Below are the legal practice area definitions and regional variations used by Chambers to rank lawyers and law firms in the USA Guide.

Advertising

The Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory section covers corporate and other transactional work involving advertising and marketing agencies, and other clients in the advertising industry, as well as contractual and regulatory compliance work related to marketing campaigns, such as sponsorship, licensing and branding deals. This section also covers regulatory proceedings, but please note that we have newly created an Advertising: NAD Proceedings section which covers lawyers and firms who specialise in representing brands before the National Advertising Division. The Advertising: Litigation section covers disputes work related to the advertising industry. The core work covered by this section is Lanham Act disputes and consumer class actions involving false advertising. NAD proceedings are not on their own included in the Advertising: Litigation section.

Antitrust

Antitrust covers the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behaviour (monopoly) and unfair business practices - this includes practices that hurt business, consumers, or both, and that generally violate standards of ethical behavior. Antitrust litigation and M&A-related competition work is included in the Chambers guides.

Appellate Law

This chapter covers the preparation, drafting and delivery of briefs before the appellate courts (state supreme courts, circuit courts and the US Supreme Court). Also includes interlocutory appeals and writs. Chambers USA features a Nationwide table of law firms who field teams of appellate lawyers. It also ranks appellate lawyers in each state where there is a prominent appellate bar.

Banking & Finance

This section covers lending transactions and recognizes those working on behalf of lenders and borrowers. Both banks and alternative lenders, such as credit funds, are recognized as lenders. Transactions may include acquisition financings, refinancings and general lending. All structures and methods of credit facility are relevant to this chapter.

In states where Project Finance is not recognized separately, such work may be submitted to that state's Banking & Finance section. While the financing of property transactions may be relevant as part of a broad practice, firms or lawyers with a financing practice which revolves entirely around this should submit to the relevant Real Estate section. Where a specific Real Estate: Finance section exists covering the same geographical area, property work should not be included in Banking & Finance submissions.

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

The focus is on corporate bankruptcy and restructuring and the legal processes related to distressed businesses, which can either be reorganized or go into liquidation.

Also, especially in the current economic environment, the chapter includes lawyers who advise on acquisition opportunities that arise out of distressed businesses. Lawyers in this chapter assist clients such as corporate debtors, investors and asset purchasers, secured and unsecured creditors and creditors` committees, bondholders, insurers, directors of distressed companies and any other interested parties in corporate restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings.

In addition to transactional work, bankruptcy also covers any related litigation, such as disputes between such parties in connection with distressed companies and Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 processes.

Cannabis Law

This section encompasses the full spectrum of work involving companies in the cannabis industry. Ranked firms and lawyers will show strong ties to the sector. Types of work may include, but are not restricted to; M&A and financings; intellectual property for cannabis-based products and medicines; and regulatory compliance and litigation, on either a state-wide or federal basis.

Capital Markets

Chambers guides cover key areas of capital markets either as distinct tables or under the wider umbrella. The areas include: Debt & Equity; Derivatives; Securitization; Structured finance (repackagings, other synthetic products).

Equity Capital Markets includes advice on equity offerings transactions such as: Initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, right offerings; capital increases; ADR/GDR offerings; accelerated bookbuilds; block trades.

Debt Capital Markets covers legal advice on the following transactions: investment grade debt offerings (standalone bond issues; MTN programs, Commercial Paper programmes); equity-linked offerings (regulatory capital, convertibles and exchangeable offerings) and High Yield debt offerings.

Derivatives includes the regulatory and transactional legal advice regarding derivatives products. These include: Exchange-traded derivatives; OTC derivatives; Securitized derivatives; Interest rate, currency, equity, credit and commodity-linked products. Law firms advise on product development and regulation; market regulation; structuring and documentation of transactions, related tax issues and derivatives litigation.

Securitization covers the entire range asset classes, including (among others): Commercial loans; derivatives exposure; bonds and corporate debt; project cash flows; trade receivables; credit card and trade receivables; commercial and residential mortgages; life insurance and annuities; auto loans; CDOs (both cash and synthetic) and CLOs.

Structured products also encompasses repackagings; and hybrid synthetic and structured note products

Climate Change

This practice area covers a range of regulatory, transactional and litigation work in a specific climate change context. Regulatory work such as compliance program design and implementation, as well as operational and project-related compliance advice is a central aspect of work in this area. This area also covers representation of clients in proceedings before domestic and foreign government panels, agencies and regulatory bodies, including handling rulemaking challenges. Climate change-related government relations and policy advice work is also covered here. Climate change litigation and carbon markets transactions are also important in this practice area.

Communications

This area focuses on regulatory compliance, administrative proceedings and other litigation arising from the communications sector.

Construction

Construction covers contractual advisor work within the construction industry for both the suppliers (e.g., developers, contractors, engineers and architects), and those clients employing these types of companies (e.g., corporates or state authorities) on their building plans. Our construction sections cover both litigious and non-litigious matters.

Corporate Crime & Investigations

While Chambers recognizes that there is some crossover with this nationwide section and state Litigation: White-Collar Crime sections, there are some key differences. This area focuses just on institutional representations rather than individual and considers both civil and criminal investigations. It highlights practices demonstrating strength in internal and external investigations, including those taking place across a range of regulated industries such as healthcare.

Corporate/M&A

This chapter includes company acquisitions, dispositions and related financing arrangements, mergers, joint ventures capitalizations, entity selection and formation, operating and partnership agreements and governance matters.

Also covers those transactions designed to help restructuring within companies and their subsidiaries by change of ownership. Priority is placed on primary representatives, those acting for buyers and sellers, whilst those acting for financial advisors, underwriters and the banks financing such transactions are also considered.

Crisis Management

This table consists of leading private practice lawyers who play a key role in mobilising firm resources and managing multidisciplinary teams to advise corporate and individual clients following catastrophic events, regulatory actions, compliance failures and broader corporate crises. This research will aim to highlight lawyers who are considered a first choice to quarterback a corporate response to a crisis, without necessarily fronting the client’s criminal defence legal team.

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

This section covers the full range of matters involving employee benefits and compensation plans including advising on the design and implementation thereof, as well as related taxation issues. It also includes advice on executive compensation agreements and benefits matters pertaining to corporate transactions. Moreover, it includes contentious matters pertaining to the implementation of benefit plans. Please also see ERISA litigation for disputes brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Energy

Although Chambers is aware of the overlap with Projects and project financing, the energy chapters focus on corporate / commercial, regulatory and capital markets issues arising from the energy sector. These include the regulatory components of M&A and other transactional work, pure regulatory work related to the application for licenses and compliance and enforcement with regulatory bodies. Our Energy section is divided into the following subsections:

Energy: Electricity (Finance)

This practice area covers capital markets-related financing in the electricity space. The type of work considered here includes electricity bond structuring, private equity financing in the electricity space and utility rate securitizations. Clients in this area are exclusively electric utilities and the financing parties on the other side. We also consider capital markets-derived financings in support of power portfolio transactions and electricity M&A relevant here. This practice area does not include project financing structures, which are covered in the separate relevant Projects sections.

Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)

This section covers all regulatory work and associated regulatory litigation concerning the power sector, including compliance work, and FERC and other government investigation and enforcement actions as well as related appellate proceedings.

Energy: Electricity (Transactional)

This section covers M&A, A&D, joint ventures strategic alliances and corporate financing work as well as wholesale and retail energy trading and market transactions in the traditional power and renewable energy sectors. Clients typically include generation and transmission owners, utilities, yield cos and energy majors.

