Laura G. Ciabarra

Laura G. Ciabarra, a partner in Dechert's global finance practice, advises on subordinate lending with an emphasis on mezzanine finance, B-notes and participation interests, and complex intercreditor and co-lender agreements. Ms. Ciabarra regularly represents major real estate funds, banks and other financial institutions on large-scale transactions involving complicated mezzanine and subordinate debt structures. For example, she led the team representing all of the mezzanine investors in the record breaking US$38 billion Blackstone acquisition of EOP and then reprised that role on behalf of the junior mezzanine lenders in Blackstone’s US$26 billion acquisition of Hilton.

Ms. Ciabarra began her career as a bankruptcy attorney and has extensive experience in the creditors rights and debt restructuring areas. She has handled numerous workouts of defaulted loans in which her expertise in the structured finance and subordinate debt markets has been critical to successfully resolving troubled investments.

Ms. Ciabarra represents both lenders and borrowers in various financing activities, and represents large private real estate funds with respect to the development and acquisition joint ventures in the United States and Latin America acting variously as joint venture, acquisition and borrower’s counsel.

Since 2006, Ms. Ciabarra has been recognized as a leading New York real estate finance lawyer by Chambers USA. The Legal 500 US has continually recognized Ms. Ciabarra as a leading New York mezzanine finance practitioner and capital markets practitioner since 2007. She is also recognized for her work in finance in both the 2009 and 2010 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, and for real estate law in the 2014 edition.