Nicolas Grabar > Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP > San Francisco, United States > Lawyer Profile
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Offices

650 California St
Suite 2000
San Francisco
CALIFORNIA
94108
United States
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Nicolas Grabar

Position
Nicolas Grabar’s practice focuses on international capital markets and securities regulation and on the representation of large reporting companies.
Nick has extensive experience in international financing in public and private markets, US securities law applicable to foreign issuers, and regulation of financial reporting. Advises on securities considerations in M&A transactions.
He plays a primary role in the firm’s work for public company clients, including leading Mexican and Brazilian businesses, sovereigns, and global investment banks, on their biggest and most complex capital markets and financing matters.
Career
Joined firm, 1984; Partner since 1991. Clerkship, Honorable Pierre N. Level, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1982-1983.
Memberships
Adjunct Faculty Member, International Securities Regulation, Columbia Law School
Member, Board of Directors, Council of the Americas
Former Chair, Annual “Global Capital Markets and the U.S. Securities Laws” Program, Practicing Law Institute, 2002-2010
Former Chair, Financial Reporting Committee, New York City Bar Association
Member, TriBar Committee on Legal Opinions
Chair, Board of Trustees, Brooklyn Youth Chorus Association
Member, New York and Paris Bars
Education
J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School (1982); B.A., magna cum laude, Harvard College (1978).
Personal
Nick writes and speaks regularly on securities regulation, financial accounting and legal opinions.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has continued to make headway in representing technology clients in equity offerings; it advised Stripe on its Series 1 preferred stock raise of more than $6.5bn, representing the largest ever US equity private placement. It remains at the forefront of US equity offerings by international issuers, especially deals originating in Latin America. It is also noted for its SEC regulatory matters. The firm has worked on some of the largest IPOs of recent years along with a series of large at-the-market stock offerings. Jeffrey Karpf is a leading figure within the team, covering both equity and debt offerings. David Lopez
, Craig Brod , Adam Fleisher and Francesca Odell are also key names in the team. Capital markets specialist Helena Grannis was promoted to the partnership in 2023, while Nicolas Grabar
has retired. All named individuals are based in New York.
Latin America: International firms > Capital markets
(Hall of Fame)Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is a titan of the Latin American market with an exceptional record in capital markets offerings, including those by sovereigns, state-owned enterprises and large corporates. Team members are praised by clients for their experience, accessibility and involvement in deals. The firm is a dominant force in Mexico and has a substantial market share of Brazil transactions. It remains active in liability management deals and issuances in local currencies. In the sovereign debt segment, the pratice has executed deals for the United Mexican States (Mexico), Dominican Republic, Republic of Uruguay and Republic of Chile as issuer or underwriter’s counsel, and it remains prominent in ESG and sustainability-linked offerings; it advised América Móvil on its inaugural sustainable bond offering in the international capital markets. Jorge Juantorena is a leading name in Mexico offerings and issuances by sovereign governments. Licensed to practice in Mexico and New York, Manuel Silva has a growing reputation in Mexico, Brazil and in sovereign offerings. Top practitioner Juan Giráldez is a key name in Sao Paulo, where the highly-rated Jonathan Mendes de Oliveira was elected to the partnership in 2024. Former partner Nicolas Grabar is now senior counsel. All named individuals are based in New York unless stated otherwise. Emilio Minvielle has left the firm.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Tax > Financial products
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Tax > International tax
- Finance > Project finance
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Finance > Fintech
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Finance > Project finance
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism