Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

The firm: For over two centuries, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP has been known as one of the world’s preeminent law firms. Each of the firm’s practices is highly regarded, and Cravath lawyers are recognised for their commitment to the representation of their clients’ interests in Latin America and throughout the world.

Main areas of practice
Corporate: Cravath regularly represents clients across numerous industries in international transactions, including cross-border and U.S.-inbound mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures and strategic investments. Structuring complex cross-border merger and acquisition transactions has historically been a significant part of the firm’s Latin American practice and Cravath is often tapped for the largest and most sophisticated transactions in the region. In addition to—and often alongside—the transactions that the firm handles, Cravath is also a leading legal advisor for companies and boards in high-stakes corporate situations, including hostile takeovers and shareholder activism defense. Cravath’s tax department is known for their expertise in designing tax‑efficient structures for an array of US and non‑US transactions, including mergers, spin‑offs, joint ventures and private equity acquisitions. The firm’s executive compensation and benefits lawyers advise clients in a variety of compensation and benefit arrangements as well as legal compliance concerns. Its environmental lawyers advise and support clients on environmental matters in connection with corporate transactions and the challenges and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues and climate change. Cravath’s intellectual property lawyers advise clients in many corporate contexts, including acquisitions and divestitures, multiparty joint ventures and strategic investments, licensing agreements and portfolio development and exploitation.

Finance: Cravath has one of the most respected financing practices in the world. Its capital markets lawyers represent both issuers and investment banks in all types of US and non-US offerings. The firm’s US and foreign private issuer clients rely on Cravath’s expertise to resolve their most challenging issues before the SEC. Cravath’s banking and credit lawyers regularly represent major financial institutions and borrowers on acquisition financings and lending transactions ranging from routine working capital facilities to complex multicurrency, multijurisdictional and highly structured financings.

Financial restructuring and reorganisation: Companies facing their most important and challenging cases and transactions due to bankruptcy, restructuring or reorganisation often rely upon Cravath’s deep understanding of the business dynamics involved in finance and restructuring. The firm has significant experience handling litigation related to alleged breaches of fiduciary duty by officers and board members of distressed companies, disputes arising out of lender claims, alleged breaches of contract and alleged fraudulent conveyances. Its lawyers also have substantial expertise in debtor and creditor‑side engagements, debtor-in-possession (DIP) and exit financing, advising independent directors and boards of directors, distressed and bankruptcy M&A (in court and out of court), advising bondholder and other ad hoc creditor groups and municipal and sovereign restructuring.

Investigations and white-collar criminal defence: Clients turn to Cravath to handle their most significant and sensitive disputes and investigations across a broad range of practice areas and industries. Cravath advises corporations, boards and executives in significant white-collar defence and regulatory enforcement matters, government and internal investigations, and monitorships around the globe involving a variety of issues, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and foreign anti-corruption laws, trade sanctions and export controls, accounting fraud, antitrust, insider trading, tax evasion, cyber intrusion and money laundering. The firm also assists clients in conducting fact-finding exercises with respect to shareholder demands and advises on compliance obligations, potential areas of exposure and preventive measures. Its investigations team includes attorneys who have spent portions of their careers at US government agencies.

Cravath’s litigation department is staffed by trial lawyers with broad courtroom experience in complex litigation across all industries in such diverse areas of the law as antitrust, bankruptcy, general commercial, intellectual property, M&A, securities and white-collar. The firm’s litigators routinely represent clients in trials and appeals in federal and state courts, domestic and international arbitrations, before administrative agencies and regulatory authorities, and in many other types of proceedings, including investigations.

Clients: Along with governments and multinational institutions, the firm’s client base includes some of the world’s best known companies and financial institutions, including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Axtel, Banco Santander, Buscapé, Casa Cuervo, Cemex, Cholula, Coteminas, Cutrale Group, GP Investments, Grupo Carso, Grupo Gigante, Grupo Lala, Grupo Lamosa, Grupo Modelo, JBS, Magnesita Refratários, OCCEL, Office Depot de México, OLX, Panamco, Republic of Argentina, Sadia, Safra Group, San Antonio Internacional, Univision, Vitro and YPF. In recent years, the firm has participated in matters involving companies based in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.