Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has the benchmark capital markets practice in Latin America. With a significant market share of major deals in Mexico and Brazil, it has the Latin America reputation and unrivalled connections to target any jurisdiction that has an upsurge in deals. This includes Argentina, where the firm has gained a number of recent engagements. The firm has retained a large percentage of the headline initial public offerings (IPOs) that originated from Latin America in 2024. Its Sao Paulo office has developed strong connections to several international banks, which have now led to a series of engagements in the wider Latin America region. The Latin America team is also working closely with Spanish-headquartered banks in debt capital markets (DCM) transactions. It remains a market leader in sovereign and state-owned enterprise (SOE) offerings, liability management exercises and SEC reporting for Latin American issuers. Jorge Juantorena stands out for his record in the Mexican market and in the sovereign-offering segment. Sao Paulo-based Juan Giráldez has an extensive record in Brazil deals along with Argentina, where he is noted for government and public sector transactions. Manuel Silva is another prominent talent, noted for his experience in the Mexico, Brazil and sovereign markets. Jonathan Mendes de Oliveira covers both Brazil and wider regional deals. Senior counsel Nicolas Grabar is a fountain of Latin America capital markets knowledge, while Ignacio Lagos – who was promoted to the partnership in October 2025 – is another key team member. Adam Brenneman left the firm in May 2025. Named individuals are based in New York unless stated otherwise.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The Cleary team stands out among the best I have ever worked with, providing legal advice on foreign law for Brazilian companies. They have extensive technical expertise and a deep understanding of the client's needs, and they take responsibility for the processes in a very present manner, relieving the client's burden. And they are always extremely diligent. I really enjoy working with them.'

  • ‘Jonathan Mendes de Oliveira stands out for his proactivity and availability. He manages advisers in different jurisdictions with mastery, in addition to having great technical ability to deal with problems. David Schechtman is an associate who continues in the same direction, tirelessly.'

Key clients

  • América Móvil
  • Banco del Estado de Chile
  • Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina
  • Codelco
  • Comisión Federal de Electricidad
  • Dominican Republic
  • Energisa
  • Eneva
  • Fomento Economico Mexicano (FEMSA)
  • Fideicomiso de Inversión en Energía México (FIEMEX)
  • LATAM Airlines Group
  • Nexa Resources

Work highlights

Advised the underwriters in the $633m IPO of BBB Foods.
Advised LATAM Airlines Group on its re-IPO consisting of an approximately $460m public offering.
Advised the underwriters in Auna’s $360m SEC-registered IPO.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Nicolas Grabar

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Next Generation Partners

Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Other key lawyers

Jorge Juantorena; Juan Giráldez; Manuel Silva; Jonathan Mendes de Oliveira; Nicolas Grabar; Ignacio Lagos; David Schechtman