Derivatives

Our Derivatives practice group collaborates with the firm’s regulatory practices to provide comprehensive advice to funds and financial institutions that use derivatives. Our derivatives lawyers actively participate in industry-wide initiatives, including the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) working groups, and we continue to serve as the “Designated Law Firm” in connection with the Continuity Procedures for the North American “bullet” loan credit default swap. We focus on the types of derivatives most used by our clients, including:

• Credit default swaps and loan credit default swaps
• Loan and bond total return swaps
• Credit and equity-linked notes
• Equity swaps and options
• Interest rate and FX swaps

Our derivatives lawyers also help our clients efficiently manage positions, risk exposure and leverage by negotiating:

• ISDA Master Agreements and Credit Support Annexes
• Clearing agreements
• Prime brokerage customer agreements
• Portfolio and cross-product margining agreements and collateral bridges
• Repurchase (repo) agreements
• Securities lending agreements

In addition to transactional matters, our derivatives and regulatory lawyers provide regulatory and compliance advice relating to the treatment of derivatives transactions under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and regulations. We also maintain strong relationships with international local counsel to allow us to service our clients’ need for derivatives advice in international markets.