The international nature of the derivatives market requires an international law firm particularly well placed to guide clients through a rapidly evolving capital markets landscape. There is no firm able to match Mayer Brown in providing a truly global practice. Its expertise across geographies and market segments saw the firm once again take home the award for Americas Derivatives Law Firm of the Year.
Mayer Brown’s reach comes from a network of 27 offices across the world. The derivatives practice has a team of almost 60 lawyers based in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, Washington DC, London, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong. As a dealer facing practice, the firm’s clients include the world’s largest banks based in the US, Canada and across Europe.
New York and London remain the two key markets for derivatives, with New York law and English law the dominant governing laws for derivatives transactions. Many of the firm’s US-based clients nonetheless maintain their derivatives book in London, requiring a law firm able to handle both the regulatory and documentary regimes. The UK’s exit from the EU now means a presence in continental Europe is more important than ever, and Mayer Brown’s offices in Europe are a major asset. In a testament to the firm’s dominance on both sides of the Atlantic, Mayer Brown was also chosen as this year’s European derivatives law firm of the year.
“What our clients value is being able to come to one firm and receive advice on the US, UK and EU regulatory side,” says Anna Pinedo, a partner at Mayer Brown in New York. “What’s really distinct about Mayer Brown is that we are very much an integrated, global practice.”
This is reflected in the breadth of the firm’s regulatory work. In the US, clients rely on Mayer Brown for insight into a raft of topics from the Volcker Rule to security-based swap dealer issues. The firm’s work for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) spans multiple topics and jurisdictions. Mayer Brown writes ISDA opinions for the UK on collateral, netting and margin issues. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the firm’s advice was crucial in helping many market participants understand how derivatives are affected by an expanding sanctions regime.
Emissions and ESG
In addition to more standard OTC derivatives, Mayer Brown is at the forefront of emergent trends. This includes ESG products. “We’ve helped clients in the US develop proprietary ESG indices that they use to write swaps, security based swaps or exchange traded products or notes,” says Pinedo, noting that the firm’s top tier tax practice helps ensure that the new indices do not fall under specific tax rules. “Indices design is also an area we’ve spent a good amount of time on in Europe, a lot of those indices are regulated and subject to regulation under the EU benchmark regulation,” she adds.
Carbon emissions is another cutting-edge area where Mayer Brown has been adding value for clients. New products are emerging that are linked to emissions, including emissions-linked notes and various structures related to carbon credits and futures on carbon related assets. Mayer Brown has provided advice on the regulatory treatment of emissions products in the US, and guidance for clients entering — or in many cases re-interesting — the burgeoning EU emissions market. The firm has also helped with the preparation of standard documents for trading in CO2 emission allowances and repos. “This was a focus for clients and for the wider derivatives market and we really had our finger on the pulse of what was going on,” says Pineedo.
Market leader
Few parts of the market offer as much scope for innovation as crypto and tokenization. Mayer Brown recorded a high-profile CFTC registration for a futures exchange client, which is approved to offer marginal bitcoin futures subject to physical delivery. The law firm helped the client navigate various regulatory frameworks. Other highlights included helping a major European lender develop a tokenized debt instrument in the United States, and advising a blockchain infrastructure provider on the development of a new form of swap based on crypto mining activities.
The growing interest in tokenizing structured products plays to Mayer Brown’s strengths. The firm has the largest share of the structured product market in the US and one of the largest structured products practices in Europe. Pinedo is delighted to see both regions acknowledged for their exemplary work in this year’s awards. “It’s very important that both teams are receiving the recognition, and it makes this year special,” she says.