Donna Parisi is the Global Head of Finance covering bank finance, leveraged lending, project finance, restructuring and insolvency, and structured products and derivatives. She is the Derivatives Team Leader, is a Lead Industry Coordinator for Financial Institutions and leader of the firm’s Family Office Initiative. Donna is also a member of Shearman Women and the Firm’s Executive Group.

She advises clients on the full range of derivatives, structured products, securitization, capital markets and commodities matters. In particular, she helps clients develop and structure new financial products and has extensive experience in the negotiation and documentation of OTC derivative transactions across all asset classes. Donna has broad and deep knowledge of financial institutions, regulatory requirements and the evolving business landscape. A skilled practitioner and negotiator, she represents major financial institutions including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, hedge funds and other private investment funds as well as corporate clients.

Donna founded the firm’s FinTech Foundry program, which supports the FinTech-related activities of our clients and the wider global FinTech ecosystem including financial institutions, FinTech startups, accelerators and incubators, venture capital and private equity investors, and policymakers. The FinTech Foundry consists of three pillars:

• Community support – To provide FinTechs and the broader ecosystem access to curated events and an opportunity to make new connections in the industry, we are launching the Shearman & Sterling FinTech Salon event series.
• Thought leadership – To provide clients and FinTechs with access to the most relevant knowledge and intelligence to help them navigate the changing financial services landscape, our FinTech Insights, including collaborative industry reports and various forms of thought leadership, will be available on our FinTech webpage.
• Mentorship & advice – To support the growing FinTech sector, we are launching the Shearman & Sterling FinTech Advisory mentorship program dedicated to supporting FinTech startups shaping the future of financial services.

In addition, Donna is a prominent thought leader and frequently serves as a moderator or panelist at events organized by the Financial Times, Glass Hammer, Thomson Reuters, FinTech Cocktail Club, WISER and the Practising Law Institute, among others. Donna has been named to Innovate Finance’s Women in FinTech Powerlist 2018–2023.

• Advised a leading cryptocurrency investment firm as well as a brokerage firm on transacting in cryptocurrency-related derivatives.
• Represented seven international banks, including Citi, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, in negotiating highly structured repurchase transactions with Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA). These transactions were crucial in bolstering the U.S. dollar reserves of BCRA at a critical time in Argentina’s history, increasing BCRA’s capacity to confront external shocks and minimizing potential disruption in the local market.
• Advised Liberty Global plc and Discovery Communications on equity derivatives transactions in connection with their acquisition of five million common shares each of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. This highly innovative deal was one of the first equity derivatives transactions executed concurrently with the acquisition of a strategic stake in a U.S. public company.
• Advised Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other financial institutions regarding commodity hedges in the context of oil and gas company bankruptcies, including close-out issues and hedging issues in connection with new business with debtor-in-possession such as DIP and Exit Facility secured financings.
• Advised Bank of America in relation to a $75 million margin loan financing with the margin consisting of three equities, and security governed by English law, New York law and Ontario law.
• Advised Citigroup and its affiliates globally regarding the implementation of margin for uncleared swaps, one of the last remaining Dodd-Frank reforms.

Professional Affiliations

• Member, New York State Department of Financial Services Financial Innovation Advisory Board
• Member, The Global Blockchain Business Council Board of Directors
• Member, Committee on Commodities and Futures Law, New York State Bar Association.
• Donna was honored to win the Chambers Women in Law Awards: USA 2018 in the category of Inspiring Role Model in Promoting Gender Diversity in the Legal Profession.

Awards & Accolades

• Named to Innovate Finance’s Women in FinTech Powerlist (2018–2023).
• IFLR1000 “Highly Regarded Lawyer” for Capital Markets: Derivatives (2018–2022). This category rewards lawyers who are highly regarded by their peers and possess a strong transactional record and positive client feedback.
• Selected for the Finance Advisory Board of Take the Lead, and played a central role in the inaugural 50 Women Can Change the World Program (2019).
• Honored to win the Chambers Women in Law Awards: USA in the category of Inspiring Role Model in Promoting Gender Diversity in the Legal Profession (2018).
• Clients tell Chambers USA that Donna Parisi is a “tremendous resource when we have questions regarding derivatives” and “is extremely experienced in the ISDA documentation arena” (2017).
• Clients tell Chambers Global that Donna Parisi is “extremely helpful, knowledgeable of the subject matter and, importantly, commercial too” (2017).
• Highly ranked by Chambers USA: Derivatives (2017–2023).
• Recognized as a “Hall of Famer” by Legal 500 US in Finance: Structured Finance – Derivatives and Structured Products.
• Selected as one of the world’s leading attorneys for Structured Finance and Securitization by Expert Guides (2017).
• Selected for a Finance Monthly Global award in recognition of outstanding legal work in the Capital Markets field (2017).
• Shortlisted for an award in the category of ‘Best in Structured Finance (including Securitization & Derivatives)’ by Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards (2015, 2016 and 2017).
• Selected for a Lawyer Monthly Women in Law award in recognition of outstanding legal work (2014).
• Committed to advancement of women in the workplace and corporate social responsibility.

Publications

• CoinDesk, “We Don’t Need a New Regulator to Have Better Crypto Regulation” (January 4, 2021)