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James Smallwood

Partner

Email

james.smallwood@aoshearman.com

Phone

+44 20 3088 2142

Offices

London

V-CARD
James advises on a broad range of private capital, capital markets and structured financing transactions.

His structured finance practice covers public CLO transactions (both arbitrage and balance sheet), warehouse financings, fund financings and asset-backed loan transactions, originator financings, private placements, repos, repackagings, bespoke funding and regulatory capital involving both securitisation and derivatives technology.

James is a leading adviser to the European CLO market, on both the arranger and manager side, having worked within the firm’s market-leading global CLO practice since the return of European CLO 2.0s in 2014.
 

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

  • Arrangers and managers on a large proportion of all European CLOs brought to market since the financial crisis, including warehouse establishment and public deal issuance (new deals, refinancings, resets and reissuances).
  • Banks in respect of the establishment and management of balance sheet CLO transactions, including advising on regulatory and strategic decisions in respect of liquidity and balances sheet management.
  • Banks and sponsors on the provision of leverage to direct lending, mid-market and other credit funds, having advised a significant proportion of the key market participants on the development of their products in this market. 
  • The establishment and managing of many of the most prominent CLO risk retention vehicles in the European market, including those arranged by Blackstone and Chenavari.

Published Work

  • J.Smallwood (2023) "Collateral quality or increased recoveries: CLO portfolio management in a time of credit deterioration", London: Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted as a Solicitor (England and Wales), 2014

Academic

Bachelor of Laws (LLB), College of Law Moorgate (GDL/LPC), 2011

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), History, University of York, 2009

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.