Doris Rodríguez

Ms. Rodríguez has a transactional practice concentrated on a broad range of US and Latin American corporate, finance, energy and real estate transactions in a variety of sectors.

Ms. Rodríguez has extensive experience working in the United States and in Latin America, where she has represented clients in all sectors. Her domestic and international work includes secured and unsecured lending transactions of all types, project development and finance, real estate, acquisitions, dispositions, joint venture and similar arrangements as well as all types of contractual arrangements, such as gas transportation agreements, gas supply agreements, and distribution agreements.

She has worked in substantially all of the Latin American countries and has established excellent working relationships with leading foreign counsel in Latin America. Her practice, in the United States as well as in Latin America, is multi-faceted and includes negotiations, document preparation and review, and working with foreign local counsel. She understands the legal systems of the Latin American countries and how these laws compare with the common law system of the United States.

Ms. Rodríguez also has extensive experience representing electric cooperatives in financings and corporate matters.

In 2018, Ms. Rodríguez closed syndicated financings totaling approximately US$17 billion. Recently, she served as lead counsel to a majority owner of a Mexican bank in the acquisition of all of the equity interests of a US financial institution and regularly represents the Mexican bank in its matters dealing with US law.

Recently, Ms. Rodríguez served as US Counsel to Guatemalan and Mexican affiliated companies in respect of cross-border gas transportation arrangements for the US and Mexico and related matters in connection with the sale of one of two phases of a gas-fired electricity generation facility located in Mexico. Prior thereto, which work is still continuing, she represented the same company as owner/developer in the development of the facility, including the cross border gas transportation agreements, gas purchase agreements, matters relating to financing, and export permits and also in arrangements to assign gas transportation capacity and shipping rights from Texas into Mexico to a Mexican shipper.  She also represented a Guatemalan company in connection with a proposed transaction that included the purchase of natural gas in tandem with the development of electricity generation plants in Guatemala.

She also served as lead counsel to Sinopec in its acquisition of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s oil and gas business in Argentina in a US$2.5 billion stock transaction. This transaction was selected as “Runner-up” for the Latin America 2011 Deal of the Year. In Chile, Ms. Rodríguez served as lead US counsel to a developer/sponsor with respect to both a solar energy project and a wind farm. She was also lead US counsel to a major US corporation in the sale of its drilling business in Venezuela in an asset transaction. 

Representative Experience

Ms. Rodríguez’ experience includes:

Latin America

  • Lead counsel to major domestic REIT in the expansion of its commercial real estate development and leasing activities in Mexico
  • Represented Mexican real estate investor, as owner, in lease negotiations involving commercial real property in Texas
  • Represented a Mexican financial institution, as lender, in multiple financings where the collateral was real estate located in California, Texas and Utah
  • Counsel to Developer/Sponsor of Solar Project in Chile
  • Counsel to Mexican national in acquisition of majority shares of US financial institution
  • Counsel to Latin American company in gas transportation agreements to transport gas from Texas to Mexico for power generation plant and related assignments of capacity to a Mexican shipper
  • Counsel to Latin American company in a transaction involving its purchase of gas in tandem with its development of power plants in Guatemala
  • Counsel to a Developer/Sponsor of wind project in Chile
  • Lead counsel to Sinopec in its acquisition of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s oil and gas exploration and production business in Argentina in a US$2.48 billion stock purchase transaction
  • Lead counsel to major international drilling company in sale of Venezuelan business, including rigs, drilling contracts with PDVSA, and transfer of employees
  • Lead counsel to developer in development of wind projects in Chile
  • Counsel to major Mexican bank as a borrower in connection with a syndicated loan agreement for US$135 million
  • Counsel to Inter-American Development Bank with respect to lending transactions to borrowers in several Latin American countries
  • Co-Lead counsel to US company for sale of its Mexican manufacturing business including equipment, contracts and transfer of employees
  • Lead counsel to major publicly traded US energy company in sale of its interest in a power plant located in Mexico to a major Spanish utility
  • Co-counsel to a US subsidiary of a German company under a Supply Agreement with PEMEX to supply multi-phase pumps and related contracts and risk allocation agreement with major US company
  • Lead counsel to a major publicly traded US energy services company in respect of its arrangement with a Canadian company to drill numerous wells in Mexico for PEMEX
  • Counsel to a variety of US companies in the energy, real estate, restaurant and other industries with respect to expansion of their businesses to Mexico, including establishing corporate entities, obtaining permits, and execution of leases and other contracts

Domestic

  • Counsel to several US publicly traded companies as borrowers with respect to syndicated loan agreements totaling approximately US$17 billion in 2018
  • Counsel to electric cooperatives in numerous financing and corporate transactions
  • Lead counsel to US publicly traded company and its subsidiaries as borrowers and guarantors in connection with a syndicated credit agreement entered into in connection with an acquisition of a US subsidiary, providing for revolving loans, term loans, swing loans and the issuance of letters of credit
  • Lead counsel to US Chapter 11 debtor in respect to DIP financing
  • Lead counsel to unsecured creditors committee in respect of, and preparation and negotiation of, transaction documents to evidence a Chapter 11 reorganization involving complex creditor and equity claimant issues

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized in the International category of Latin Lawyer 250, 2021, 2023-2024
  • Selected as one of Latin America’s Top 100 Female Lawyers, Latinvex (2016-2023)
  • Profiled as one of the leading Banking & Finance (2013-2014; 2019-2024) and Projects & Energy (2013-2024) international lawyers in Latin America, The Legal 500 Latin America

  • Profiled as one of the leading Banking & Finance (2012) lawyers in the world, Chambers & Partners Global: The World’s Leading Business Lawyers
  • Profiled as one of the leading Banking & Finance (2012) lawyers in Latin America, Chambers & Partners Latin America: Latin America’s Leading Business Lawyers
  • Profiled as one of “Texas’ Top Rated Lawyers” by ALM in Business & Commercial Law (2012)
  • Profiled as one of the leading Project Finance (2010-2014) and Mergers and Acquisitions (2014-2015) lawyers in the United States, The US Legal 500
  • First Woman Hispanic Partner at a major Houston law firm
  • Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Recipient of the Triunfando Award in the category of Hispanic Senior Executives
  • Recognized in the Houston Chronicle (Hispanic Attorneys, These Young Professionals are Growing More Visible at Large Houston Firms, March 1988) for her status as partner and her work ethics
  • YWCA Houston, Recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Women of Achievement in Law & Government
  • Featured in “Profiles in Professionalism” in Houston Bar Association Journal
  • Recipient of the 2008 DiversityFirst™ Award by the Texas Diversity Council
  • Honored in Symposium Hispanic Women in Law (as part of Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration – 1986)

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