New York
Leah Sanzari leads Orrick’s esoteric ABS practice in both the 144A and Private Placement markets and is a member of the firm's Management Committee. She regularly represents issuers and investors in complex, novel, esoteric deals of first impression.
Leah’s experience includes a wide variety of asset-backed securities, with a particular emphasis on residential mortgage transactions, esoteric assets, including tax liens, PACE liens, oil & gas securitizations, music catalog securitizations, diamond receivables securitizations and whole business operating company securitizations. She often works with numerous borrowers and lenders on financing and warehouse facilities for mortgages and esoteric assets and advises both sellers and buyers of portfolios of assets, including mortgages and esoteric assets.
Leah advises several financial institutions and government agencies with regard to the implications of financial markets regulation, as well as in connection with complex capital markets, debt financing and other transactions.
In the Chambers USA 2022 USA - Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitization: PACE and USA - Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitization: ABS directories, where she is ranked in Band 1 and Band 3 respectively, a client noted that "Leah is a very talented lawyer who fights tooth and nail for her clients" and, "Leah is one of the best lawyers that I have worked with. She knows how to focus on the key issues that help drive successful transactions." In the Structured Finance: Securitization category of The Legal 500 US, a client stated that “The best there is in esoteric financing products and bonds. We’ve been incredibly impressed with the gender diversity on the team. Extremely ethical – name carries a lot of weight with investors.”
Leah’s recent experience includes co-leading transactions representing the noteholders in two innovative securitizations of oil and gas wellbore assets of Raisa Energy, an EnCap portfolio company, and Diversified Gas & Oil, an AIM-listed public company.
She is a part of the Financial Institutions Industry Group, a multi-practice global group of partners who have client relationship responsibilities for financial institutions around the world.
Leah is a member of Orrick’s Financial Audit Committee.