CEODavid W. Connell
David William Connell was born in Newport Beach California and raised in San Diego California. He did undergraduate studies at San Diego State University. Before going to law school in Mexico City he worked and studied in different locations in Mexico, dealing with the agricultural land development issues and the problems that communities faced in dealing with legal uncertainties that inhibited investment, progress and development. These studies led Mr. Connell to study law and the Universidad Tecnológica de Mexico in Mexico City, where he graduated from in 1997 and earned his Mexican Law Degree. Mr. Connell is a licensed Mexican attorney authorized to work in all 32 states.
1996 - 2017Career
The changing legislation introduces new challenges for implementation which attorneys must be aware of.
During and after his law studies, Mr. Connell worked for three years, first as a legal clerk and then as an attorney in the Mexico City law firm of Martínez del Campo del Rio, where he specialized principally in the areas of corporate law and real estate law. Mr. Connell had the honor and experience of working directly on several cases with one of the partners of these firms, Dr. Carlos del Rio, ex-Chief Justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court.
In 1996 he was offered the opportunity to become an associate of Dennis Peyton and open the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo branch of the firm. The Zihuatanejo office was opened in November of 1996. Mr. Connell and Mr. Peyton would later form the firm of Peyton and Connell and open a Mexico City branch of the firm to add to the existing branches located in San Diego, Tijuana, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, with associate offices in Guadalajara and Cabo San Lucas. In late 1999 Mr. Connell was asked to launch and manage the Puerto Vallarta office of Peyton and Connell as well as to maintain direct management of the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo office and share in the administration and management of the Mexico City office. The Puerto Vallarta office of Peyton and Connell was opened in January of 2000. In 2003 Mr. Connell and Mr. Peyton agreed to separate and Connell & Associates now has offices located in Mexico City, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Puerto Vallarta.
Mr. Connell has held positions on many different types of boards ranging from Corporate Boards of Directors, Non-Profit and Charitable organization, Home Owners Associates and Committees. He has also worked with local and state governments advising on foreign investment and development. He has considerable experience working with development, agrarian and ejido matters, investment, corporate, and commercial law matters, and lobbying for American companies in Mexico. Mr. Connell’s areas of legal specialization are: real estate and development, corporate, tax, agrarian matters, lobbying, standards, government procurement, mediation and litigation. Mr. Connell has native fluency in English, fluency in Spanish and is certified by the Supreme Court of the State of Guerrero as an expert witness in matters of English-Spanish; Spanish-English translation.
Mr. Connell has participated in and written several documents and articles some of which include the following:
- The Washington Post, June 13th 2019, “What to Know Before Buying that Dream Vacation Home in Another Country“
- The Wall Street Journal, January 6th 2000, Front Page, “Impoverished Village in Mexico Strikes Pay Dirt in Sand”.
- “Can I Buy Ejido Land”, March 2002 Edition Vallarta Voice Magazine.
- “Taking Control of Trust Fees”, April 2002 Edition Vallarta Voice Magazine.
- “Buying Real Estate In Costal or Border Areas”, 23rd Edition Travelers Guide to Mexico. 1998.
YEAR 2003Connell & Associates
In 2003 Mr. Connell and Mr. Peyton agreed to separate and Connell & Associates now has offices located in Mexico City, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Puerto Vallarta.