Structured Finance

Orrick's Structured Finance Group is composed of more than 70 lawyers in offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Orrick has played a significant role in the global asset securitization market, beginning in 1977 when we represented Bank of America in the first public offering of non-agency mortgage pass-through certificates. Since that time, we have assisted clients in developing many innovative structures and have played a critical role in many of the major legal developments that have shaped the global financial markets.

Global Strength

Over the past three years, we advised clients on more than 500 financings worldwide, with an aggregate value of more than US$950 billion. Orrick is consistently ranked by industry publications among the top law firms across all asset classes. Chambers Global 2009 recognized Orrick as "a fabulous structured finance brand" with "a wonderfully deep bench and one of the best securitization practices in the USA and, indeed, the world." Our clients were quoted as saying Orrick lawyers "understand every aspect of the market and take a 360-degree view."

United States

• Orrick's U.S. practice was recognized by Chambers Global 2009 as having great skill and flexibility and a "much-lauded balance of relationship management and broad knowledge."
• Chambers USA consistently ranks Orrick as "one of the world's leading securitization and structured finance firms" and compliments our lawyers on their "responsiveness and true dedication," "intelligent, constructive manners," and "refusal to play fast and loose."
• For four consecutive years (2004–2008), Thomson Reuters ranked Orrick among the top five issuer's counsel in asset-backed securities and in mortgage-backed securities in the United States. In seven of the last nine years, Orrick ranked first in the representation of issuers in public offerings of asset backed securities in the United States.

Europe

• Chambers Europe reports that "clients rate this team of lawyers for its availability and ‘undisputable technical excellence’" and highlights the Italian team for acting "on a number of significant deals in the past year, especially within the healthcare sector."
• Our structured financelawyers in Europe are among the top advisors in Euromarket securitizations as ranked by International Financial Law Review, Thomson Reuters, Chambers UK and Legal 500.
• Orrick was named "European Securitization Law Firm of the Year" at the Global Derivatives and European Securitization Awards 2008.

Asia

• Orrick's structured finance practice is pan-Asian with highly regarded strengths in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, as well as emerging structured finance markets in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia.
• Our local lawyers have more than 10 years of sophisticated regional experience and are led by a dedicated team in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
• Chambers Global 2009 recognized Orrick's Asia-Pacific practice as successful due to its diverse portfolio of work, which includes RMBS, CMBS, auto loans, credit card and future flow securitisations. Since the outset of the global credit crisis, the Hong Kong team has advised on an increasing amount of privately placed deals. Orrick has also been noted as a "strong newcomer in Hong Kong, rising quickly in the ranks," and as a "long-established player" in Japan, "renowned for its strength in real-estate related securitizations."
• Orrick's offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai include lawyers qualified in Australia, China, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• Orrick's office in Tokyo combines U.S.-, English-, French- and Russian-law qualified lawyers of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP with the Japanese-law qualified bengoshi of Orrick Tokyo Law Offices.

Latin America

• Our Latin America securitization team has extensive experience in advising issuers, financiers and other counterparties in structured finance transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela. Our regional structured finance experience includes the following.
• securitization of oil and tax receivables
• securitization of emerging country debt receivables
• creation of multi-issuance platforms for securitizing emerging market bonds, loans, letters of credit and similar instruments
• repackaging of Brady Bonds and other securities issued by emerging market sovereigns and semi-sovereigns
• advising financial institutions on structured loan facilities, including IFC, Mexican Development Bank and Colombian Development Bank
  
  

The Orrick Difference

We make an investment in understanding our clients’ businesses, enabling us to provide strategic and practical solutions in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Our multidisciplinary approach, involving lawyers expert in securitization, securities law, investment funds, tax, real estate, commercial law, banking, bankruptcy and ERISA, enables us to provide our clients with sophisticated legal work on their most complex and challenging transactions.

Orrick has also recently established a Financial Crisis Working Group to facilitate the global service of clients during the economic downturn. This multi-practice global group of partners has shown their deep knowledge of the intricacies of structuring and restructuring deals for banks and corporations. The group publishes the firm’s Financial Industry Week in Review which highlights weekly important legal and regulatory developments affecting the financial industry.