Clifford Chance
In the Americas, Clifford Chance is a full-service firm advising domestic and multinational clients on US-law matters in the US, Latin America and across global markets.
With regional offices in New York, Washington, DC Houston and São Paulo, we offer ready access to US financial and political centers, as well as decades of experience in helping our clients achieve their business objectives while managing risk. Our team of more than 400 lawyers works across Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Real Estate and Tax, Pensions & Employment. We have significant sector practices in Funds & Investment Management, Insurance, Private Equity, Technology and Transportation.
We've been recognized in Legal500's US Green Guide for 2023 (Legalease, Ltd.) and were named both Law Firm of the Year and North American Law Firm of the Year at the Structured Credit Investor (SCI) Capital Relief Trades Awards in 2021.
Our dedicated Latin America group comprises bilingual and culturally fluent lawyers who understand the region's distinct business, legal and regulatory landscapes. They advise on complex transactions at the forefront in the development of new markets, assisting clients on matters involving energy and infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions, and the delivery of cutting-edge finance and capital markets structures.
Our practices and attorneys are widely recognized in the Chambers (Chambers and Partners) and Legal 500 (Legalease Ltd.) directories covering the US and Latin America.
Our global team of US-qualified lawyers based in offices across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the UK, leverages the Firm's international network to assist clients seamlessly in cross-border matters involving US law.
Collaboration is at the core of our culture. It means that we look at our clients' needs from their perspective and offer innovative solutions that are not tied to a particular office, practice area or attorney. It also means that when catastrophic events occur, such as a cyber breach, our partners can quickly mobilize a global team to work with regulators in the relevant jurisdictions and help with the incident response.
Diversity & inclusion
We deeply embrace our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We were a pioneering US law firm for the Mansfield Rule and in 2023 we achieved Mansfield 6.0 certification and signed up to Mansfield’s Disability Inclusion Commitments. We are now undergoing the certification process for 7.0, which measures whether law firms have considered a minimum of 30 percent of individuals from underrepresented groups for C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles, among other important metrics.
Innovation
As part of the Firm's Innovation program, our Americas Hub brings together professionals with expertise in continuous improvement, technology, pricing, and project and resource management.
Recent highlights
- Eletrobras in connection with its international offering and placement of US$6.9 billion in common shares outside Brazil - the second-largest equity deal of 2022 and largest in the western hemisphere.
- CPA:18 Global on its proposed US$2.7 billion merger with W.P. Carey Inc, one of the largest net lease REITS.
- Advised DOE’s Loan Programs Office on a US$504.4 million loan guarantee for the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, an innovative clean hydrogen production and storage facility.
- Mercer on the successful fundraise of Mercer Private Investment Partners VI with more than US$4.8 billion in total commitments.
- Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. in the issuance by ISA Interchile S.A. of US$1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.500% Senior Secured Notes due 2056 - the largest green project bond in Latin America to date.
- Aircraft leasing company Avolon on its ground-breaking aircraft order with Vertical Aerospace Ltd., an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) manufacturer - the world's largest ever eVTOL aircraft order.
Directory and client comments
- Recognized in Legal 500's 2022 US Green Guide
- "Distinguished aviation finance practice with extensive experience working on aviation capital markets transactions, securitizations, ECA financing and leasing matters."
Chambers USA 2022: Transportation: Aviation: Finance (USA Nationwide) – Band 1 - "Clifford Chance expertly represents development banks, multilateral agencies and export credit agencies in international project development and financing.. Offers expertise spanning an impressive breadth of project types including transportation, conventional power and renewable energy infrastructure."
Chambers USA 2022: Project: Agency Finance (USA Nationwide) – Band 1 - "I haven’t yet found a complex tax issue the Clifford Chance team can’t efficiently handle... The group stands out for its expertise across a wide variety of derivatives and securities transactions, utilizing a deep bench of specialists."
Legal 500 USA 2022: Tax Financial Products – Tier 1 - "A lot of experience with the market conditions and applicable regulation, consequently very effective in discussions and with a pragmatic approach"
Legal 500 Latin America 2022: Banking & Finance: International Firms – Tier 1 - "Clifford Chance has been a dominant force in Latin America projects and energy for some years now, having leveraged its tight links to investment and commercial banks, development finance institutions (DFIs) and agency lenders, and a range of sponsors."
Legal 500 Latin America 2022: Projects & Energy: International Firms – Tier 1 - "Clifford Chance enjoys an outstanding project finance department recognized for its ability to handle highly sophisticated mandates throughout Latin America, with particular experience acting in the Brazilian, Colombian and Peruvian markets. Boasts exceptional knowledge of the financing and development of renewable energy projects and transport infrastructure, such as toll roads, metro systems and ports. Caters to a host of discerning project sponsors and financiers, frequently acting for leading corporate entities, institutional investors and development banks."
Chambers Latin America 2022: Project Finance – Band 1
