GlobalCapital Names Dechert “CMBS Law Firm of the Year”
Superlative performance from Dechert LLP’s global finance group was recognized when the firm was named “CMBS Law Firm of the Year” at GlobalCapital’s U.S. Securitization Awards 2020.
The awards, now in their seventh year, were set up to honor the firms and deals that stand out among their peers in the U.S. securitization industry. Winners are decided by industry vote.
This year, the publication highlighted the cutting-edge regulatory work carried out by Dechert’s Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities practice, along with its breadth of experience and range of clients. The firm provides counsel on the full spectrum of legal issues in the CMBS market, from the origination of loans and their warehousing and pooling to their final securitization and the issuance of securities.
According to GlobalCapital, Dechert posted leading market shares last year in terms of volumes and values of deals, including being the number one issuer’s counsel on collateralized loan obligation (CLO) deals in the commercial real estate space in 2019.
“2019 was a very busy year for us” said Laura Swihart, partner in Dechert’s global finance practice and a member of the firm’s governing Policy Committee. “What we have managed to do is to provide counsel on the full gamut of legal issues in the CMBS market while working with a very wide range of clients.”
Dechert has taken a leadership role in the transition from LIBOR to SOFR. The firm undertook the first SOFR alternative deal, for Starwood, in mid-2019, and in December served as lead counsel on Freddie Mac’s US$765 million K-F73 deal, the first multifamily securitization to be indexed to SOFR and the winner of GlobalCapital's “CMBS Deal of the Year” award. The firm has since worked on more than 15 separate client assignments around the LIBOR transition. “LIBOR is going away and we’re helping our client across the industry with that transition,” said Swihart.
The Dechert team also worked on a number of other ground-breaking transactions in 2019, including Blackstone’s CRE CLO for $1.5 billion, as well as the US$2.35 billion single asset-single borrower CMBS for Lineage Logistics’ cold storage facilities.
The accolade is the latest won by Dechert’s global finance practice. For several consecutive years, GlobalCapital has recognized Dechert as either winner or finalist in categories aimed at a variety of asset classes, including “CLO Law Firm of the Year”, “CMBS Law Firm of the Year”, and “ABS Law Firm of the Year”.
Dechert was also named a finalist for “CLO Law Firm of the Year” in this year’s awards.
GlobalCapital announced the winners of this year’s awards on June 19, 2020.
About Dechert
Dechert is a leading global law firm with 26 offices around the world. We advise on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.
