Lara M. Rios
Holland & Knight
Partner
Lara M. Rios is a financial transactions attorney in Holland & Knight’s New York and Miami offices. Financial institutions, corporate borrowers, private equity sponsors and project developers rely on Ms. Rios’ extensive experience to represent them in connection with structuring complex finance and capital markets transactions, both domestic and cross border, with a particular focus on the energy/infrastructure industry and Latin America. Many of the transactions she has worked on have been designated “Deals of the Year” in their respective categories.
Ms. Rios understands clients. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Rios was deputy general counsel at a growing, privately owned international power generation company with traditional and renewable energy projects representing 3,700 megawatts (MW) across 17 countries. She was responsible for overseeing corporate and project-level transactions and supporting all phases of development, acquisition, construction, operations, and project and corporate financings. Ms. Rios led the in-house team in connection with the company’s first corporate bond issuance in the international capital markets and first green bond issuance by a Latin American issuer, the proceeds of which helped to finance the construction of a 114 MW wind farm in Peru as part of the country’s renewable energy program. The financing was recognized by IJGlobal as Latin American Wind Deal of the Year 2015 and by Environmental Finance as Environmental Bond of the Year 2015.
Ms. Rios’ extensive experience also includes having previously practiced with two international law firms in New York, where she represented clients on a wide variety of syndicated lending, acquisition finance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), equity and debt securities, and corporate advisory matters.
During law school, Ms. Rios interned in the chambers of the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Passionate about helping others, Ms. Rios maintains an active pro bono practice having represented small business owners, civil rights and not-for-profit organizations and U.S. veterans.