Ricardo Martinez is a partner in the New York office of Baker & McKenzie. His practice focuses on advising in complex cross-border finance transactions, representing lenders and borrowers in project finance, acquisition finance and trade finance. Mr. Martinez has significant experience advising clients on doing business in Latin America. He has closed transactions involving every major Latin American country over the course of his 15-year career. Mr. Martinez was recently ranked as a Foreign Expert for Projects by the 2012 edition of Chambers USA, noting his “substantial experience handling major infrastructure and energy projects [in Latin America]." He was also named as one of New York's Rising Stars for Projects by 2012 Super Lawyers.

Practice Focus

Mr. Martinez has extensive experience in representing lenders and borrowers in cross-border finance transactions across a broad spectrum of contexts, including project finance, acquisition finance, general working capital facilities as well as trade finance by means of letters of credit, pre-export credit facilities and the purchase and sale of trade receivables. Most of these transactions have involved leveraged borrowers and thus have benefited from some form of credit support, whether in the form of a guarantee, letter of credit, a security interest in pledged property or additional sponsor or parent company support.

Representative Legal Matters

• Represented a major international bank in its USD50 million advance facility agreement in favor of a leading Brazilian paper company and in support of its exports to Asia.
• Represented three multilaterals and one development financial institution in a USD155 million project financing of a toll road project in the Dominican Republic.
• Represented a major international bank in a series of secured loans totaling more than USD1 billion to Latin American financial institutions.
• Represented several major international banks in connection with their pre-export finance product for Latin America, including evaluation of certain regulatory and compliance issues and franchise risks. Total transaction volume under these programs has exceeded USD100 million across four different continents.  
• Represented a major bank as lender in a series of term loans totaling approximately USD2 billion to a subsidiary of a major multinational retailer in the acquisition of a Chilean supermarket chain. The lender benefited from a corresponding secured deposit and forward sale agreement which would assign the loan to an affiliate of the borrower in case of default.
• Represented a major bank in its issuance of an USD80 million cash collateralized protective standby letter of credit for the account of a multinational media company and in favor of a Brazilian bank.
• Represented two export credit agencies as lenders and guarantors in a USD591 million construction and project financing of a new international airport in Quito, Ecuador (Awarded "Latin American Airport Finance Deal of the Year" for 2005 by Airfinance Journal).

Professional Associations and Memberships

• New York City Bar Association - Project Finance Committee - Member

Admissions aux Barreaux

New York~United States (1999)

Formation

Columbia Law School  (J.D.) (1998)
Harvard University  (B.A.) (1994)