Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico 2019
Partner | Clifford ChanceLLP
Fabricio Longhin
Partner | Clifford ChanceLLP
23
Banking and Finance, Energy and Infrastructure
New York, District of Colombia, Argentina
English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Fabricio Longhin is partner in the Americas energy and infrastructure group. He has several years of experience advising sponsors, multilateral organizations, commercial banks and institutional investors in the development of energy and infrastructure projects in Latin America.
Longhin has a wealth of experience in the renewable energy sector across the region and led the Clifford Chance team that, along with IFC, advised the Argentine government in the structuring of RenovAr. On the transportation infrastructure front, he has advised both lenders and sponsors on some of the most complex toll-road financings in recent years in Latin America, including the multi-currency and multi-tranche financings for the Pacífico 3 toll road, and a number of subsequent toll roads in Colombia, which were awarded under the 4G concession program.
Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Longhin was in-house counsel to a major Latin American projects developer for more than four years, where he was in charge of new projects and led teams in numerous tenders for energy and infrastructure projects throughout Latin America. He has been actively involved in all aspects of project development, including bidding strategy, negotiation of concession contracts, project financing and concession-related dispute resolution procedures.
Notable cases for Longhin include advising Hanwha Q CELLS in connection with the development and financing of the 101MW Laguna Solar PV project in Coahuila; advising ING, KfW and Bancomext in connection with the 300MW San Luis Potosi PV plant awarded under the second renewable auction in Mexico; and representing NAFIN in connection with the financing of the 38.6MW PV Aura Solar plant in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
The banking and finance practice at Clifford Chance differs from those of our US competitors and peers for several reasons.
We have practice area expertise across key sectors of growth in Mexico, including energy and infrastructure, renewables, industrials, oil and gas, transportation, mining and metals, water, financial services, fintech and consumer products.
Our lockstep practice fosters a sense of collaboration and inclusion on cross-border mandates. For example, the Madrid-US and China-US teams have worked together on many significant matters in Mexico which are enhanced by secondments.
We are one of the few firms with lawyers trained in both common law and civil law systems, and who are familiar with issues typically arising in transactions structured in civil law jurisdictions but under New York law-governed documentation.
As global investments into Mexico continue to rise, our worldwide network positions us to connect with investors around the world who are interested in doing business there. We have a credible track record working with some of the key investors in Mexico, particularly financial and institutional investors, including private equity and infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth funds and Asian investors. Our deep knowledge of the modus operandi of these investors, combined with our leading position in other strategic markets such as the US, the UK, Spain and Asia Pacific, enables us to apply the insights and know-how obtained in such markets to anticipate issues, and places us in a strategic position to advise clients who are doing deals in Mexico with these investors.
As a result of our substantial experience in the financing of energy and infrastructure projects in Mexico, we are deeply familiar with the regulatory, legal, social, environmental and political implications of these kinds of transactions and we understand the procedures and expectations of the key stakeholders, including governmental regulators, operators and enterprises such as the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE), the Centro Nacional de Control de Energía (CENACE) and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). More specifically, we are knowledgeable about the bankability issues arising from the new forms of PPA (ie auction PPAs and CFE bilateral PPAs) and, therefore, understand the parties’ needs while structuring transactions of the like with non-contracted cashflows.
Some of the advantages of advising Mexico-based clients from an office in the US include not being tied to one local firm in Mexico, and therefore being able to decide who we want to work with based on sector and practice area expertise. We derive local market intelligence from multiple sources instead of relying on one local firm, thus providing us with multiple angles on a single matter.
There has been some financial uncertainty due to changes in the government administration, so we do not expect this year to be as active as previous ones, but we continue to remain extremely involved and committed to Mexico.
At Clifford Chance, we are already preparing for what the future of legal technology will bring to US-Mexico working practices. We are highly invested in technology training for lawyers, integrated platforms to optimise transactional practices, and applying AI technologies to high expense legal activities such as e-discovery and due diligence. We believe these burgeoning approaches will soon become commonplace, and the firm is already preparing for the next wave of technological innovation.
In the near term, online platforms for managing transactions from end-to-end, with all parties engaged, will be the new way of doing business. From managing the drafting and negotiation process, to digital signing and execution of contracts, a lot of administrative friction will be removed.
A bit further down the road, we will see data flowing more seamlessly and connected in a richer way. This is informed by the Mexican Fintech Law, which requires financial entities and FTIs to establish APIs to certain financial data systems. The law will also provide oversight for transactions involving cryptocurrency. This foundation for virtual assets and data connectivity will allow for the adoption of smart contracts on blockchain networks, with self-executing provisions to diminish the risk and overhead of dispute resolution.
Advancements in translation intelligence are also improving rapidly. At some point technical legalese will be translated accurately and instantaneously, breaking down language barriers, and creating efficiencies within the cross-border transaction lifecycle.
My perception of in-house counsel’s priorities in terms of client service when working with US-based law firms is that they expect excellent legal advice that is performed efficiently. We have a range of resources and tools to ensure highly effective management of our matters, including a fully integrated team of experienced legal project managers (LPMs) who work with our lawyers as an integral part of the team throughout the execution of transactions. The team includes certified project managers with extensive experience in delivering operational and continuous improvement projects for law firms.