Energy: Mining & Metals (Transactional)

Work covered in this practice area includes exploration, development and production agreements as well as transactions pertaining to royalties, sales structures and taxation. Engineering, processing and refining contract work is also included in this subsection.

Energy: Nuclear (Regulatory & Litigation)

This practice area concerns all regulatory and litigation issues pertaining to the nuclear industry with particular focus on proceedings before the NRC. Work includes licensing and operation, reactor oversight, enforcement and compliance, whistleblower statutes and non-retaliation policy, as well as nuclear waste and fuel procurement issues.

Energy: Oil & Gas (Regulatory & Litigation)

This practice area covers regulatory work in the oil & gas industry at a federal level as well as regulatory litigation. Work can include regulatory compliance advice, approval proceedings, and regulatory litigation before FERC and the DOE as well as any related appellate work including pipeline emission matters and rate disputes. Clients typically include pipeline and LNG facility operators but also include any company interacting with the regulated side of the oil & gas industry.

Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional)

This subsection covers oil & gas industry-specific transactions as well as large corporate transactions for oil & gas industry clients. Types of work typically include M&A between large oil majors, joint venture agreements, service contacts and A&D including portfolio transactions. Clients include oil & gas majors, producers, pipeline companies, services operators and petrochemical companies. This subsection also includes LNG-specific transactions.

Energy & Natural Resources – State Level

As with the Nationwide chapter, state-level Energy sections cover the corporate, commercial, and regulatory issues arising from the energy sector. This includes the regulatory components of M&A and other transactional work as well as pure regulatory work related to the application for licenses and compliance. Contentious matters are also considered here, including enforcement actions, government investigations and rate disputes. These chapters focus on state-level representation, federal-level work is mostly considered in the nationwide chapter.

Energy Transition

This practice area looks to recognize firms and individuals assisting companies with energy transition, i.e., the move away from traditional reliance on oil and gas and a move towards “clean” and renewable energy. This may include the reshaping of asset portfolios and energy consumption across both the operational and supply chain sides. The work covered in this section includes the financing of low-carbon and de-carbonization projects, capital markets work and associated regulatory/compliance advice. This section does not consider associated environmental work as this is covered in our Climate Change chapter.

Environment

The environment chapter features both litigation and advisory/transactional support to clients. This includes general corporate issues, (e.g., due diligence on mergers), the development of brownfield sites, and pollution issues.

Traditional environment work includes regulatory compliance, litigation and enforcement actions related to air, water, wetlands, waste and endangered species.

We also feature advice to corporate and financial clients on the environmental aspects of M&A, financings, securities offerings and other transactions, which involve due diligence and environmental insurance issues.

ERISA Litigation

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is the federal statutory framework that governs the administration of employee benefit plans and the rights of the beneficiaries under the plan. The interpretation and enforcement of the Ac tis handled by the US Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

False Claims Act

This section includes the full spectrum of litigation, investigation and disclosure work as it relates to the False Claims Act, covering both intervened and non-intervened qui tam actions. Clients will include government contractors, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and healthcare systems.

Financial Services Regulation

Banking Compliance

This section covers regulatory compliance work and advisory matters on behalf of banks, bank holding companies and other systemically important financial institutions. Areas include Dodd Frank compliance, including Volcker, resolution planning, enhanced prudential standards and anti-money laundering. Also covered are other regulatory frameworks such as Basel III. The section also covers engagement with the rulemaking process, including comment letters, lobbying, etc.

Banking Enforcement & Investigations

This section covers the handling of regulatory investigations and enforcement actions on behalf of banks, bank holding companies and other systemically important financial institutions. Actions may originate from all parts of the US regulatory apparatus. This includes, but is not limited to, actions brought by the Federal Reserve, SEC, OCC, CFPB and OFAC, and may also include matters with a parallel DOJ investigation. Internal investigations into banking operations and regulatory procedures are also covered here.

[*Note: Broker-dealer enforcement matters are NOT included in this section.]

Broker Dealer (Compliance & Enforcement)

This section covers the full range of regulatory matters specific to the broker dealer industry. Firms are ranked according to their ability to handle both compliance and enforcement matters; individual attorneys may be ranked either for their compliance work, or for their enforcement work, or both. Compliance covers areas such as Dodd Frank and Volcker compliance for broker dealers, including SEC compliance for traders and investment banks. It also covers matters under SROs such as FINRA. Enforcement covers investigations and enforcement actions brought by the full range of regulatory bodies overseeing the broker dealer industry, as well as internal investigations.

Consumer Finance

In all Consumer Finance sections, a significant focus on consumer lending and its regulation should be demonstrated. Relevant clients include both dedicated consumer finance providers and the consumer finance arms of larger financial institutions; work which revolves solely around banking-focused regulations such as Volcker and Dodd Frank is not considered relevant here.

Compliance covers all aspects of compliance with CFPB and state regulations regarding consumer lending, including matters pertaining to mortgage lending, credit cards, autofinance and other forms of consumer credit.

Enforcement and Investigations covers enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory bodies, such as the CFPB and the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau, into consumer lending.

Litigation covers the defense of class actions or significant single plaintiff suits on behalf of mortgage lenders and servicers, credit card issuers and other providers of consumer credit. Issues often featured include fair lending cases, False Claims Act litigation and cases concerning unfair and deceptive practices.

Financial Institutions M&A

The Financial Institutions M&A table covers all M&A (including proprietary deals, joint ventures, IPOs, etc) involving financial institutions. This can include M&A involving banks, credit card companies, insurance companies and other types of financial institution. Lawyers and firms who are ranked in this section are assessed both in terms of their deal making strength and in terms of their handling of the regulatory aspects of such transactions.

Food & Beverage

This chapter focuses on legal advice surrounding FDA matters, concerning all food, including dietary supplements as well as meat and poultry, which the USDA scrutinizes. Issues relating to the FTC also feature, such as consumer protection and advertising and point of sale concerns.

Regulatory concerns such as health claims, IP issues are key areas in this sector, and the chapter also features commercial issues such as taxation, franchise arrangements and antitrust. Legal issues surrounding so-called functional foods (also known as nutraceuticals), foods marketed as having specific health benefits or effects and blurring the lines between foods and medicines are also covered.

The chapter also covers significant litigation and legislation in the beverage alcohol sector, relating to the ability of wineries and other vendors to make interstate sales of wine to both consumers and retail customers.

Franchising

This section includes those acting for Franchisees and Franchisors and covers both transactional and contentious work. On the non-contentious side, this includes setting up a franchise arrangement, expanding a system and closing-down arrangements. Disputes arising from the sector such as disputed closing down of a system or contractual obligations.

Government

This chapter has three main components: Government Contracts, Government Relations and Political Law.

The Government Contracts section refers to supply contract arrangements (with, for example, Army, Navy, Airforce, Department of Homeland Security) and bid protests before the agency forum, General Accountability Office (GAO) or Court of Federal Claims (CFC). Litigation arising from the sector includes costs disputes, matters relating to the False Claims Act and other contractual disputes (such as late completion and overrun costs). Other non-contentious issues include services contracting, scheduling issues and organisational conflicts of interest.

The primary focus of Government Relations is legislative lobbying conducted by qualified lawyers for a range of corporate and nonprofit clients, including hospitals and universities. This is usually either regarding a specific proposal for legislation (e.g., Asbestos reform) or ongoing appropriations work. This work crosses industries from defence to education.

