I'm struck by the profound outpouring of public support from the U.S., Mexico and around the globe in the aftermath of the events that have struck Japan over the past week.

Each in its own right would be enough to test the mettle of a nation and its people, but Japan in a matter of a few short hours endured a massive earthquake, devastating tsunami and an ongoing crisis at its nuclear power facilities.

I hope you'll join me in supporting relief and recovery efforts in the region.  I've included details below on a number of ways you can contribute or follow these efforts in Japan.

Beyond the immediate human tragedy, investors are watching the impact that the Japanese quake and tsunami may have on world markets in both the immediate and longer term.  And, there is no doubt that these tragic events will have global consequences.

Here, closer to home, analysts at JP Morgan believe that while Mexico is one of a handful of countries who has signed a free trade agreement with Japan the impact on Mexico's economy should be very limited.

The World Bank recently ranked Mexico third globally for the country's progress in the transportation and infrastructure sectors over the last year.  These two sectors are vital to spurring further economic recovery, greater investment and increased competition.  For their work in these sectors, White & Case's Vicente Corta, Ariel Ramos and Eugenio Sepulveda were singled out as "top tier" lawyers by Who's Who Legal. I also want to take a moment to note that White & Case's Manuel Groenewold was recently recognized with a Client Choice Award for his work and quality of service in Capital Markets.

And, Jorge De la Garza has joined our Monterrey office and María Teresa Fernández is now part of our team in Mexico City.  Both were featured in Latin Lawyer, are top-notch professionals and further enhance the firm's M&A and banking capabilities.  For more on my new colleagues, click here.

In my home state of Texas, it was great to see the front and center attention Mexico and Latin America received this past weekend at South by Southwest Interactive, one of the most influential online, film and music conferences in the world.

A good number of the panels on Latin America and Mexico were live Tweeted, and you can search #sxswlatam and #socialmediamx on Twitter for a sampling of the dynamic discussions on topics as far ranging cross-border investments and online marketing to Hispanics to security and the use of social media in the drug war.     It shouldn't be surprising to see an expanded focus on Latinos at conferences like SXSW as our community are heavy users of wireless broadband, and increasingly companies and government are focusing their messages and services to this niche.

The recent launch of GobiernoUSA.gov as a mobile platform to connect U.S. Latinos with federal government agencies, services and news is just one example.  Traffic through the GobiernoUSA.gov site is more than double the traffic through the English-language portal.   If you're interested in extending the dialogue via social media, I hope you'll consider connecting with me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

And, if you share my interest in looking for ways the U.S. and Mexico can forge stronger public and private partnerships and expand cross-border investment, I hope you'll keep White & Case and Vianovo in mind.  Both firms are well positioned to provide guidance and support in the areas of business development, expansion or investment in Mexico and across Latin America.

Antonio O. Garza