Clifford Chance

Our US Banking & Finance group represents financial institutions and corporates in connection with all manner of financial products, including complex national and multinational insolvency and restructuring proceedings, acquisition finance, project finance, bank lending, asset finance, equipment leasing and debt trading.

Our asset finance team includes six ranked partners in New York by Chambers USA and Legal 500 United States – more than any other law firm – and is among the best and most active in the world in advising on large aircraft finance transactions.

In project finance and agency financings, we have several recognized partners in the US and Latin America guides of Chambers and Legal 500. Our projects attorneys regularly represent lenders, development finance institutions, export credit agencies, sponsors and developers on financings for projects in the US. In Latin America we are regarded as one of the leading international law firms and are ranked Band 1 by Chambers Latin America 2025 for Project Finance.

Our US financial restructuring group is fully integrated with our restructuring and insolvency team and is uniquely positioned to advise on complex multinational restructuring matters. We also have a full-service global debt and claims trading practice, providing the world’s largest financial institutions with the platform to access the global marketplace successfully. Our team is devoted to the secondary market trading of par and distressed bank loans, bankruptcy claims, equity interests, trade receivables and sovereign-backed obligations.

Finally, our US Financial Services Regulatory Group comprises attorneys from transactional and litigation practices to create a single access point for advice on risks and regulatory obligations across international markets.

Contact: Zarrar Sehgal

Our US Capital Markets practice advises on the full range of capital-raising transactions in the US, representing issuers, underwriters, sponsors and selling stockholders. Product coverage includes IPOs (for both US and non-US companies listing on US exchanges), secondary equity, private placements, preferred equity, equity-linked products, debt and high-yield offerings. We provide advice on all aspects of securities laws and regulations, and in relation to US registrations with the SEC and listings on all US exchanges.

The team has an outstanding reputation for developing innovative solutions in the area of specialty finance, especially in relation to permanent capital vehicles and alternative REIT structures. We are recognized leaders in equity and mortgage REITs, listed and non-listed REITs, US and non-US REITs and innovative REITs.

Our registered funds practice advises on a significant proportion of closed-end fund IPOs in the US market. Our representation on closed-end funds includes advising fund sponsors and underwriters on the launch of US closed-end funds.

Our US Structured Finance Group is at the forefront in structured finance, securitization, real estate and structured funds, and is one of the most active counsel to CLO managers and among the most active issuer's counsel for residential and small-balance commercial mortgage-backed securities. The team represents borrowers in repos and warehouses for all mortgage products. We represent investors in consumer debt including marketplace loans, student loans and credit card receivables, and in agency, private, cash and synthetic CRT transactions. The team has an active and innovative trade finance practice, is experienced in aviation capital markets transactions, and highly respected for its US swaps and derivatives capabilities, including assisting clients in the review and negotiation of ISDA Master Agreements and associated credit support documentation. In Latin America, we advise on the securitization of milestone-based Governmental payments and hybrid multi-source, multi-currency solutions. 

Our team is frequently instructed on cross-border capital markets matters, with a principal focus on debt and equity transactions for sovereigns, quasi-sovereigns and corporates in Latin America.

Contacts: Lee Askenazi

We have long advised clients on high-end, business-critical mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures in the US. We represent a diverse client base consisting of both private and public companies as well as private equity houses, banks, asset managers, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and others. Our lawyers advise on the full spectrum of M&A products and services, and we regularly handle US inbound foreign direct investments for non-US clients leveraging the firm's global footprint.

Our US Insurance team is a leader in complex M&A transactions, innovative risk-transfer and capital-raising transactions, representations and warranties insurance, insurtech and strategic regulatory matters, and our lawyers have done pioneering work in the non-payment insurance space. We are the leader in forming alternative capital insurance and reinsurance companies, having advised on deals with an aggregate value of more than US$14 billion in the life insurance and P&C insurance space.

Our Funds & Investment Management team advises on an especially broad range of mandates, with notable strength in the US real estate and asset/structured finance sectors. We have experience with private equity, real estate and debt funds, as well as large limited partner investments and secondaries transactions.

Our US Antitrust team advises on civil and criminal investigations, merger control and joint venture matters, federal court class action litigation, competition compliance and broader complex antitrust and regulatory matters. The team is ranked in The Legal 500 US and is also recommended in Global Competition Review 100 for the US.

Contact: Sarah Jones and Benjamin Sibbett

Our US Litigation & Dispute Resolution team represents many of the largest global financial institutions, leading companies, governments and international organizations, as well as individuals from the business community, in some of the market's largest and highest-profile US disputes.

