Interest rate hedge products

The Firm’s swaps, derivatives and financial products practice is compromised of attorneys who have broad-ranging experience in the financial derivatives and products, familiarity with their underlying markets and extensive experience in structuring, documenting, negotiating and critically reviewing swaps and other derivative transactions, as well as forward and futures contracts and other financial products, and contractually allocating the underlying risks. We regularly counsel, work with and act on behalf of an array of clients domestically and abroad, including major financial institutions, energy companies, corporate end-users and high net worth individuals.

We regularly function as our clients’ partners in structuring financial products. We have prepared, reviewed and customized countless ISDA® master forms (both 1992 and 2002) and proprietary form master agreements for all types of "over-the-counter" financial products (representing American, European and Asian interests), governed by both New York law and English law. These Transactions have included interest rate, currency, commodity, equity and credit default swaps, as well caps, options, forward contracts, fx purchases and swaptions and weather derivatives, as well as long-form swap confirmation agreements. In addition, we regularly review, analyze, negotiate and advise clients on agreements, term sheets and confirmations received from their trading counterparties.

The Firm is an active member of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), with full access to all ISDA publications, legal opinions and committee reports. Firm attorneys serve on numerous ISDA working groups and committees, including its Equity Derivatives committee and Energy Products committee, as well as ISDA’s working group committees for Gas (both Europe and North America), Power (both Europe and North America), Freight and Coal, Oil (global), and Other Products. Through our ISDA membership, we are more able to provide precise advice on current issues affecting our clients.

Representative Experience

• Representation of the treasury groups of many large companies in their interest rate hedging programs, including Southern Company and its subsidiaries, AES Corp., Public Service Company of New Mexico and TECO Energy among other end user clients.
• Representation of many clients, domestically and abroad, in interest rate products related to specific debt facilities, both on the side of the lender and on the side of the borrower.
• Representation of The Fifth Third Leasing Company in connection with interest rate swaps embedded in their leveraged lease transactions.
• Representation of Dynex Capital in connection with the use of interest rate swaps in their mortgage backed securities portfolio.
• Representation of NTELOS and Liberty Tax as borrowers.
• Significant experience in analyzing various standard master agreements (ISDA, EFET, NAESB, etc.) and their schedules and alterations. In particular, our legal "opinion" to EFET can be found on their web site.
• Representation of Chase and Citibank in various interest rate, forex and total return swaps.