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With over four decades of experience in global capital markets and key roles in some of the most consequential matters in its history, Cadwalader partner Lary Stromfeld has earned a reputation as the go-to lawyer for complex market structures, financial products, legal disputes and regulatory advice.
Lary, who is also a member of the Firm’s Management Committee, is known for taking “the most complicated issue and explaining it in the simplest of ways that anybody can understand. He has great communication skills and is an excellent partner to work with,” according to client feedback from Chambers and Partners. When describing Lary’s work leading the Cadwalader LIBOR team, the Financial Times, which awarded Lary as one of its “Innovative Lawyers in North America” (an honor he has been nominated for three times), the publication noted, “This is what true innovation looks like: not just imagining the future, but committing to it.”
Lary’s vision and ingenuity extend beyond the practice of law and into making a major impact on the lives of everyday New Yorkers, including the one in five citizens who face hunger and food insecurity. He is the founder of “Justice Served,” an annual campaign with the Food Bank For New York City that has provided over 5 million meals to the community since 2015 and has marshaled thousands of volunteer hours from over 40 major law firms and corporate legal departments.
Lary has been at the forefront of many major developments in financial markets over the past 20 years, including representing the Federal Reserve’s ARRC in navigating the cash markets through LIBOR transition, in which role he was the lead author of legislation enacted by the State of New York to address contracts relying on LIBOR and which served as the model for a similar Federal law. He previously helped ISDA steer the derivatives markets through global regulatory reform in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis, in which role he helped lead the development of the Dodd-Frank protocol, revamp standard credit support documentation and launch ISDA’s first on-line protocol (ISDA Amend).
Lary and his colleagues have repeatedly earned recognition for their legal excellence and exceptional client service, including:
- Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers: Band 1 in global rankings of derivatives specialists. Lary’s clients comment that he "can foresee where legal needs will arise and is very good at presenting them to you."
- Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers: Band 1 in U.S. national rankings of derivatives specialists. “One of the best from a strategy perspective,” “extremely logical and very good at cutting through the surface material to get to the heart of any matter,” has “a true gift... which allows him to stay calm and unrattled,” and he “never says ‘no,’ but rather suggests how to get around limitations and exploit opportunities.” He is “recommended for his advice on the full range of structured products and derivatives matters.”
- IFLR Editorial Board – one of 12 lawyers globally appointed to serve on publication’s inaugural board of editorial advisors
- Lawdragon: Named one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America in 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America: a leading lawyer in Derivatives and Futures, Securitization and Structured Finance. “Strong technical skills” and “extremely practical in his advice.”
- Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Securitization Lawyers: “Capital Markets/Derivatives specialist.”
- Super Lawyers (New York): listed in the inaugural and each subsequent edition
- IFLR 1000: “A leading lawyer.” Lary also was part of the team that was named 2020 Regulatory Team of the Year by IFLR
- US Legal 500: recognized as Hall of Fame in three categories - Municipal Bankruptcy; Derivatives and Structured Products; Securitization. “Deep municipal finance experience”; “In the Detroit bankruptcy...the settlement of the swaps was an unprecedented structure in bankruptcy and municipal finance”; co-head of a derivatives team that is “incredibly thoughtful and knowledgeable; if there is a solution, they will find it.”
- Cadwalader is a two-time Risk Magazine “Law Firm of the Year” winner due to projects Lary led including:
- developing an industry-wide solution to the Volcker Rule for municipal tender option bond programs;
- developing a program to allow contract receivables owed to numerous vendors by the State of Illinois to be repackaged into more liquid investments, which were then financed in separate transactions on a capital-efficient basis; and
- representing ISDA in the development of documentation to comply with margin requirements under Dodd-Frank.
Lary’s vast experience includes many matters of historic significance to the financial markets, including:
- Advising the Alternative Reference Rates Committee sponsored by the Federal Reserve on the transition of cash products away from LIBOR in the $200 trillion global market. This representation earned Cadwalader “Banking Group of the Year (2019)” from Law360.
- Representing the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in the development of multiple industry-wide protocols and amendments to its standard documentation to comply with regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act. Cadwalader was awarded “Law Firm of the Year” in 2016 and 2018 by Risk Magazine and in 2012 and 2013 by Derivatives Week/Derivatives Intelligence for the various stages of this representation.
- Advising a monoline insurer in connection with the potential restructuring of several billion dollars of debt issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its public agencies, including motions in the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Serving as primary outside counsel to a leading financial institution in connection with the failure of Lehman Brothers and of numerous hedge funds resulting from the 2008 credit crisis. Cadwalader was awarded “Law Firm of the Year” in 2012 by the International Financial Law Review for this representation.
- Serving as one of the primary architects of the protocol structure and ISDA Amend platform used by over 200,000 derivatives market participants worldwide to comply with Dodd-Frank regulations. The design won the Back Office Technology Service of the Year Award from Risk Magazine.
- Advising a swap dealer in connection with the potential termination and restructuring of “in-the-money” swaps with the City of Detroit, which added a pledge of casino revenues. The restructuring was awarded the 2009 Alternative Transaction Deal of the Year by The Bond Buyer.
- Serving as counsel to ISDA on an amicus brief filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which cited the brief in reversing the SDNY’s interpretation of ISDA’s credit derivatives documentation.
