Market-leading trade finance partner joins global Energy and Natural Resources Group
Global law firm Reed Smith today announced the appointment of Jonathan Solomon to its partnership. Jonathan will join the firm’s global Energy & Natural Resources Group, strengthening further its trade and commodities finance practice. Jonathan joins from Dentons.
Jonathan represents and advises financial institutions, corporates and traders on all forms of structured trade and commodity and infrastructure financings including pre-export, pre-payment, limited recourse, warehouse and counter trade as well as rights purchase and true sale structures. Jonathan’s practice is global with a specialism in emerging markets, and covers receivables and all types of commodities. He is widely considered to be a market leader in his field.
In the past three years, he was lead advisor on more than 15 award-winning deals including transactions involving jurisdictions such as Indonesia, Ukraine, The Philippines, Mongolia, Brazil, the Russian Federation and Belarus.
Reed Smith has significantly expanded its finance capabilities in the past two years – particularly focussing on structured finance, funds and derivatives. These areas complement the firm’s expanding Energy & Natural Resources Group, which in part lies behind the firm’s decision to open two new offices (in Houston and Singapore) this year, and the appointment of a number of high-profile partners.
In April, the firm was joined by Claude Brown (structured finance and derivatives partner from Clifford Chance) and Rashpaul Bahia (energy and commodities derivatives partner from McDermott Will & Emery). Other partners to join in the past two years include: Peter Zaman, Brett Hillis, Tamara Box, Helena Nathanson, Chris Borg and Nick Stainthorpe.
Kyri Evagora, Reed Smith partner and co-head of the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Group commented:
“Our energy and resources clients and our financial industry clients are increasingly involved in a variety of financings (both as borrowers and as lenders) across every part of the commodities sector. There is a significant overlap in the products being used in the energy and natural resources and the financial services sectors. Jonathan’s arrival further enhances our offering in these areas.
We look forward to Jonathan joining us. We are, of course, a single global partnership and this is reflected in our approach to working with our clients; we combine expertise, resource and global reach. Our culture is based on this approach. Our firm is structured and organised for us to work in this way. Jonathan’s deep knowledge of these industries will complement our approach and significantly contribute to our existing trade and commodities finance offering.”
Jonathan Solomon added:
“My clients increasingly require advice in innovative structures around financing transactions involving resource rich and emerging markets including South East Asia, Mongolia and Latin America. The international nature of my work and the sectors in which I specialise make Reed Smith the ideal next step for my practice. I am very excited to join the team at Reed Smith and to have the opportunity to develop Reed Smith’s Trade and Commodity Finance Group into a pre-eminent practice.”
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Note to Editors:
About Jonathan Solomon
In Chambers and Partners Jonathan is described as having "extensive experience advising lenders and borrowers on all forms of commodity and infrastructure financings, and all types of emerging market receivables transactions including project, acquisition and mining financings." In Legal 500, clients describe Jonathan as ”a very good guy, very strong in trade finance”.
About Reed Smith’s trade and commodity finance practice
Reed Smith’s trade and commodity finance practice provides a full-service offering as part of the larger Energy & Natural Resources Group (a multidisciplinary group combining regulatory, transactional and litigation disciplines).
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global law firm, with 25 offices and more than 1,800 lawyers in offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
For further information please visit www.reedsmith.com or contact Jeyda Star (Senior PR & Communications Manager EME) on +44 (0)20 3116 2571.