Political Law features advice on the organisation and financing of election campaigns (McCain-Feingold Act) as well as advice to corporations and independent advocacy groups on their election activities. Contentious matters include challenging decisions by election authorities such as the Federal Election Commission.

Healthcare

Healthcare covers a wide range of work, including transactional, advisory and contentious matters. Transactional work is primarily the sale and purchase, of some or all of a health system or health insurance company. Law firms advise on antitrust issues and assorted regulatory matters for clients such as hospitals, health systems and insurance companies.

Litigation includes matters like qui tam (whistleblower) suits and the defence of parties involved in federal investigations. Advisory and regulatory compliance matters include Medicare Part D, the subsidizing of drugs through the federally-run Medicare program. Also covers Stark Law, which governs referrals of physicians accepting Medicare and Medicaid funds, and the False Claims Act.

This chapter also features advice on pharmaceutical and medical products regulatory issues covering the drugs and devices approved by the FDA. Please also see Product Liability for litigation arising from pharmaceutical and medical devices defects. The regulation of these areas also features in our Life Sciences chapter.

Hedge Funds

This section covers hedge fund formation and launches, spinouts, strategic acquisitions, distressed debt investments and restructurings.

Immigration

The immigration section predominantly focuses on corporate matters in the area, including compliance and auditing work. Firms will advise clients on issues such as immigration programs, visa petitions, mobility strategies, immigration aspects of M&A, as well as in investigations and enforcement defense.

Insurance

Insurance includes both contentious and non-contentious insurance and reinsurance matters. On the contentious side, we feature coverage claims litigation, broker`s negligence and both 'facultative' and 'treaty' reinsurance disputes. There is also an element of professional negligence issues arising from insurance disputes.

On the non-contentious side, we include all forms of M&A, capital raisings, demutualisations and other regulatory issues.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property covers disputes related to patent, copyright and trademark infringement. Litigation concerning trade secrets also features. We also cover related non-contentious issues such as licensing and IP commercialization (US patent prosecution).  

 

A number of key markets are divided into specialized subsections, with distinct rankings for Patent and Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets work. 

Our Patent coverage encompasses all aspects of patent work, including infringement disputes and other litigation, related appellate proceedings, and non-contentious patent work such as prosecution and portfolio commercialization. 

 

The Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets tables focus on work including prosecution and portfolio management, anticounterfeiting, complex infringement disputes and appellate proceedings before bodies such as the TTAB. Trade Secrets matters are also included in this section. 

 

Related sections include International Trade: Intellectual Property (Section 337), which covers International Trade Commission proceedings involving intellectual property rights, and Nationwide Life Sciences, which includes IP-specific rankings for firms with significant expertise in areas including medical devices and pharmaceuticals. 

 

International Arbitration

Chambers USA recognizes firms and individuals for their practice as both counsel and arbitrators in our International Arbitration section. Individuals are ranked in the International Arbitration: Counsel and International Arbitration: Arbitrators tables, depending on whether we are recognising them for their work serving as counsel or sitting as arbitrators. They may be included in both tables, if appropriate. Firms are ranked for their overall International Arbitration offering in either International Arbitration: Elite or International Arbitration: Highly Regarded. Chambers USA International Arbitration also includes a spotlight table highlighting those firms and individuals particularly noted for their arbitral enforcement expertise. This is designed to complement the core rankings. There is no Public International Law coverage in the Chambers USA guide, and so investment treaty arbitration mandates are included within Nationwide International Arbitration.

 

Our core International Arbitration rankings recognise firms and individuals for their handling of both commercial and investor-state international arbitrations. These include disputes seated across the globe and held under a wide range of institutional rules, as well as ad-hoc proceedings. Examples of these disputes include ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, ICSID and LCIA proceedings. These may be held before either a sole arbitrator or a panel. Chambers USA does not recognise domestic arbitrations; these would instead usually appear in state commercial litigation tables. Chambers USA also includes separate coverage of insurance and international trade disputes, and so would not prioritise this work within International Arbitration. 

 

International Trade

The Customs section covers a range of issues including customs planning, compliance and enforcement. Typical highlights will include customs valuations, voluntary disclosures and representation before the CPB. Common clients will include domestic importers.
 
The Export Controls and Economic Sanctions area of research revolves around trade controls affecting multinational clients, many of whom operate in the financial, oil and gas, defense and technology sectors. Matters that we take into consideration include compliance programs in connection to US trade controls and economic sanctions restrictions, export licensing issues, internal investigations and enforcement issues. Work highlights often relate to key regulations such as EAR and ITAR, in addition to OFAC-related matters. 

Trade Policy and Trade Remedy includes issues such as WTO and other treaty-based trade and investment disputes, bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, and market access issues. Clients will include large corporations and national governments. In terms of trade remedies, we primarily focus on cases before bodies such as the ITC, DOC and Court of Appeals. This includes antidumping and countervailing duty cases, and we welcome both petitioner and respondent-led highlights. Common clients include domestic and international manufacturers, industry associations and national governments.

CFIUS is a niche area that focuses on national security as it relates to transactions and investments. Typical highlights include obtaining CFIUS approval on behalf of foreign companies buying and investing into the US. We also consider FOCI mitigation work and SSA’s.

Investment Funds

Investment Funds: Venture Capital Fund Formation

Investment Funds: Private Equity: Fund Formation

Investment Funds: Investor Representation

Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance

Investment Funds: Hedge Funds

Investment Funds: Registered Funds

Labor & Employment

In Chambers USA, Labor - as distinct from employment – refers to the representation of corporates in their dealings with labor unions, including collective bargaining negotiations, strike avoidance and NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) proceedings. The section also covers wage and hour class and collective actions, as well as OSHA (Occupational health and safety act) and other workplace safety issues, which are also recognised in the Nationwide Occupational Safety and Health section.

Employment covers litigation related to sex, race, age and national origin discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and employment-related restrictive covenants. This section also covers non-contentious matters relating to day-to-day business issues as well as workforce restructuring, and employment issues related to mergers and takeovers. Lawyers also advise on the writing of policy handbooks for major corporates and HR training.

Leisure & Hospitality

This is an industry section covering all strands of legal services carried out for clients involved in the Leisure industry, ranging from ranging from hotels and amusement parks to casinos. The key strands of legal advice related to real estate, employment and OSHA, corporate/commercial matters and financing.

Life sciences

Life sciences focuses on the commercialisation of life sciences products (pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology programs etc). IP issues dominate as large pharmaceuticals seek to obtain innovative, impending blockbuster drugs from biotechs and other pharmaceutical companies. Also includes the licensing and acquisition of new products from other sources (often smaller biotechs to larger suppliers).

This chapter includes advice on FDA issues and the increased focus on drug and device safety, which also appears in Healthcare. Litigation centring on claims of product liability can be seen in the Nationwide Products Liability chapter of Chambers USA.

Litigation

The Chambers USA litigation chapters focus on commercial proceedings before state and federal court, circuit courts and US Supreme Court. The work covers the full course of a dispute such as pre-trial negotiations, documentation and preparation for trial, summary judgement motions, trial, appeals and enforcement proceedings. Chambers USA focuses on two main types of litigation: commercial disputes before civil courts and white-collar crime, including government investigations. Alternative dispute resolution, involving non-court mediation is also featured. Many commercial contracts contain arbitration clauses, which are handled by commercial litigators. Chambers USA has also identified those firms which field arbitration specialists. Please refer to the Nationwide: International Arbitration table for further information. In the USA, the Bar is sufficiently specialised for Chambers USA to identify litigators by the sector in which they practice. Areas such as Insurance, Construction, Environment, IP and Media all contain litigators who are experts in their field.

