Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securitization
Sidley is one of the premier law firms in the CMBS market. Our clients include issuers, underwriters, loan sellers, sponsors and investors (including “B piece” buyers) in these deals. Our lawyers are as experienced as any in the business, and Sidley ranks first or second each year in issuer and underwriter representations.
Essential to a successful CMBS practice is the availability of lawyers experienced in various related legal disciplines. We have a recognized real estate capability, and our real estate clients include both lenders and borrowers on many CMBS loans, in addition to balance sheet loans. The real estate group works closely with our CMBS lawyers, as well as with rating agencies, and is at the forefront of industry innovations and developments, including A/B notes and participation structures, split loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments. The real estate and CMBS groups are also active in the purchase, sale and financing of commercial mortgage loan portfolios.
Sidley also has a top rated funds practice, whose clients frequently invest in or otherwise engage in CMBS related transactions. Our regulatory experience is second to none, particularly in respect of risk retention, Dodd-Frank, the Volcker Rule, and rapidly evolving blockchain technology. Sidley has significant and well-established practice groups in taxation, both domestic and international, including taxation of REMICs and other securitization vehicles; securities laws; bankruptcy and creditors rights; environmental law; ERISA; trust law; and bank, insurance and healthcare regulation. Our leading CMBS experience, coupled with our related asset-backed securities and these other practices, in addition to all other attendant legal disciplines, distinguishes Sidley from its competitors.
Finally, Sidley has always been a leader in the European CMBS market, and continues to be active in the new issuance market and in restructuring existing transactions. Sidley has offices across the globe in 20 locations. This global reach and our diversity of practices allows us to serve clients across the full range of their businesses.
Residential Mortgage-Backed Securitization
Sidley’s prominence in the area of residential mortgage-backed securitization is longstanding and unrivaled. Based on Thomson Financial reports, the firm has consistently ranked at the top of the league tables as both underwriters' and issuer’s counsel in the U.S. public mortgage-backed market.
Sidley’s market presence is illustrated not merely by the number and size of transactions in which we have participated, but also by the range and depth of clients that we represent. Our clients include most investment and commercial banks that are active in the area, as well as government-sponsored enterprises and government agencies such as Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae. Nor is our practice limited to domestic transactions, with various firm projects in the past year alone involving mortgage assets in Australia, Argentina, United Kingdom and Costa Rica, among other locations.
Our extensive experience spans the range of disciplines essential to residential mortgage securitization, including tax, corporate, securities, derivatives, real estate, regulatory, ERISA and Investment Company Act practices. Thus are we positioned to play a key role in assisting our clients in the development of new products and strategies. As but one example, we have witnessed a marked increase in the use of innovative derivative products as a critical source of enhancement in mortgage securitization transactions. Our continual involvement in the structuring and application of the seemingly boundless variations on traditional swap, cap and put instruments enables us to ensure that we remain at the forefront of product development while providing essential support to our clients in their quest to optimize financial results.