Mr Rodrigo Carvalho > Winston & Strawn LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Winston & Strawn LLP has boldly expanded its Latin America team, most notably with the launch of a large Miami office in May 2022. While the Miami team is not primarily focused on  capital markets business, it does heighten the firm’s Latin America credibility and ability to win new clients and engagements. A New York group combined with the São Paulo office, spearhead the capital markets work, which has a fine record in future flow securitisations, SEC-registered deals and public M&A. The firm is also recognised for advising on inaugural bond offerings for Latin American issuers and has landed a number of SPAC IPO engagements. Rodrigo Carvalho has developed a substantial reputation in São Paulo, leading advice to clients on a number of IPOs and equity offerings, including SPAC transactions. Allen Miller and Talbert Navia co-head the Latin America team, which includes capital markets specialists Claude Serfilippi and Sey-Hyo Lee. All named individuals are based in New York unless stated otherwise.

Winston & Strawn LLP has rapidly developed its Latin America practice, initially in New York, susbsequently in Sao Paulo, and most recently in Miami, where it has assembled a large and multi-skilled team. The legacy group had built a reputation for public M&A involving Latin America businesses that are publicly traded in the US, Latin America-focused private equity work (notably fund formation and transactions), and advising Latin American businesses on their expansion initiatives in North America, including significant acquisitions. Having built a very credible Sao Paulo office, primarily through the hire of the highly rated Rodrigo Carvalho in 2021, the practice is now reaping the rewards with a steady pipeline of Brazil-related deals, particularly venture capital and emerging company transactions, along with crypto and blockchain deals. The launch of its Miami office in May 2022 turned heads, not least because it saw the arrival of senior corporate partner Enrique Martin and Colombia born Nicholas Rodríguez from Jones Day, along with a number of other prominent partners and associates, covering multiple disciplines. Co-head of the Latin America and Caribbean group Talbert Navia is a hugely experienced and very much at the forefront of Latin America-focused private equity fund formation and transactions. Fellow practice co-head Allen Miller is another seasoned practitioner with an excellent record in public M&A, particularly involving Chilean entities. Completing the senior NY-based partner group for Latin America, Kevin Smith is also an experienced specialist with a focus on M&A and private equity matters. All named individuals are based in New York unless stated otherwise.

Winston & Strawn LLP continues to significantly expand its banking and finance offering, primarily through the launch of a large Latin America-focused Miami office in 2022. This has provided the Latin America practice with considerable depth in project finance, bank regulatory matters, fintech, digital payments and digital assets. In project finance, Richard Puttré has a long history in energy and infrastructure financings, especially for Spanish construction companies and other sponsors. This builds on the firm’s pre-existing expertise in Latin America project financings, including in the renewable energy sector; it has an especially strong record in Chile. The new Miami office also includes partner Craig Rasile, an experienced figure in bankruptcy and restructuring, including Latin America engagements. Carl Fornaris joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP to co-chair the financial services group and the digital assets & blockchain technology team, and has an extensive background in Latin America. Kimberly Prior and Daniel Stabile also co-head the digital assets & blockchain technology group. Other key partners include Talbert Navia and Allen Miller who co-chair the Latin America team from New York; and the highly-rated Rodrigo Carvalho, managing partner of the São Paulo office. Los Angeles-based Francisco Flores is highly rated for structured finance transactions in Latin America. All named individuals are based in Miami unless stated otherwise.