Capital Markets - Latin America - International Counsel
What the team is known for
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton possesses a top-tier international practice renowned for its ability to handle sophisticated cross-border securities offerings in Latin America. The legal team remains a first port of call for major corporate issuers and prestigious financial institutions acting as underwriters on high-value transactions. The practice group boasts phenomenal expertise in both debt and equity instruments, regularly advising on bond offerings, note issuances and IPOs. Cleary Gottlieb is also highly sought after by governments and state-owned entities to advise on sovereign debt deals.
Strengths
"Commercial awareness is one of the most important virtues of Cleary Gottlieb. The team understands the legal risks as well as the business side of things too."
"Cleary Gottlieb are essential for our financial and legal strategy. The partners have vast expertise."
Notable practitioners
Senior statesperson Andrés de la Cruz is instructed by issuers, underwriters and sovereigns to assist with major securities transactions in the Southern Cone. He excels at handling sizeable debt issuances, in addition to advising on major bond offerings. "Andrés de la Cruz is very efficient and I respect his work."
Stellar partner Jorge Juantorena has an impeccable track record of representing distinguished issuers and underwriters, as well as state-owned entities, in sophisticated debt issuances concerning key Latin America markets, most notably Mexico. He is singled out by sources for considerable praise. "Jorge Juantorena is the best lawyer from the US law space who knows the dynamics of Latin America. He understands what can and cannot be done in terms of innovative structures, especially in capital markets." "Jorge Juantorena is one of the best lawyers in the capital markets field. He is always willing to help."
Francesca Odell has invaluable experience representing prestigious corporate issuers and international financial institutions in a range of complex debt and equity offerings. She is active on Argentine mandates. "Francesca Odell is an excellent lawyer who has a significant practice. It is nice to have her as a counterpart."
Nicolas Grabar enjoys long-standing experience advising key clients on significant capital markets deals in Argentina and Mexico. He remains a prominent figure in the market, regularly assisting issuers with private placements and registered public offerings of debt and equity offerings. "Nicolas Grabar has vast expertise, which helps a lot because he knows the issues historically, and his progressive vision based on the past is really useful."
Juan Giráldez is well versed in debt capital markets deals, benefiting from considerable experience representing states in sovereign debt transactions. He is recognised within the market for his wide regional presence. "Juan Giráldez is a very good and personable lawyer. He is calm and has a lot of knowledge of the capital markets area."
Up-and-coming partner Manuel Silva is active advising renowned companies and governmental clients on capital markets operations involving jurisdictions such as Paraguay and Mexico. "Manuel Silva is very sharp, and his dual education as a US and Mexican lawyer allows him to provide an ample point of view. He is very supportive."