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations

Our White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations research will cover both individual representations and company representations. Work typically undertaken in this section will include external and internal investigations, enforcement proceedings, white-collar criminal trials and appeals. Attorneys will generally represent individuals or companies involved in matters investigated by bodies such as the DOJ, US Attorneys' Offices, state AGs and Congress committees. These investigations and enforcement proceedings may involve a range of issues, including insider trading, healthcare fraud, antitrust issues, corruption allegations and FCPA breaches.

We also have a standalone FCPA section, as well as a Corporate Crime section - FCPA work should be prioritized in the FCPA rather than the state White-Collar tables, and Corporate Crime focuses on institutional representations (excluding individual-only mandates). There are also sections like, False Claims Act, Healthcare and Antitrust that will cover some of the work that comes up in White-Collar.

Litigation: Securities

If we have states with separate securities litigation rankings for firms, you should be able to see on the research schedule that you can submit to these separately. If we have smaller states with just a commercial litigation table, you can include securities litigation in the commercial litigation submission. For the full definition, please refer to Securities: Litigation.

Litigation: Medical Malpractice Defense

This section covers the representation of medical professionals facing claims of medical malpractice. Lawyers ranked in this section may act for doctors, physicians and nurse practitioners, as well as hospitals and other healthcare providers. Clients may also include insurers, delivery systems and long-term care facilities. This section covers all stages of litigation, including trials, administrative proceedings and appeals on both a state and federal level. 

Media & Broadcasting

This section covers all aspects of work related to the broader media and entertainment sector, encompassing film & television, music, publishing, theatre and art as well as social and other digital media.

Within these sectors, we spotlight those firms and lawyers who concentrate on either contentious or non-contentious matters. Litigation includes intellectual property, contractual and antitrust disputes as well as First Amendment litigation (which encompasses defamation and access disputes on behalf of news organisation, journalists and other publishers). On the non-contentious side, Chambers recognises lawyers who advise on all aspects of the creation and distribution of content, including production, financing and distribution concerns.

Native American Law

Firms operating in this area represent tribes or private companies or state governments in their dealings with tribes. Gaming law and regulatory work and casino development have traditionally been key areas of this market. There is also a growing emphasis on land, energy, water rights and environmental matters.

Natural Resources

The Natural Resources sections focus on mining and minerals exploration, development and production agreements, including royalty issues, project finance, taxation and other financing arrangements. Engineering, processing and refining contracts, sales structures and environmental issues are also covered.

Occupational Health and Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health sections covers the full gamut of work involving health and safety in the workplace, including assisting employers with federal and state-level regulatory compliance and proceedings such as OSHA and MSHA inspections and audits. This section also recognises firms and lawyers representing plaintiffs and employers in litigation pertaining to workplace injuries and workers’ compensation.   

Offshore Energy

This section covers transactional and contentious work in a specific offshore energy context. This includes oil rigs, terminal facilities, renewable energy infrastructure and maritime offshore services. Clients may include energy companies and financial institutions. We do not consider environmental permitting or other environmental regulatory work in this chapter.

Oil & Gas Litigation

This practice area covers contentious matters, principally in the up-stream oil and gas industry, particularly pertaining to issues arising in shale plays across the USA. Work covered in this section includes subsurface and surface rights disputes; lease interpretations and litigation concerning traditional and novel lease forms; nuisance claims; royalty class actions; contentious work concerning the rule of capture; and further disputes stemming from horizontal drilling and other industry developments. Regulatory litigation is covered in Nationwide: Energy: Oil & Gas (Regulatory & Litigation) and Texas: Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation (Oil & Gas) while large scale commercial litigation affecting energy companies and energy industry participants is covered in Texas: Litigation: Energy & Natural Resources and other state litigation sections.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing covers legal aspects of the transfer of business administration and services to external providers, both domestically and internationally. The section includes every variation of this process, including IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing, and legal process outsourcing. Occasionally unsuccessful outsourcing contracts can result in disputes and this type of work is also covered in the section.

Privacy & Data Security

The US Privacy and Data Security section covers compliance with a vast array of US federal and state privacy and information management laws. At the federal level, such laws are predominantly sector-specific and include the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

At the state level, a particularly notable area is advice on data security breaches and on the ramifications and requirements of various state data breach notification laws. Such data security breaches can also attract the attention of various state Attorneys General and federal bodies such as the FTC, which can lead to firms being required to represent clients in investigations, enforcement actions or litigation.

Work of an international nature can include advising clients with multinational operations on data security issues relating to cross-border transfers of data, such as in large-scale outsourcing transactions involving several countries, and on global or multi-jurisdictional privacy compliance programmes.

The AdTech subsection covers a wide spectrum of matters in the AdTech space, including regulatory and compliance issues, notably those related to the California Consumer Privacy Act, and litigation. The clients relevant to this section include burgeoning AdTech organizations, as well as companies stemming from a range of sectors, such as retail and media.

Private Equity: Buyouts

This section focuses on the transactional aspect of private equity funds work. It takes into account LBOs, M&A, recapitalization and restructuring-related matters at both the high-end and mid-market level.

Private Equity: Fund Formation

This section covers the formation of private equity funds, ranging from LBOs, secondaries and infrastructure funds, to hybrid funds, mezzanine and distressed debt. Particular attention is paid to the sponsor side, because this incorporates the actual structuring of the fund.

Products Liability

This chapter encompasses legal claims that allow an injured party to recover financial compensation from the manufacturer or seller of a product. This can include faulty brakes, contaminated food and medicine lacking appropriate label warnings.

Law firms advise manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers and others who make the product available to the public. It also covers toxic tort, relating to the exposure to chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs or occupational hazards. Most pharmaceutical claims are mass tort cases because drugs are consumed by thousands of people. Occupational toxic tort cases occur where industrial and other works have been exposed to toxic chemicals.

Most of the law in this area has traditionally arisen from asbestos exposure.

The chapter also recognizes firms who represent plaintiffs in products liability litigation.

Projects

Projects: Power, Projects: Oil & Gas and Projects: Mining & Metals are firm only tables. Individual lawyers who practice across these three areas are recognized in the overall projects table. This section may include projects practitioners with broad-based projects expertise who are also ranked in Projects: LNG, Projects: PPP, Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy or Projects: Agency Financing. Please see the sub-section definitions below for the type of work covered by practitioners ranked in this section.

Projects: Agency Financing

Firms and attorneys highlighted in this section are exclusively those with significant capabilities in the agency financing space. This practice area covers energy and infrastructure project financings with involvement from US based and international agency lenders, including development finance institutions (DFIs), export credit agencies (ECAs) and multilateral agencies (MLAs).

Projects: PPP

This practice area covers Public Private Partnership (PPP/P3/PFI) financing structures for infrastructure projects, principally in the transportation sector such as bridges, roads and airports as well as social and service infrastructure projects including military housing, hospitals and parking garages when financed as a PPP. This section also includes the growing area of sale and purchase of PPP contracts. We do not consider PPP work outside of the Projects context in this section.

Projects: Oil & Gas

This practice area includes all Oil and Gas project financing and development work in the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream sectors. We also consider DrillCo structures applicable here. Typical projects include petrochemical facilities, pipelines and shale gas extraction assets. LNG-specific projects are considered separately in Projects: LNG.

Projects: Power

This practice area covers traditional power generation projects; coal, gas and combination fired power plants; electricity transmission projects and energy storage solutions. This practice area does not include renewables work. Only project financing work is considered in this category.

Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional

This practice area covers transactional work pertaining to traditional power and renewable energy projects. Specific matters highlighted here include the acquisition and divestiture of existing projects and stakes in project companies as well as project portfolio transactions. This practice area does not include project financing structures or development work, which are covered in the relevant Projects: Power and Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy subsections. PPP projects work is covered separately in Projects: PPP and all other transactional matters in the Energy Industry are covered in Energy: Electricity (Transactional) and Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional).

Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy

This practice area covers renewable energy projects including solar, wind, hydro-electric, biomass and other sources of power generation. Projects covered typically range from utility scale solar and wind facilities to community level generation. This section is focused on generation asset projects also includes related transmission and energy storage projects. We also recognize expertise in renewable project-specific tax credit financing. This practice area does not include A&D transactions, which are covered in the separate Project: Power & Renewable - Transactional subsection.

Projects: Mining & Metals

This table focuses on mining and metals projects including the financing of new projects and the refinancing of existing projects. This table recognizes US-based mining project expertise in international jurisdictions.

Projects: LNG

This practice area includes all LNG-specific project financing and development work for new LNG facilities as well as expansion of existing LNG facilities. Typical projects include USA-based LNG export terminals, LNG pipelines and other midstream assets and FSRUs. We also recognize work concerning international LNG facilities.

Public Finance

The practice area covers the financing of transport and social infrastructure through the use of public funding, not including through PPP/P3/PFI structures which is considered specifically in our Projects: PPP chapter. Firms may represent the public entity or the relevant financial counterparty.

Real Estate

This section covers corporate matters related to real estate, including M&A of large real estate holding companies, complex fund and REIT transactions, private equity and public securities. These real estate lawyers are distinct from pure corporate lawyers in that they typically come from a real estate background, have an understanding of the underlying asset and do aspects of `dirt law` real estate for their clients.

In the USA, zoning and land use specialists often form an identifiable category. They perform an important role in major developments, advising on zoning regulations and municipal restrictions used by some cities to control development within their borders. Easement and eminent domain (or condemnation) is also covered.

Real estate finance matters are also included. Lawyers do not need to act exclusively for lenders but should have a healthy lender client base which gives them the volume of work in this field. Some of these lawyers will also handle aspects of complex debt capital markets - such as securitization - but the decision to include them in a real estate table will be based on their understanding of the underlying asset.

The structuring and transactional advice provided to REITs (real estate investment trusts) impacts on our real estate tables. For attorneys who practice exclusively in the field of REITs, please also consider the Chambers USA Nationwide REITs table. However, Chambers real estate chapters will always cover this part of the market.

Registered Funds

This section covers a broad range of registered funds, including mutual funds. It encompasses fund formation and transactional work, as well as regulatory compliance issues under the 1940 Act. Work for open and closed-ended and exchange traded funds (ETFs) is also covered.

REITs

This chapter features structuring and transactional advice related to specialist real estate investment trusts. The work involved includes: IPOs, going private transactions, joint ventures, M&A, REIT formation and investment work, restructurings, REIT tax issues, litigation, 144As that involve REITs, financings, Special Committee representations and UPREIT and DOWNREIT structure implementation.

The REITs: Maryland Counsel table is targeted at the counsel who specialise on REITs formed under specific Maryland law.

Retail

Retail is an industry table covering law firms which have developed a track record in serving the needs of large national retailers. Naturally, real estate, planning and land use matters will feature prominently, but the firm must also advise on franchise, IP, trademark and e-commerce matters.

Furthermore, firms should ideally demonstrate aptitude in employment matters and be able to respond to the majority of tax, advertising and regulatory and consumer protection issues, as well as disputes both nationally and internationally.

Securities Litigation

Securities Litigation includes: insider trading; shareholder disputes; contested M&A bids; reorganisations and restructurings; corporate governance disputes; director, officer, issuer and investment dealer disclosure and; liability matters and other non-compliance matters.

Corporate governance disputes arise where it is alleged that management has breached the rights and responsibilities agreed with shareholders.

Securities Regulation

Securities Regulation covers advisory and enforcement matters, internal audits and investigations before the SEC. These include SEC investigations into accounting irregularities, mortgage and credit market matters, short selling, auction rate securities and matters related to financial fraud. Clients include accounting firms, corporates, investment funds and broker-dealers.

SPACs

Focuses on the legal advice required for taking a Special Purpose Acquisition Company public. Firms often act for issuers and underwriters, as well as other interested parties, in this alternative to a traditional IPO and assist in taking these shell companies public, ensuring that the SPAC is able to complete this equity capital markets transaction while securing enough capital to target a separate company for acquisition. Also includes de-SPACs, often known as a back-door M&A, where a blank-check company and the target complete the purpose of the SPAC so that it is no longer an empty shell but a functioning company, in essence, elevating the target to a public and functioning company with the advantages of the financing and structure of the initial SPAC. Practitioners frequently act for the SPAC or the target in the transaction. Lawyers often stem from the capital markets and M&A sectors but will be specialists in this particular product.

Startups & Emerging Companies

Nationwide Startups & Emerging Companies covers work on behalf of emerging growth companies, startups, individual investors and VC funds. It does not include VC fund formation (See Investment Funds: Venture Capital Fund Formation). Work might include early and late-stage venture financings, venture capital partnerships, regulatory compliance issues, other advisory work, and IPOs. Emerging markets of focus include technology, life sciences and clean energy.

Tax

Tax covers transactional and controversy-related work (the latter area is reviewed at a national level). Tax on the transactional side covers corporate partnerships structures, tax planning, spin-offs and negotiating tax-free acquisitions.

Tax controversy encompasses any contentious tax issue, predominantly at the federal court stage. This includes tax-based litigation, IRS examinations (usually concerning federal income tax issues) and tax shelter investigations. This section also takes into account transfer pricing.

Technology 

Technology focuses on contractual agreements in the technology field and includes transactional matters such as M&A and financing. Law firms often work with clients such as investors or startup enterprises on a range of business issues including employment law, strategic alliances and joint ventures, stock exchange listings, mergers, acquisitions and corporate governance issues. E-commerce arrangements, licensing agreements, strategic alliances and blockchain/cryptocurrency-related work will also be considered, in addition to cybersecurity matters. IP mandates are also included in this section, although shouldn’t represent the majority of the submission as we include separate IP categories in most states. Along with technology companies, typical clients will also include blue-chip corporations from all industries, investors, financial services institutions and fintech companies

Telecommunications

The telecommunications section concentrates on a range of legal issues arising from the heavily regulated areas of telecommunications and broadcasting.

Work includes transactional and litigation advice to telecoms companies, wireless operators, TV and/or radio broadcasters and the regulatory issues that such companies face. These issues might be government-sponsored inquires, investigations or compliance proceedings. Other matters include interconnection and resales laws, multimedia agreements and licensing activity.

Transportation

Aviation: Finance

This table concentrates on matters such as financings, leasings, capital markets transactions, M&A, loan restructurings, workouts and bankruptcies. Clients include airlines, banks, operating lessors, lenders, governments authorities, private equity firms and corporate jet operators.

Aviation: Litigation

This area covers traditional accident defense litigation, including advising aviation insurers on coverage and other issues, as well as product liability claims, wrongful death disputes, putative class actions and general commercial disputes affecting the aviation industry. Clients will include manufacturers, domestic and international carriers, helicopter companies and insurers.

