Arnold & Porter is a leader in sovereign offerings. It represents a large number of sovereign states across Latin America, enabling it to advise on a significant proportion of all bond deals in the region during 2023. This emphasis on sovereign-issuer relationships has brought the firm to the forefront of ESG and sustainability-linked offerings. It advised the Republic of Colombia on its inaugural issuance of social bonds in the international market and the Federative Republic of Brazil on its first ever issuance of sustainable bonds. The firm often represents sovereigns as states or through the ministry of finance and central bank, along with state-owned companies and municipalities; it also counts private sector corporates and financial institutions among its client base. Moreover, it is further noted for SPAC-related deals, derivatives, structured finance and securitisation transactions, including future-flow diversified payment rights (DPR) transactions. Gregory Harrington has immense experience in sovereign offerings, with a focus on Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Whitney Debevoise is another seasoned Latin America specialist having represented Brazil on every sovereign bond issued from 1988 to 2016 and again from 2023. Panamanian Raul Herrera provides further senior expertise on sovereign offerings, along with counsels Carlos Pelaez and Arturo Caraballo. All named individuals are based in Washington DC.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Key clients

  • Republic of Panama
  • Republic of El Salvador
  • Republic of Colombia
  • Republic of Costa Rica
  • Federative Republic of Brazil
  • Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
  • Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil)

Work highlights

  • Advised the Republic of Panama on a series of bond offerings.
  • Advised the Republic of El Salvador on multiple bond offerings.
  • Advised the Republic of Colombia on multiple bond offerings.

Lawyers

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Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Gregory Harrington, Whitney Debevoise