Leonard Cleland > Clifford Chance LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Clients of Clifford Chance LLP appreciate its ‘responsiveness, diverse experience, cultural sensitivity, and problem-solving mindset‘. A standout adviser on commodities and trade financing, margin lending, LPNs, sovereign loans, commercial loans, and EC- and MLI-backed financing, Leonard Cleland oversees the emerging markets group in London, which is active in the CIS, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The firm also has a strong India practice. Across all emerging markets it provides support in corporate matters, capital markets, project finance, banking, structured finance and international arbitration. Among the many standout practitioners are infrastructure finance partners Simon Williams, Kayode Oladipo and Olamide Oladosu, who are heavily involved in projects in Africa; capital markets specialist Deborah Zandstra; and co-head of the energy transition group Russell Wells. Zandstra acted for a major global bank on a $656m Galápagos marine conservation-linked bond, used to finance a debt conversion for Ecuador. This innovative debt-for-nature swap is the third of its kind for the firm, following similar deals for the Seychelles and Barbados.