Aviation: Regulatory

This table spans representation before the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and other federal administrative agencies. Key issues include the reauthorization of air traffic control systems and their funding, issues of congestion, global alliances, market entry, licensing matters, UAS-related matters, regulatory proceedings and regulatory elements of transactions. Firms will represent clients such as manufacturers, commercial and cargo carriers, airports, financial institutions and trade associations.

Rail

This section includes advice to both railroads and the shippers. Key issues include rail rates litigation, fuel supply/surcharges, access rights, M&A, contract litigation, regulatory issues and proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board.

Transportation: Road (Carriage/Logistics)

Firms and attorneys highlighted in this area are those offering significant capabilities in transactional, regulatory and contentious issues affecting road carriage and logistics operations. Work typically includes the acting for trucking companies, logistics providers, customer groups and industry associations in regulatory compliance; government investigations and enforcement actions; major accident litigation; freight-related contracts and disputes; and other logistics and transportation agreements

Shipping/Maritime: Finance

This tables focuses on transactional matters such as acquisitions, financings, leasings, restructurings, IPOs, private placements and joint venture agreements. Clients will include underwriters, ship owners and operators, banks, private equity funds, lenders, borrowers and institutional investors.

Shipping/Maritime: Litigation

These tables concentrate on shipping disputes often arising from casualty events, cargo damage, contracts, environmental events and federal investigations. The section also includes charter party disputes, bankruptcy-related litigation, salvage claims, liability defense, indemnity claims and shipping arbitrations. Typical clients will include P&I clubs, underwriters, terminal operators, ship owners and operators, charterers and banks.

Shipping/Maritime: Regulatory

Work pertaining to this area includes, but is not limited to, Jones Act compliance, antitrust matters, regulatory issues arising from M&A, environmental compliance, international treaties, cybersecurity-related work, sanctions concerns and trade compliance. Firms will often advise ship owners and operators, cargo interests, insurers, ports, trade associations and terminal operators.

Agribusiness

In this practice area we analyse firms that represent agricultural companies in a broad, but not an all-inclusive range of legal services. The key work for this chapter includes sector-specific M&A and disputes, acquisitions and leasing of agricultural assets, as well as the negotiation and drafting of production and distribution agreements.

Financing work involving capital instruments such as agricultural receivable certificates, credit notes, warranties and rural product notes is also covered, but greater weight is given to firms representing the issuer/agribusiness company rather than the underwriter/financial institution.

Firms may also provide due diligence and general legal support in industry-specific issues relating to tax, insurance, regulatory and corporate law. However, please note: advice provided to agribusiness companies relating to real estate, labour & employment, competition/antitrust and IP is not considered relevant for this section.  

Aviation

Aviation includes finance, regulatory and litigation matters. Finance concentrates on the advice to manufacturers, purchasers and investors (such as hedge and private equity funds) on the sale, leasing and acquisition of portfolios of aircraft. Also includes the 2001 UNIDROIT Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, or Cape Town Convention, which relates to the electronic registration of aircraft interests.

The Aviation Litigation table covers traditional accident defence litigation, including advising aviation insurers on coverage and other issues, as well as product liability claims and general commercial disputes affecting the aviation industry.

Banking & Finance

Banking refers to all types of regulatory banking work. Firms can render regulatory advice to any type of private or public financial institution. Finance refers to all types of financing including (but not limited to) corporate finance including acquisition or leverage finance, asset finance and project finance. Work highlights typically take the form of secured and unsecured bilateral and syndicated loans but may also constitute structured finance deals. General bank lending including interbank lending is relevant to this section as well. Refinancing: The refinancing and restructuring of existing loans and debtor in possession financing is also included. Clear preference is given to lawyers and firms that represent the lender/financial institution.

Please note: All types of transactions using securities instruments, for example IPOs or debt offerings, are very relevant to this section, unless the country in question has a separate capital markets ranking. If a separate capital markets section exists, do not include this type of work in banking & finance as it will not be considered a relevant work highlight.

Banking & Finance (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America of both a regulatory and transactional nature. All types of financing will be considered relevant to this section except for project finance. The only section in which project finance can be reported is Project Finance, irrespective of the mechanism employed to finance the project in question. This means that corporate and asset finance are perfectly valid work highlights in this section, including acquisition and leverage finance raised through bank loans. This may take the form of secured, unsecured, bilateral, syndicated or interbank lending. The refinancing of existing loans and debtor-in-possession financing will also be considered relevant highlights here. Bank M&A is also considered relevant to this section. The regulatory matters which can be reported here are those concerning advice rendered to clients in Latin America regarding their interaction with banking regulators outside of Latin America.

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

The focus of this section is the representation of insolvent commercial entities, with a view to either restructuring the terms of their debt and continuing to trade, or ceasing operations and liquidating assets to repay their creditors. Lawyers in this chapter assist clients such as corporate debtors, investors and asset purchasers; secured and unsecured creditors and creditors' committees, bondholders, insurers; directors of distressed companies and any other interested parties in corporate restructurings. Also relevant to this section is any contentious work relating to the disputes between parties involved in bankruptcy proceedings.

The acquisition of the assets of distressed companies will be considered for this section, but is considered secondary to the aforementioned areas of work.

Capital Markets

This sections focuses mainly on transactional work involving capital markets instruments such as Debt & Equity securities; Derivatives; Securitisation; Structured finance (CDOs, repackagings, other synthetic products). Lawyers may represent either issuers (both sovereign and corporate) and/or underwriters, as well as placement agents and broker dealers in public and private placements. Unlike in banking & finance, there is no in-built advantage for firms that exclusively or predominantly represent the financial institution. Investment Fund work, such as fund formation and structuring is highly relevant to this section, except in the case of Brazil where it is a separate section. Firms may also report regulatory securities work but in the main, this is given less weight than transactional work.

Capital Markets (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America of both a regulatory and transactional nature. Relevant work highlights here include both debt and equity matters, such as derivatives (including CDOs), securitisation and routine debt and equity issuances. Work on the issuer, broker, initial purchaser and underwriter sides will be considered relevant and will be given equal weighting. If any of the aforementioned matters arise in the context of project finance, they may only be reported in Project Finance. The regulatory matters which can be reported here are those concerning advice rendered to clients in Latin America regarding their interaction with securities regulators outside of Latin America.

Competition/Antitrust

Competition/Antitrust covers the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behaviour (monopoly) and unfair business practices. This includes practices that hurt business, consumers, or both, or that generally violate standards of ethical behavior. Antitrust litigation and M&A-related competition work are both included in this section.

Competition/Antitrust covers the body of laws prohibiting actions which restrict or limit free competition between economic agents both absolutely (through cartel activity) and relatively (through abuse of dominant position). In particular, the section focuses on merger control (filings before the relevant authorities), anti-competitive behaviour investigations and market studies carried out by authorities into the competitiveness of particular sectors. Litigation against the competent authorities is also considered here, as are civil claims initiated by economic agents seeking damages for anti-competitive behaviour.

Compliance

This section ranks firms and individuals involved in advising management on, and in compliance, with investigations concerning white-collar crime, anti-corruption legislation and international sanctions, often related to the US FCPA or the UK Bribery Act. The firms and lawyers may also be instructed to help design internal compliance programmes for companies, conduct investigations and prepare reports for management.

Consumer Law

This chapter encompasses both consultancy and litigation work arising from consumer relationships including  consumer credits, pricing, general contractual terms and conditions. Also includes the sale and supply of services and products, including product liability issues.

