Greenberg Traurig Expands Global Hospitality Practice with Strategic Hires in Phoenix and Mexico

Carlos A. Sugich joins as co-chair of the Americas Hospitality Group

NEW YORK - May 7, 2026 - Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has strengthened its market-leading Real Estate and Hospitality practices with the addition of two seasoned cross-border attorneys focused on hospitality, real estate, and international matters. Carlos A. Sugich joins as co-chair of the Americas Hospitality Group in Phoenix and Mexico, and Carlos Freaner joins as a shareholder in Mexico. They arrive from Snell & Wilmer.

Building on the strength of Greenberg Traurig's 70-plus-attorney Mexico City office, the firm is expanding its cross-border capabilities in Mexico and key hospitality markets with a new presence in Los Cabos, where Sugich will serve as managing shareholder. He led the launch of his prior firm's Los Cabos office nearly two decades ago.

The addition of this team enhances the firm's ability to support clients across Mexico and beyond, drawing on Greenberg Traurig's extensive global reach.

"This expansion of our global hospitality and real estate platform in Phoenix and Mexico reflects our continued investment in strategic markets where our clients need us most," said Brian L. Duffy, Greenberg Traurig CEO. "The addition of these attorneys further strengthens our cross-border capabilities and enhances our ability to serve clients operating throughout the United States, Mexico, and beyond."

Licensed in both Arizona and Mexico, Sugich brings more than 20 years of experience representing U.S. and international clients in complex domestic and cross-border real estate, hospitality, and development transactions. He advises developers, institutional investors, lenders, and other clients on acquisitions, development, joint ventures, financing, and operational matters across the United States, Mexico, and Latin America, with a particular focus on hospitality, master-planned resort communities, and mixed-use projects, including the organization of private golf and social club membership plans. His practice also includes advising on international expansions and matters related to nearshoring and manufacturing in Mexico.

Freaner represents national and international investors, hotel and resort operators, and developers in hospitality-focused real estate and mergers and acquisitions transactions across Mexico, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings, hotel agreements, condominium developments, and leasing. He has wide-ranging experience advising luxury resorts, golf courses, and master-planned community developers, as well as representing lenders and borrowers in complex real estate projects financing.

"Carlos Sugich is known to many of us at the firm, having worked across from our teams on numerous sophisticated transactions over the years," said Michael J. Baum, co-president of Greenberg Traurig and co-chair of the firm's Global Real Estate Practice. "His deep market knowledge, collaborative approach, and longstanding client relationships make him a natural fit for our platform. Together, he and Carlos Freaner further strengthen our best-in-class Real Estate and Hospitality practices and enhance our ability to serve clients in key markets like Phoenix and Mexico."

In addition to his legal practice, Sugich is actively involved in the Phoenix community. He is a member and past president of the Thunderbirds, a nonprofit known for its longstanding support of charitable and community initiatives in the Valley, and he formerly served as tournament chairman of the WM Phoenix Open.

"Carlos Sugich is a significant addition to our Phoenix office, not only because of his extensive legal experience, but because of his deep engagement in the community. His arrival underscores our continued commitment to Phoenix and our ability to attract top-tier legal talent in one of the country's most dynamic and exciting markets," said Nicole M. Goodwin and Jeremy D. Zangara, co-managing shareholders of the Phoenix office.

Sugich said: "Carlos Freaner and I are excited to join Greenberg Traurig and to work alongside our new colleagues as we continue to expand the firm's presence in Phoenix and Los Cabos. We look forward to leveraging the firm's unparalleled global platform and robust real estate and hospitality offerings to better serve clients across key U.S. and international markets."

Sugich earned an LL.M. in international legal studies from New York University School of Law and a J.D. equivalent from Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Law.

Freaner earned an LL.M. from the University of San Diego School of Law and a J.D. equivalent from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.