Mr Thomas Mellor > Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Rankings

Latin America: International firms > Banking and finance

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP has a longstanding record in bilateral and syndicated loans in Brazil. It is also a recognised leader in bondholder debt restructurings and is a growing force in private placement-driven financings. Brazil is an especially active market for the firm, particularly in relation to bilateral and syndicated loans for the likes of HSBC. Other clients include ING, National Bank of Kuwait, Prudential, Met Life, OTPP, Bank of America and SMBC. The practice advised burgeoning client ING Capital as arranger, agent, and lender on an $80m leveraged financing for Blackstone and Riverwood’s acquisition CPS Comunicaciones, the Argentine telecoms services company. ‘The practice team is very knowledgeable, focused, experienced and has very good interpersonal skills‘, according to one client. It is also ‘very experienced and knowledgable of Brazil, which helps it to navigate between civil law and common law‘. Co-chair of the Latin America practice Thomas Mellor has a longstanding connection to HSBC, particularly in relation to bilateral and syndicated loans, refinancings and restructurings; ‘he is an expert in the field and has a lot of experience in dealing in multi-jurisdictional transactions‘, ‘knows the market and the region‘, ‘is always available and doen”t crack under pressure‘ and ‘has the mental flexibility to adapt his US common law mind to the Brazilian civil law system‘. Timothy DeSieno is a recognised leader in Latin American restructurings, including sovereign restructurings, often representing creditors including banks and bondholders. Houston partner Felipe Alice, previously practised in Brazil and is another key figure in restructurings and refinancings in the jurisdiction. Hartford partner Daniel Papermaster  is noted for private placement financings and recently advised an institutional investor group on an $800m private placement financing for the US subsidiary of Coke Mexico. New York-based associate and Mexican native Luis Torres-Cervantes is a key name at associate level.

Latin America: International firms > Capital markets

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP continues to impress in debt private placements, particularly for insurance companies and other institutional investors, along with sovereign bond offerings and equity offerings by Latin American issuers. The firm is also a prominent player in bondholder-driven restructurings; its clients include HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Prudential and Voya. The practice advised the Republic of Suriname on its $47m, 2018 notes offering; and assisted a group of institutional investors with a $200m private placement financing of senior notes for Peruvian port-operations business Trabajos Maritimos. Other highlights included advising an institutional investor group on an $800m private placement financing for the US subsidiary of AC Bebidas (Coke Mexico). Clients highlight the firm’s extensive contacts in the region giving it the ability to help international banks to ‘directly or indirectly advocate positions for their clients‘. London partner Carter Brod has extensive experience in Latin America capital markets issuances and Hartford partner Daniel Papermaster  is a leading figure in debt private placements. New York’s Timothy DeSieno continues to be at the forefront of bondholder restructurings and along with finance partner Thomas Mellor, who is ‘exceptional‘,  ‘takes highly complex situations and looks at the various aspects for resolution, plainly explaining the options for creditors to implement‘; both ‘are exceptionally hard workers‘, are ‘available for their clients at short notice‘ and ‘have significant relationships within Latin America and are not afraid to leverage those relationships to assist in resolution‘.

United States > Finance > Commercial lending

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP ‘takes a very commercial approach to transactions, which enables its clients to stay competitive and relevant in a very challenging market‘. In particular, the group is praised for its ‘deep knowledge of the law‘, and is especially active on the lender side, where it acts for a number of institutional clients in asset-based transactions and also advises a range of direct lenders on leveraged finance deals. In addition, the team is noted for its expertise in the film finance market, and recently advised JPMorgan Chase on a $2.1bn facility to MGM, which will be used partly to finance film and television development and production. Additionally, the team advised GSO Capital Partners as creditor on the Chapter 11 proceedings of Video Equipment Rentals, which involved a $465m pre-petition term debt and DIP financing, followed by the subsequent merger with Production Resources Group. Other key clients include Bank of America, Ares Capital, and Crystal Financial. Jonathan Bernstein leads the team out of Boston, and is backed up by a strong group including Matthew Furlong, Amy Kyle and Hartford-based Daniel Papermaster. Other key individuals include leveraged finance expert Frederick Eisenbiegler and Thomas Mellor in New York.