We help clients resolve complex disputes in a manner that reflects their global business objectives, and we are frequently called upon to conduct critical domestic and cross-border investigations. Our team defends multifaceted and high-risk securities class actions and boasts a highly regarded white collar and enforcement capability.

Our trial experience includes all types of civil and criminal cases before juries and judges in multiple jurisdictions, as well as appellate matters before national and international courts and tribunals. In addition to helping clients through the challenges of a trial, our US litigators offer in-depth guidance regarding the development of compliance programs to assist in minimizing future risks.

Contact: Robert Houck

Our US Real Estate group focuses on the legal issues and commercial challenges involved in dealing with acquisitions and sales, preferred equity structures, joint ventures, limited partnerships, REITs and other co-investment arrangements, leasing, mortgage loans and credit facilities and mezzanine loans.

The group advises on the full suite of real estate asset classes in the US, including office, retail, industrial, manufactured housing, senior housing, hotels and hospitality, land for development, multifamily and residential and medical office. We are also a market leader for cross-border transactions and regularly represent investors, including foreign investors, in the acquisition of trophy-type properties and large portfolios in the US that often require complex structuring and significant tax planning.

Contact: Ness Cohen

Our Tax team is routinely sought out by clients to help them move transactions forward, regularly advising on US and international taxation, covering corporate and commercial transactions, equity and debt offerings, real estate and private equity funds and investments, financing and securitization transactions, tax-efficient structured transactions, insurance taxation, charitable organizations and the resolution of tax disputes.

We understand the rapidly changing US tax rules, and we combine that with easy access to the firm's global network of tax attorneys with extensive knowledge of international tax systems and how they interlink. Our team is trusted by clients to ensure that deal structures fit with their broader business goals and risk tolerance. The team has been ranked Tier 1 in the US for Tax: Financial Products for over ten years by The Legal 500 USA and has a particularly strong reputation for its tax work in supporting REIT and insurance structures.

Our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation lawyers regularly advise domestic and multinational companies on critical employment matters in the context of M&A transactions, including the treatment of equity compensation, negotiating employment agreements and pension plan terminations. Our ERISA team advises on all aspects of Title I of ERISA, including fiduciary issues in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets as well as the fiduciary responsibility requirements that pension plan investment committees must comply with.

Contact: Paul Seraganian

• Advised Viking Global Investors, a global investment firm based in the US, in acquiring a significant minority stake in Humaneva Inc., a spin-off of NEUCA S.A.
• Advised Reinsurance Group of America on US$3.5 billion reinsurance transaction with American National Insurance Company.
• Advised the US Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office in its US$1.46 billion conditional commitment to help finance a first-of-its-kind large-scale corn starch-to-jet fuel facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota, which is expected to double the sustainable aviation fuel capacity in the United States.
• Advised Informa, a member of the FTSE 100, in connection with its recently announced definitive agreement to combine its Informa Tech digital businesses with TechTarget
• Advised BBVA S.A., Intesa SanPaolo S.P.A., and MUFG Bank, LTD as lenders on a US$252 million construction to back-leverage project financing package to OPDEnergy for the construction of two solar photovoltaic electric generating facilities in Louisiana and West Virginia.

• “They are extremely talented attorneys with an unmatched global presence and continue to develop talented attorneys through a robust pipeline.”
  Chambers USA 2025: 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. The firm is particularly active in South America, especially in the Colombian and Argentine markets, with further expertise across Africa. It offers expertise spanning an impressive breadth of project types including transportation, conventional power and renewable energy infrastructure." Chambers USA 2025: Banking & Finance: Projects: Agency Financing (Nationwide) – Band 1
• “Clifford Chance combines exceptional litigation experience and instincts with deep expertise in government investigations.” Chambers USA 2025: Litigation: Corporate Crime & Investigations: Highly Regarded (USA Nationwide) – Band 1
• “Clifford Chance is really cooperative and very responsive. It understands the cultural differences and accommodated needs of the clients.” Chambers USA 2025: Litigation: International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions: Highly Regarded (USA Nationwide) – Band 1
• “Clifford Chance's attorneys are highly knowledgeable on the subject matter and have their finger on the pulse of market dynamics from a legal perspective.” Chambers USA 2025: Capital Markets: Securitization – Band 2
• "Seasoned legal veteran team with knowledge of technology-enabled services across the corporate business support functions, including new and emerging tech such as Gen AI, Machine Learning and evolving automation solutions. Ability to balance business and legal risk to level of client exposure of the services solution they are contracting for." Legal 500 USA 2025: Media, Technology and Telecoms Outsourcing – Tier 2