New York
Leah Sanzari leads Orrick’s esoteric ABS practice in both the 144A and Private Placement markets. 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 also advises both sellers and buyers of portfolios of assets, including mortgages and esoteric assets.
Leah advises a number of 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 2021 USA - Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitization: PACE and USA - Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitization: ABS directories, a client noted that "she does a really good job of guiding us commercially and she helps to keep us focused on the big picture. She demonstrates incredible diligence; she is available all the time and she helps us dive in an understand the nuances of transactions." Another said, "she works tirelessly to close transactions, she is very practical, she is super competent, she rises to the occasion and she is a problem-solver." In the Structured Finance: Securitization category of The Legal 500 US, a client stated that “she is business-oriented and does a good job of framing issues so that we can craft solutions that are a win-win for both sides.”
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.