Robin Powers
Partner
Robin Powers advises buy-side and other market participants on a broad range of trading and derivatives documentation and transactions, with a focus on cleared and uncleared derivatives and cross border regulation. She counsels clients with respect to regulatory issues including Dodd Frank and EMIR compliance, clearing and Swap Execution Facility relationships and uncleared swap margin related issues.
Ms. Powers has extensive experience negotiating and documenting International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) master agreements, master repurchase agreements, collateral and other credit support documents, prime brokerage agreements, futures and options trading and clearing, and securities lending agreements. She assists clients in their various transactional activities including documentation of structured transactions, credit default swaps, equity derivative transactions, interest rate swaps, weather swaps, asset swaps, total return swaps and currency transactions. She has also developed master confirmations for various derivative products.
Ms. Powers focuses on the regulatory aspect of structuring and organizing domestic and offshore investment funds including the design, structure and operation of investment portfolios. She also provides ongoing advice to investment advisory clients relating to their investment products and services and trading issues. Ms. Powers assists both investment fund and investment advisory clients in the negotiation and documentation of agreements with service providers including administrators, data and electronic trading service providers, auditors, and prime brokers.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Ms. Power’s extensive representative experience includes:
- Negotiating documentation for cleared and uncleared derivatives products, U.K. and N.Y. governed master securities loan agreements, overseas lending agreements, prime brokerage arrangements, give-up arrangements, custody and control agreements, and master netting arrangements on behalf of hedge funds, private equity funds, asset managers, universities and endowments, family offices and high net worth individuals, insurance companies, and pension funds.
- Assisting buy side clients in complying with regulations relating to derivatives, including Dodd-Frank and EMIR.
- Advising end users on practices to minimize counterparty, operational, and documentation risk.
- Structuring, negotiating and documenting Total Return Swap (TRS) facilities.
- Updating templates for documentation of derivatives transactions for updated definitions and regulations.
- Negotiating waivers and amendments to trading agreements and transactions on behalf of buy-side clients.
- Representing buy-side clients in a wide range of disputes involving collateral valuation, ISDA events of default and early terminations, secondary loan trading, notations and fund liquidations.
PUBLICATIONS
- “Family Office”? What’s In a Name: The Implosion Heard Around the (Financial Markets) World, Rimon IM Report, April 7, 2021
- ISDA IBOR Fallbacks Supplement and Protocol: What You Need to Know, Rimonlaw.com, November 19, 2020
- Author, Monoline Insurers: Confusion and Chaos in the Credit Default Swap Market, Derivatives: Financial Products Report (Vol. 9, No. 7), Mar. 2008.
- Co-Author, Hedge Fund Roundtable, Financier Worldwide, Jan. 2007.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Chair, Speaker, Program on Central Clearing – Central Clearing of Interest Rate Swaps, Hedge Fund Roundtable, June 15, 2010.
- Chair, Program on Central Clearing – Questions and Answers from the Buy-Side Perspective, Hedge Fund Roundtable, Apr. 15, 2010.
- Panelist, OTC Derivatives, American Bar Association Derivatives & Futures Law Committee Winter Meeting, Jan. 29, 2010.
- Speaker, Program on Market Initiatives and Pending Derivatives Regulation, Hedge Fund Roundtable Sept. 29, 2009.
- Speaker, Webinar on Pending Tax Initiatives and Their Impact on Investment Funds, July 28, 2009.
- Speaker, “Pending Investment Adviser Regulation,” Hedge Fund Roundtable, June 11, 2009.
- Speaker, Hedge Fund Roundtable on Collateral and Liquidity – Lessons from “Black September,” Apr. 2, 2009.
- Panelist, New York City Bar Association CLE Program on Credit Derivatives & Bankruptcy Law: What the Securities, Finance & Bankruptcy Practitioner Needs to Know About These New Products, Mar. 10, 2009.
- Panelist, OTC Credit Risk in the Post-Bear Stearns World, Feb. 3, 2009.
- Speaker, Webinar on Examining Strategies and Best Practices for Managing Counterparty Risk, Aug.12, 2008.
- Panelist, New York City Bar Association Panel on Credit Derivatives and Bankruptcy Law, May 12, 2008.
- Speaker, “Differences in Use and Applicability between the 1992 and 2002 ISDA® Master Agreements,” American Conference Institute, 5th Annual Conference on Negotiating and Tailoring ISDA® Master Agreements and Confirmations, Mar. 31, 2008.
- Speaker, “Documenting Credit Derivative Confirmations,” American Conference Institute Derivatives Boot Camp, Nov. 5-6, 2007.
- Speaker, “Credit Default Swaps and Succession,” Barclays Global Gaming, Hospitality and Leisure Credit Conference, Sept. 6-7, 2007.
- Speaker, “Equity Derivatives Transactions,” American Conference Institute Derivatives Boot Camp, Mar. 7-8, 2007.
Blog Posts by Robin Powers
News, Events, & Insights
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“Family Office”? What’s In a Name: The Implosion Heard Around the (Financial Markets) World
IM Report April 7, 2021
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ISDA IBOR Fallbacks Supplement and Protocol: What You Need to Know
IM Report November 19, 2020
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ISDA IBOR Fallbacks Supplement and Protocol: What You Need to Know
Insights November 19, 2020
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Credit Default Swap Market up in Arms
Insights January 22, 2018
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Maintaining Your Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) Just Got More Invasive
Insights July 17, 2017
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ISDA 2014 Derivatives Definitions Protocol
Insights September 4, 2014