With Mexico City on red alert for rising COVID-19 infections, lawyers at Lex Mundi member firm Basham, Ringe y Correa donned face masks last week to say goodbye to a beloved intellectual property partner who died suddenly of a heart attack.

Jorge Vega Sotelo, 44, had just finished lunch June 17 with his wife at their home in the Mexican capital—after a Zoom meeting with partners—when he collapsed. Basham managing partner Eduardo Kleinberg says an ambulance arrived soon after to pronounce Vega Sotelo dead of cardiac arrest.

"He was very loved, very noble, very respected—he always had a positive attitude and a desire to do better," said Kleinberg, who is also head of Basham's trademark, franchising and licensing practices. "He touched everyone he met."

Three competing firms that handle IP matters in Mexico sent out condolence banners via LinkedIn, with lawyers praising Vega Sotelo's passion and knack for mentorship. He was an active member of the International Trademark Association and a member of the licensing committee of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property.

Kleinberg said the sudden passing of one of the firm's 26 partners has caused deep reflection and self-evaluation within Basham.

"I think we are all working many more hours than what we'd normally work, which were a lot, because now there aren't even schedules. You're home, working all the time," Kleinberg said. "This is an alert."

Vega Sotelo spent his entire career at Basham, a firm he joined as an intern 22 years ago. He got his law degree at Anáhuac University in Mexico City and an LL.M. in intellectual property from George Washington University.

Kleinberg said the firm has been busy reassigning matters to make sure that client needs are met.

The full-service firm's 120 lawyers spread across offices in four Mexican cities have transitioned smoothly to working from home, he said, with some areas busier than others. Basham has not had to cut lawyers or reduce pay during the global health pandemic.

Mexican authorities are eager to reopen the economy, though a return to the office for services deemed nonessential may yet be many weeks away. While legal work is still very paper-oriented in Latin America's second-biggest economy, with a preference for in-person meetings, the COVID-19 emergency has forced greater migration toward digital tools.

Case in point: the Mexican Supreme Court began accepting digital filings and conducting online hearings earlier this month.

Within intellectual property, sensitive topics related to pharmaceutical patents have gained urgency during the pandemic. At the same time, the Mexican government is grinding toward approval and publication of a revised law for intellectual property to comply with the country's obligations under the new free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States.