Clients identify Sidley’s Global Finance group as a destination practice for high-value, complex financings across a broad spectrum of platforms, industries and asset types. Our lawyers have pioneered the development of financial instruments for the world’s financial markets. As a thought leader, an innovator and one familiar with new asset classes and esoteric offerings, we offer a comprehensive range of lending and securitization services to clients worldwide.
Our global team is highly attuned to the ever-changing international landscape, providing our clients with critical, real-time advice on transactions and issues. The firm is consistently recognized as having one of the world’s leading finance practices by such well-regarded publications as Chambers Global and Chambers USA. We also rank among the top U.S. capital markets firms in the Thomson Reuters league tables, both by deal value and by number of deals, with strong showings as both issuer and underwriter counsel in several major categories, including overall debt and equity, straight debt, asset-backed securities, investment-grade corporate debt and follow-on stock offerings.
Sidley’s reputation for innovation in the area of finance extends beyond the major financial centers of the U.S. to Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with professionals qualified in U.S., English, German, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japanese law. Our team advises underwriters, originators, issuers, arrangers, trustees and agents in the key financial centers, including London, Munich, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney, as well as multinational clients from around the world. We also devote a significant amount of time and resources to understanding the impact of regulatory developments and the compliance hurdles imposed by new legislation and related regulations in Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
Structured Finance and Securitization
Lawyers in Sidley’s Global Finance group were at the forefront of the creation of many structured finance products: mortgage-backed securities in the 1970s; asset-backed securities and commercial paper conduits in the 1980s; commercial mortgage-backed securities conduits in the 1990s; collateralized debt obligations and structured investment vehicles in the 2000s; and the restructuring of distressed structured products following the global financial crisis.
Our team works on matters across the spectrum of structured finance transactions, including repurchase agreements and other asset-based lending arrangements, term asset-backed and mortgage-backed securitizations, conduit transactions, covered bond transactions and synthetic securitizations. We have experience with every major asset class, and many esoteric asset classes, and represent clients throughout the creation, management, restructuring and termination of structured finance transactions.
As shelf counsel or designated underwriter counsel for many publicly registered securities transactions, we have substantial experience with the issues that may arise, from compliance with the applicable legal requirements, to accounting and tax law considerations. Our lawyers represent issuers and underwriters in navigating disclosure, transaction, reporting and other regulatory requirements, including those adopted or contemplated by Congress, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. We also advise clients engaged in private placements and other transactions exempt from registration.
Syndicated and Leveraged Finance
Sidley’s global syndicated and leveraged finance practice is a recognized market leader in the U.S. Our Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York and California-based finance lawyers are crucial to our global success and have extensive experience beyond syndicated lending.
We represent lead arrangers, lead agents, lenders, participants and borrowers in syndicated and bilateral credits. These credits often have significant structural diversity, including multiple pricing and currency options. Our lawyers have substantial experience with both secured and unsecured financings, especially financings involving (i) cross-border issues, (ii) unusual types of collateral, (iii) sponsor-led portfolio company acquisition financings, (iv) direct lending, (v) intercreditor, participation, collateral agency, collateral trust, second lien and debt subordination issues and (vi) equity enhancements of debt financings. We also have extensive experience representing creditors and debtors in restructurings of troubled credits, debtor in possession financings, debt-for-equity exchange transactions, bankruptcy buyouts and post confirmation financings.
These sophisticated financing transactions and deal structures have involved issues unique to a broad range of industries, including energy, entertainment, healthcare, insurance, real estate, private equity, media, information technology, manufacturing, agriculture and consumer products.
Related Practice Areas
Few other firms can provide the comprehensive legal advice we offer in structured finance, leveraged finance, regulatory matters, derivatives and bankruptcy. Our financial services regulatory practice represents a broad range of financial institutions and related businesses in the U.S., the UK, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. We are particularly well positioned to keep our clients informed about breaking legal developments because lawyers in our Global Finance group represent various industry organizations, including the LSTA, SIFMA and SFIG, in crafting their responses to legislative and regulatory reform proposals.
The firm also has one of the world’s largest restructuring practices, with extensive experience and resources in the U.S., the UK, Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. Both our transactional and litigation practices are among the world’s largest and most successful. This combined experience makes us well suited to handle matters related to distressed assets, distressed structured vehicles and distressed credit and liquidity providers. Our strong securities and commercial litigation practice allows us to complement traditional transactional advice with forward-looking practical advice to minimize future disputes and manage risk. We are able to anticipate legal events and issues, formulate effective strategies and execute/litigate to implement those strategies. As financial markets and participants undergo dramatic change, we are able to provide our clients with the experience, technical knowledge and flexibility needed to operate in the new market.
Global Finance Service Areas
Additional service areas for Sidley’s Global Finance group include:
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