Corporate / M&A

This broad category covers both public company and private equity (including venture capital) matters. The chapter includes company acquisitions and dispositions, capitalisations, entity selection and formation, operating and partnership agreements, and governance matters. Also covers those transactions designed to help restructuring within companies and their subsidiaries by change of ownership. Priority is placed on primary representatives, those acting for buyers and sellers. Non-transactional corporate advice is perfectly acceptable with the exception of contentious matters i.e. commercial litigation or arbitration which is only considered in the Dispute Resolution section (see below).

Corporate / M&A (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America. The focus of this section is the sale and acquisition of assets including companies and infrastructure projects. The restructuring of corporate entities is also relevant to this area. Lawyers may be instructed by both privately held and publicly traded companies and may also report work done for private equity funds such as acquiring and selling portfolio companies. Non-transactional corporate advice is acceptable here, however no credit will be given for contentious work. Given the discontinuation of Energy & Natural Resources, please be aware that the sale and acquisition of energy assets (be they companies or energy projects) should be reported exclusively in this section.

Corporate/Commercial

In some jurisdicitions you will see Corporate/Commercial section instead of Corporate M&A. Corporate/Commercial will cover everything that is covered in Corporate/M&A. However it is not limited to corporate finance but may include project finance and any other type of banking & finance work. Non-transactional corporate advice is perfectly acceptable with the exception of contentious matters i.e. commercial litigation or arbitration which is only considered in the Dispute Resolution section (see below).

Corporate Crime & Investigations (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America. It ranks firms and individuals representing clients in investigations into white-collar criminal matters and compliance with anti-corruption legislation and international sanctions. Representing clients in courts outside of Latin American jurisdictions after the completion of the investigation in question will also be relevant to this section.

Dispute Resolution

Chambers' Dispute Resolution encompasses all stages of litigation including pre-trial negotiations, documentation and preparation for trial, summary judgement motions, trial, appeals and enforcement proceedings. There are two main types of litigation: commercial disputes before civil courts, and white-collar crime, including government investigations.

Please note: Litigation related to IP, Labour & Employment, Tax or Competition/Antitrust should not be included in Dispute Resolution submissions when there is a separate IP, Labour & Employment, Tax or Competition/Antitrust section in your jurisdiction.

Dispute Resolution also includes domestic and international arbitration, in other words, the resolution of disputes by one or more neutral parties, either an arbitrator or an arbitration panel. Many contracts - including those imposed on customers by many financial and healthcare organisations - require mandatory arbitration in the event of a dispute. Examples of relevant international institutions include ICC (International Chamber of Commerce and ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes) and LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration). Alternative dispute resolution, involving non-court mediation is also covered in this section.

Energy & Natural Resources

Although Chambers is aware of the overlap with Projects and project financing, the energy chapters principally focus on regulatory issues arising from the energy sector. These include the regulatory components of M&A and other transactional work, pure regulatory work related to the application for licenses and compliance and enforcement with regulatory bodies. We also consider the buying and selling of energy assets.

Chambers Latin America  generally focuses on three key industry sectors Power, Oil & Gas and Mining:

Power: Work covers advice on the development and permitting of energy projects (such as electric, coal, oil & gas fired plants, nuclear and hydro-electric plants), facilities management; co-generation and restructuring/deregulation arising out of the wholesale and retail markets. Please also include any renewable energy work in this section such as project development and regulatory issues surrounding wind and wave power generation, solar, biomass and geothermal energy generation. It also includes advice on compliance with clean energy regulations.

Oil & Gas: Covers all upstream, midstream and downstream work including exploration, infrastructure and pipeline developments and service contracts, royalties, licensing and operation agreements.

Mining: Focuses on all mining related activities including mineral exploration. Relevant work would be development and production agreements, including royalty issues. Engineering, processing and refining contracts, sales structures and environmental issues are also covered.

Please note: Pure project finance work for energy projects is best included in the submission for Projects rather than Energy & Natural Resources.

Environment

The environment chapter features both litigation and advisory/transactional support to clients. This includes the development of greenfield and brownfield sites, and pollution issues. 'Traditional' environment work includes regulatory compliance, litigation and enforcement actions related to air, water, wetlands, waste and endangered species. We also feature advice to corporate and financial clients on the environmental aspects of M&A, financings, securities offerings and other transactions.

General Business Law

General Business Law encompasses a range of commercial law fields relevant to high-end business users. The core focuses on corporate/commercial law, but in lieu of separate practice areas General Business Law can also cover many areas, including dispute resolution, banking & finance, and sector-specific practice areas.

Healthcare (Regulatory)

Healthcare (Regulatory) is unique to Brazil and focuses on work provided for health insurance companies and private healthcare companies, in accordance with ANS – Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar regulations. Firms can assist healthcare insurance companies with the creation and registration of new policies, purchase and sale of insurance portfolios, mergers and financing. Law firms can also helphealthcare providers (hospitals, clinics and laboratories) obtain accreditations to provide healthcare services and work within insurance plans, as well as advise those providers on the regulatory approvals needed for corporate transactions in this industry. 

This section also encompasses administrative and judicial contentious work relating to plan coverage, insurance claims, quality of the services provided by both healthcare and insurance companies to consumers, pricing of insurance premiums and medical procedures, among other regulatory-related subjects.

Please note: Work related to research and commercialisation of drugs and medical devices should be presented to Life Sciences, as all the cases involving ANVISA regulations. Cases related to claims made by an injured party seeking financial compensation for damages caused by drugs or medical devices should be presented to Consumer Law.

Insurance

Insurance includes both contentious and non-contentious insurance and reinsurance matters. On the contentious side, we feature coverage claims litigation, broker`s negligence and both 'facultative' and 'treaty' reinsurance disputes. There is also an element of professional negligence issues arising from insurance disputes. On the non-contentious side, we include insurance aspects of M&A, financings, demutualisations and other regulatory issues.

Insurance (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America. Insurance includes both contentious and non-contentious insurance and reinsurance matters. On the contentious side, we feature coverage claims litigation, broker’s negligence and both 'facultative' and 'treaty' reinsurance disputes. There is also an element of professional negligence issues arising from insurance disputes. On the non-contentious side, we include the insurance aspects of M&A, financings, demutualisations and regulatory issues.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property at the higher end covers civil disputes related to patent, copyright and trademark infringement and criminal proceedings related to anti-counterfeiting matters. Litigation concerning trade secrets also features. Account prosecutions, enforcement and opposition actions and related issues such as plant varieties, licensing agreements and IP commercialisation are also covered in this section.

International Arbitration (International Counsel)

This section identifies firms and lawyers representing clients in disputes resolved via both ad hoc and institutional arbitration. The disputes reported here must be closely linked to Latin America and can take the form of commercial and investor-state matters. Examples of relevant arbitral institutions include ICC, ICSID, LCIA and UNCITRAL. The seat of arbitration can be in any location, so long as the dispute involves at least one Latin American party.

International Trade/WTO

This section covers classic trade cases such as anti-dumping, countervailing duties, export control and other customs / tariff classifications and regulatory work. Lawyers also advise on matters relating to NAFTA, CAFTA-DR, WTO and GATT trade provisions. Please note: International Trade and Customs work is given equal weight in this section.

Investment Funds

This section ranks those firms and individuals advising all types of investment funds. It covers work on behalf of sponsors and institutional investors, including fund formation, fund raising, asset management regulatory matters, hybrid funds and fund-of-funds. 

