Washington, DC
tel:
+1 202.942.6601
fax: +1 202.942.5999
fax: +1 202.942.5999
Raul.Herrera@aporter.com
Practice Focus
Raul R. Herrera is a partner in the corporate and securities group where he concentrates his practice on international arbitration and international corporate and financing transactions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Herrera has been involved in financing transactions in every country of Latin America and the Caribbean. He represents multilateral and bilateral agencies in their project financing and private equity transactions.
Mr. Herrera previously served as general counsel for Inter-American Investment Corporation, a multilateral financial institution affiliated with the Inter-American Development Bank. His experience includes cross-border corporate and capital market transactions, comprising start-up de novo entities, asset and securities purchases, and expansion and acquisition transactions in a wide variety of industry sectors.
Mr. Herrera is active with The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, serving as a Member of the Executive Committee of its International Council and Chair of the Advisory Council and External Review Group for its Latin American Studies Program. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Inter-American Dialogue's Energy Adviser, and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, and of the Catholic Charities Hispanic Catholic Center.
He served on the board of directors of the Inter-American Bar Association, and the Inter-American Bar Foundation, as Chair of the Investment and Finance Committee of the DC Bar, on the advisory board of the Hispanic College Fund, as a member of the Southern Florida Regional Corporate Counsel Group, and the Steering Committee for the Choral Arts Society's Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Tribute in Washington, DC.
Mr. Herrera is a frequent speaker on such topics as project finance, corporate governance, international arbitration, the WTO, and the economic development of and investment opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He speaks fluent English and Spanish, and is conversant in Portuguese.
Representative Matters
- Representing the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in its US$120 million issue of floating-rate notes, maturing in 2012, for which UBS arranged the offering.
- Representing FMO, the Dutch bilateral development agency, in its senior term-loan financing to Bolivia's Banco Sol, S.A., for its on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Bolivia.
- Representing Chile's Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE) in its term loan financing from Banco Santander for the acquisition of Spanish utility company Iberdrola's controlling stake in Chilean hydroelectricity company, Iberoamericana de Energía S.A. (Ibener).
- Representing the CDB in its term loan to the Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura (CIFI) to finance infrastructure projects throughout the Caribbean.
- Representing a geothermal development company in the development and financing of a geothermal power project in the Caribbean, including the negotiation of the interconnection, land use and equipment supply agreements.
- Representing a sovereign client in a contractual dispute in an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration against an ethanol manufacturer in an alleged breach of contract claim.
- Representing a private Panamanian financial institution in an international litigation against a global commercial bank in an alleged breach of contract claim.
- Representing the Dominican Republic in three international arbitrations (before ICC, ICSID and UNCITRAL) regarding alleged breaches of a concession agreement and international investment treaties.
- Representing Televisa's wholly-owned subsidiary, Innova S.A., in an eight-country merger and acquisition transaction, the first regional expansion for Innova outside of Mexico, to acquire DirecTv's satellite pay-for-television concession operations in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
- Representing the Chilean power company CGE in a US$517 million cross-border financing transaction funded by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ("BBVA"), for the US$660 million acquisition from PPL Chile Energía Limitada of all the outstanding shares of Empresas EMEL S.A. through a tender offer process on the Chilean Stock Exchange. With this transaction, CGE is now the largest electricity distributor in Chile.
- Representing and successfully defending the Republic of Ecuador and its state-run oil company, PetroEcuador, on a request for a permanent stay of an AAA arbitration in the US Southern District Court of New York (on summary judgment).
- Representing the Republic of Ecuador and its state-run oil company, PetroEcuador, on the Circuit Court appeal of the US Southern District Court of New York's decision on summary judgment granting permanent stay of a American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration.
- Representing a private Venezuelan hotel consortium in an International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) arbitration against a major multinational hotel chain in an alleged breach of contract claim.
Awards
The Inter-American Bar Association awarded Mr. Herrera the Charles B. Norberg International Lawyer of the Year Award for 2004
Rankings
Washingtonian's "Top Lawyers" 2009 for International Law
Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers 2009: included as an Expert in Project Finance
Professional and Community Activities
Professional Activity
-
Serves as American Bar Association liaison to the Inter-American Bar Association
-
Co-Chair, Investment and Development Committee, American Bar Association's Section of International Law
-
Member, Advisory Committee, American Bar Association's Latin American Legal Initiatives Council
-
Member, Council of the America's Trade Advisory Group
-
Member, Latin American Regional Counsel Committee, International Bar Association
-
Founding Member of the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) and its Professional Standards Committee
Presentations
Raul R. Herrera.
"Understanding Cross-border Commercial Transactions."
Maricopa County Bar Association, Phoenix, Arizona,
1996.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Financing Infrastructure Projects in Local Currency."
Panel Chair, IDB Conference, Washington, DC,
1997.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Privatization and Project Finance in Latin America: Capital Markets Financing for Infrastructure."
ABA Section of International Law and Practice Winter Meeting, Miami, Florida,
1997.
Raul R. Herrera.
"The Next Step in Development - Promoting Entrepreneurship through Equity Investments: Legal Issues in Structuring Equity Deals."
Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB") Conference, Washington, DC,
1998.
Raul R. Herrera.
"The Role of U.S. Banks in Latin America's Development: IIC's Co-financing Program."
Luncheon Speaker, ABA Business Law Section's Banking Law Committee, Charlotte, North Carolina,
1998.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Negotiating the Sale of Failed Banks."
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Legal Division Conference, Washington, DC,
1990.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Doing Business in the Americas."
Canadian Exporters Development Association Conference, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada,
1992.
Raul R. Herrera.
"International Comparisons in Infrastructure Finance: The Philippines Local Credit Finance."
Public Securities Association, Washington, DC,
1993.
Raul R. Herrera.
"The Central American Central Depository and Clearing and Settlements Project Initiative."
Keynote Speaker, Comision Nacional de Valores (Panama SEC) 25th Anniversary Celebration, Panama City, Panama,
1995.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Private Sector Investments in Haiti."
Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Meeting, Puerto Rico,
1995.
Raul R. Herrera.
"The Private Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean."
IABA Annual Meeting, Quito, Ecuador,
1995.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Private Placements: Understanding Market Opportunities."
Euromoney Institute Conference, Miami, Florida,
1995.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Private Sector Financings in Latin America."
IABA Meeting, Washington, DC,
1996.
Raul R. Herrera.
"D{ Annual Conference on Doing Business in Latin America: Non-recourse Project Financing Transactions."
Florida Bar Association, Miami, Florida,
1996.
Raul R. Herrera.
"U.S.-Argentina Legal Seminar on Securities and Finance."
U.S. Department of Commerce and Argentine Ministry of Finance, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
1996.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Loan Participations and Syndications."
Federal Home Loan Bank Board Office of General Counsel Conference, Washington, D.C.,
1987 - 1988.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Understanding Loan Participations and Other Inter-Lender Agreements."
Banking Law Institute and Bank Lending Institute, New York, New York,
1988 - 1989.
Raul R. Herrera.
"Using Loan Participations to Finance Large Commercial Real Estate Projects."
GWU Law School Course on Property Law, Washington, D.C.,
1989-1990.
JD,
George Washington University Law School,
1984
BA,
George Washington University,
1981
District of Columbia