A&O Shearman

A&O Shearman, the result of a merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling in May 2024, brings together two strong Latin America practices. The legacy Allen & Overy Latin America team advised a variety of agency lenders, banks and sponsors in large-scale and headline engagements, making further headway in energy transition and renewables across the region and with a notable impact in digital infrastructure, including fibre to the home (FTTH) and data centre projects. The Shearman & Sterling team had a mix of corporate borrower and bank lender relationships, remains at the forefront of mining and metals (including critical minerals), along with renewables and energy transition, infrastructure (especially transportation and water), power, and oil and gas. The combined team, then, brings together complementary skills and experience, providing the single group with a larger client base and a broader range of sectors and geographic activity. Brazil, Chile and Mexico are primary markets for the amalgamated group along with Peru, Colombia, Paraguay, Central America and the Caribbean. Dorina Yessios co-heads the Americas projects energy, natural resources and infrastructure team, and has forged much of the firm’s growth in digital infrastructure and energy transition matters in Latin America. Washington DC-based Sami Mir is pivotal to the firm’s agency lender relationships, including IDB Invest; while Jean Lee, also in Washington DC, provides further senior expertise in agency financing matters. A leading name in mining and metals projects in Latin America, Cynthia Urda Kassis is global co-head of the projects energy, natural resources and infrastructure group and leads the mining sector team. Augusto Ruiloba is dual-qualified in Peru and New York, and has furthered the firm’s expertise in critical minerals, power generation and transport infrastructure. Robert O’Leary was promoted to partner in July 2023 and has major focus on Latin America projects. All named individuals are based in New York unless stated otherwise. Bruno Soares left Allen & Overy, prior to the merger.