Labour & Employment

Covers both contentious and non-contentious employment matters relating to day-to-day business issues as well as mergers and takeovers. Employment litigation related to sex, race and age discrimination is considered relevant as are class action suits, and the avoidance of class action certification. This section also covers workforce redundancies and employment issues related to the merger of two companies. Lawyers also advise on the writing of policy handbooks and HR training for major corporates. Law firms can represent companies or individuals.

Life Sciences

This practice area broadly focuses on the commercialisation of products across the life sciences sector, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology programs, life systems, cosmetics, nutraceuticals and food processing.

The section also encompasses organisations and institutions that devote themselves to research, development, technology transfer and commercialisation within the life sciences sphere. Intellectual property issues tend to dominate in this area as pharmaceutical giants seek to obtain innovative blockbuster drugs from biotechs and other sector companies. The section also centres on the licensing and acquisition of new products.

Please note: M&A work for life sciences and pharmaceutical companies is not deemed a relevant work highlight in this section, except for any complementary regulatory advice that is specific to the life sciences industry.

Media & Entertainment

The Media & Entertainment section focuses on work related to advertising, film & television, music, publishing, art, sports and theatre. Legal work in this field encompasses both contentious and non-contentious matters in the specific sectors mentioned above. Contentious matters include copyright and contractual disputes (either representing studios, producers or artists); free-speech litigation; IP and trademark disputes; antitrust and matters arising from financing and structuring said projects. Non-contentious matters include advising clients on the legal and regulatory aspects of these sectors, as well as production, financing and distribution matters; IP; licensing and supplementary rights planning.

Please note: Brazil has a specific "Sports Law" section for individuals which should include all the aforementioned  work which relates specifically to Sports.

Product Liability

This chapter encompasses legal claims that allow an injured party to recover financial compensation from the manufacturer or seller of a product. This can include faulty brakes, contaminated food and medicine lacking appropriate label warnings. Law firms advise manufacturers, distributors, suppliers retailers and others who make the product available to the public.

It also covers toxic tort, relating to the exposure to chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs or occupational hazards. Most pharmaceutical claims are mass tort cases, because drugs are consumed by thousands of people. Occupational toxic tort cases occur where industrial and other works have been exposed to toxic chemicals.

Projects

The projects chapters focus on the development; financing (limited and non-recourse); refinancing and acquisition / divestitures of large projects that arise from the capital intensive infrastructure and energy markets. Infrastructure projects include toll road, ports, rail and light rail systems, water desalination plants as well as social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and prisons. In the energy sector, advice on projects includes refineries, pipelines, LNG and petrochemical terminals, power plants and wind power, waste-to-energy and hydro-wave technology.

Clients in this sector include sponsors, special purpose vehicles, lenders such as banks and multilateral agencies, contractors and operators, and governments.

Project Finance (International Counsel)

This section seeks to identify those lawyers advising on the laws of jurisdictions outside of Latin America as they apply to matters arising in Latin America. The focus here is on the development, financing (limited and non-recourse) and refinancing of large projects that arise from the capital-intensive infrastructure, energy and natural resources (mining and metals) markets. Infrastructure projects include toll road, ports, rail and light rail systems, water desalination plants, hospitals, schools and prisons. In the energy sector, advice on projects includes refineries, pipelines, LNG and petrochemical terminals, power plants and wind power, waste-to-energy and hydro-wave technology. Clients in this sector include sponsors, special purpose vehicles, lenders such as banks and multilateral agencies, contractors, operators and governments. Please note that matters pertaining to the financing of any of the projects mentioned here must be reported exclusively in this section, hence the financing of energy projects is appropriate for this section, however the acquisition of an energy project should be reported in Corporate/M&A. All matters pertaining to the development and financing of mining projects should be reported here, however in line with the above approach, the acquisition of mining projects should be reported in Corporate/M&A.

Public Law

Public Law focuses on the relationship between individuals or private entities and central and local government and other public or regulatory bodies, which for the purpose of the Latin America guide covers constitutional and administrative law matters such as, contentious and non-contentious proceedings, judicial reviews, litigation before constitutional courts, advice on the powers and administrative functions of the government.

It also includes matters relating to public procurement, as well as regulatory advice excluding regulatory work related to specific practice areas already considered in a particular jurisdiction: Competition, Energy & Natural Resources, Labour and Employment, Life Sciences, Tax, TMT, Intellectual Property, among others.

Real Estate

This chapter features a broad range of rural, commercial and residential real estate matters, including developments, investment transactions, M&A and corporate structuring. Purchase, lease, built-to-suit, surface and usufruct agreements, among others contracts, are also relevant examples of work. Firms may also support clients with registry matters, including  land parcelling and title and deed regularisations.

Real estate also encompasses work relating to financing products such as loans, receivable funds, mortgages and letters of credit. The firms may advise clients on the creation of special purpose entities, real estate investment funds and real estate investment trusts. Additionally, firms can handle sector-related disputes and provide general legal advice to tax matters relating to real estate transactions and companies.

Sanctions

This practice area covers all advice pertaining to the impact that foreign imposed sanctions have on a business’s ability to operate in a country. This includes advice to state-owned entities that are currently sanctioned by foreign governments. Training provided to employees and the review of internal policies considering international sanctions can be included here.

Shipping

This section looks at shipping & maritime litigation involving breaches of charter-party disputes, cargo and bills of lading claims, the arrest of vessels and cargoes, marine insurance claims, collision, salvage and environmental liabilities. On the non-contentious side, law firms advise on contractual arrangements for construction, financing and registation of vessels, customs and licensing, and documentation relating to charter-parties and bills of lading.

Tax

Tax covers a broad range of matters on both the contentious and non-contentious side. Relevant matters includes tax advisory work on international taxation, including transfer pricing and double taxation is highly relevant to this area, as is advice on tax structures for corporate transactions. This section also covers tax controversies, including both litigation and audits.

Please note: In Mexico, Tax is divided into two separate sections, namely Tax: Controversy and Tax: Non-contentious.

Technology

The Technology section focuses both on Information Technology and on Privacy and Data Security.

In relation to IT, advising companies on technology regulations and drafting contractual agreements in the technology field, such as technology-transfer agreements and outsourcing contracts between large corporations and suppliers of IT services, are central components of active legal work in this field. Law firms advising investors or start-up enterprises in the IT sector, including those related to strategic agreements, regulatory adequation, corporate governance and IT litigation, are also significant forms of legal work for this section.

In relation to Privacy and Data Security, this relates to corporate compliance with privacy and information-management laws and regulations. Law firms advising on data security breaches and on the ramifications and requirements of data breach notifications also have relevant work in this field. Representing clients in investigations, enforcement actions, administrative procedures or litigation related to said data security breaches are also to be included in this section. International work in Privacy and Data Security can include advising clients with multinational operations on data security issues relating to cross-border transfers of data, such as in large-scale outsourcing transactions involving a number of countries, and on global or multi-jurisdictional privacy compliance programmes.

Please note: M&A and other types of corporate finance work for technology companies should be restricted to the Corporate/M&A submission and not included here.

 

Telecommunications

This section concentrates on a range of legal issues arising from the heavily regulated areas of telecommunications and broadcasting. Work includes transactional and litigation advice to telecoms companies, wireless operators, TV and/or radio broadcasters and the regulatory issues that such companies face. These issues might be government sponsored-inquires, investigations or compliance proceedings. Other matters include interconnection and resales laws, multimedia agreements and licensing activity.

Please note: General corporate advice to telecoms companies is relevant, however, M&A is better included in the Corporate M&A section rather than Telecommunications or, as in the case of most Latin American jurisdictions, TMT.