The Legal 500

Mayer Brown is a leading global law firm with offices in major cities across the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The firm: The firm is known for its client-focused approach to providing creative solutions to complex problems on behalf of businesses, governments and individuals. In Asia, the firm operates as Mayer Brown JSM as a result of its 2008 combination with JSM (formerly Johnson Stokes & Master), a leading Asian law firm. In Brazil, the firm has an association with Tauil & Chequer Advogados. The firm also has an alliance with Ramon y Cajal Abogados in Spain. This presence in the world’s leading markets for legal services enables Mayer Brown to offer clients access to local market knowledge combined with global reach. Mayer Brown serves many of the world’s largest companies, including a significant proportion of the Fortune 100, FTSE 100, DAX and Hang Seng Index companies, together with global leaders in major industries.

Types of work undertaken: Banking and finance: this is a founding practice of Mayer Brown and one of the firm’s signature strengths. The firm has significant experience in structured finance and has been at the forefront of the markets for securitisation and other structured products since their inception. The firm is also highly distinguished in all aspects of domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged finance, asset-based lending, debt capital markets (including emerging markets and high yield), project finance, real estate finance, derivatives and tax-based lending. The practice also provides a complete financial restructuring service.

Corporate and securities: corporate and securities law is at the core of Mayer Brown’s global practice. In the UK, the firm is known for its strong public and private M&A practice and well-regarded corporate finance team, with its extensive experience in the international capital markets. The domestic and international experience of the practice includes private equity, corporate governance, investment funds, financial services regulation, joint ventures and outsourcing.

Litigation and dispute resolution: litigation is the firm’s largest practice, with more than 450 lawyers globally handling complex, cross-border litigation for a wide variety of clients. The firm has extensive experience in dealing with financial and banking disputes, insolvency and restructuring issues, disputes affecting the worldwide construction industry, and all aspects of insurance and reinsurance. The practice has dedicated teams advising on commercial litigation, international commercial arbitration and all types of dispute resolution.

Other specialist groups: other practices and industry groups, also well-respected in the UK legal market and internationally, and with several recognised leading lawyers, include: competition, construction and engineering, employment, environment, financial institutions, financial services regulatory and enforcement, insurance and reinsurance, IP/IT, mining, pensions, real estate and tax.

Graduate recruitment: please see www.mayerbrown.com/careers or graduaterecruitment@mayerbrown.com.

Mayer Brown International LLP operates in combination with its associated Illinois limited liability partnerships, a SELAS established in France, a Hong Kong partnership, and its associated entities in Asia, and is associated with Tauil & Chequer Advogados, a Brazilian law partnership.

Other offices: USA: Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Washington DC. Asia: Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore.

Europe: Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris. Associated law firms: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo. Alliance law firm offices: Barcelona, Madrid.

Number of UK Partners 100

Number of other UK fee-earners 200

Mayer Brown is one of the most active international law firms in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mayer Brown offers a range of international law services across the region - principally cross-border M&A and finance (including project finance), debt and equity global capital markets offerings and dollar debt restructuring. The firm also represents clients in cross-border legal disputes and advises major Latin American companies on their US securities law reporting requirements and obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley. In December 2009, Mayer Brown formed an association with Tauil & Chequer Advogados, with offices in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Recent work includes:

Argentina: Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley in a $300m bond offering for Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 to finance new construction at Argentina’s main international airport (Latin Finance Structured Financing Deal of the Year 2011).

Brazil: Multiplus S.A. (TAM Mileage program) on its initial public offering in Brazil and Rule 144A/Regulation S outside Brazil; $1.4bn long-term limited recourse project financing of the Mario Covas Ringroad in São Paulo (Project Finance International Transport Deal of the Year 2009).

Caribbean: Creditors’ steering committee in the restructuring of $263m of debt of Trinidad Cement Limited and its subsidiaries in Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla.

Chile: M.C. lnversiones Limitada (MCI) in a $523m merger of Compaia Minera Huasco S.A., owner of the Los Colorados Mine, with and into Campania Minera del Pacifico (CMP), and a follow-on $401m equity capital contribution to CMP by MCI, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Colombia: Citigroup Global Markets Inc., as arranger, and Citibank, N.A, as administrative agent, in a $100m financing for Vetra Exploracion y Produccion Colombia S.A.S. Vetra is a Colombian oil and gas exploration and production company.

Ecuador: Noble Energy in its $97m settlement with the Republic of Ecuador resulting from the government’s termination of Noble’s production sharing contract for the offshore Amistrad natural gas field in the Gulf of Guayaquil.

Guatemala: The lenders in a project financing of a $227m, 94MW hydroelectric facility for hydroelectric facility for Hidro Xacbal S.A.

Mexico: The lenders in the $700m project financing of Nuevo Pemex cogeneration facility (Project Finance Latin American Deal of the Year 2010); Barclays Capital in connection with the bankruptcy filing in Mexico of Controladora Comercial Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (CCM), arising from CCM’s liability under currency exchange derivatives contracts. (IFLR Americas Restructuring Deal of the Year 2010).

Panama: Panama Canal Authority as procurement counsel in the $5.25bn Panama Canal Expansion Project; Icatech Corporation, a subsidiary of Empesas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V in the redemption of £150m of bonds issued by ICA Panama in connection with the sale by Icatech Corporation to the Panama government of the shares of ICA Panama.

Peru: Empresa Peruana de Aguas, as concessionaire, on the local currency bond financing of the Huascacocha water project (IFLR Project Finance Deal of the Year 2011); arrangers and sponsors in connection with six PPP financings involving the securitisation of Peru Government CRPAO obligations for the Interoceanica road system.

Other international offices

United States: Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Washington DC.
Asia: Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Singapore.
Europe: Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris.