corporate
Commercial contracts, maquiladora and foreign-trade structures, corporate formalities, shareholder rights and the life cycle of Mexican companies.
Commercial Code · LGSM · IMMEX decree
Mexican procedure
How a Mexican court would hear the claim: competent forum, commercial oral proceedings, evidence, limitation, amparo review, enforcement, and the weight of binding precedent after the 2024 judicial reform.
Commercial Code · Amparo Law · CNPCF
Regulatory proceedings
Administrative sanctions and complaints before the insurance and consumer-protection regulators, and the challenges available against them.
CNSF · CONDUSEF · LPDUSF
How an instruction runs
From conflict check to the witness box.
Every engagement follows the same sequence, adapted to the procedural rules of the court and to counsel's timetable.
Conflict check
Names of the parties and their insurers are checked against Ocampo 1890's records before any document is reviewed. Answer within 48 hours.
Letter of instruction
Counsel frames the questions of Mexican law. Where helpful, he suggests how to phrase them so the answers fit the issues the court has to decide.
Review and research
Statutes, regulations and binding case law are cited from official sources, with English translations of the provisions relied on attached to the report.
Written report
Drafted to the requirements of the forum: FRCP 26(a)(2)(B) and Rule 44.1 in U.S. federal courts; CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35 in England and Wales.
Joint statements and replies
Meetings with the opposing expert, joint memoranda identifying agreed and disputed points, and supplemental or reply reports.
Testimony
Available for deposition, cross-examination and trial, in person or by video link, in English.
Independence
The duty runs to the court.
His opinion is the same whichever side instructs him. Where Mexican law is unsettled, the report says so and sets out each reading the courts have taken.
England & Wales
Overriding duty to the court
Reports state the expert's duty under CPR 35.3, separate facts within his own knowledge from matters he was told, and close with the statement of truth required by PD 35.
United States
Foreign law as a question of law
Under FRCP 44.1 the court may consider any relevant material on foreign law. His reports are written to help the judge reach that determination, with sources the court can verify.
Credentials
Training, teaching and the profession.
Education
- Law degreeUniversidad Anáhuac del Sur, 1998
- Postgraduate studies in Civil, Commercial, Amparo and Intellectual Property LawUniversidad Panamericana, 1999–2002
- Postgraduate studies in Commercial LawUniversidad de Salamanca, Spain, 2000
- Diploma in U.S. LawUniversidad Panamericana, 2002
- Postgraduate studies in Insurance LawITAM, 2004
Practice and teaching
- Principal Partner, Ocampo 1890, S.C.Mexico City insurance and reinsurance boutique; at the firm since 1991, partner since 1998
- Board member, Berkley Seguros and Berkley Fianzas
- Insurance Law, Master's in Financial LawUniversidad Panamericana, 2014–2017
- Lecturer, Escuela Libre de Derecho and IMESFACInsurance law; civil liability for loss adjusters
Profession and publications
- Member, Insurance CommitteeInternational Bar Association
- Past President, Mexican chapter of AIDAAsociación Mexicana de Derecho de Seguros y Fianzas, 2010–2014
- Chair, Reinsurance Working PartyCILA (AIDA Ibero-Latin American Committee)
- Co-author, Diccionario Mexicano de Seguros
- Co-author, “Insurance Litigation – Mexico: Trends & Developments”Chambers Global Practice Guides, 2025
Instructions
Send the party names first. A conflict answer follows within 48 hours.
Please include the forum, the stage of proceedings and any deadline for expert reports. Initial calls with instructing counsel are without charge.
Telephone
Office
Ocampo 1890, S.C.
Av. Minerva 63-B, Col. Crédito Constructor
Benito Juárez, 03940 Mexico City