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Mary Rose Brusewitz

Member
fax +1 646.395.8702

Mary Rose Brusewitz assists with debt and equity investments, project financings, joint ventures, and other transactions and stressed scenarios globally, in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Asia, India, and Europe.

Mary Rose supports clients as they make, receive and exit investments. Clients she advises operate and/or invest in numerous sectors, including regulated and unregulated financial services, microfinancing and financial inclusion, energy (renewable and otherwise), project development and financing, infrastructure, and impact investing. Banks, investment funds, collateral agents and account banks/depositaries, sponsors of projects, non-profits, development finance institutions, and others seek Mary Rose’s advice in transactions, many of which benefit resource-challenged people.

Clients retain Mary Rose to assist them with the entire life cycle of deals, including diligence, structuring, implementing, administering, exiting, and restructuring. To implement her clients’ strategies, Mary Rose evaluates legal systems and risks and business and legal practices and cultures, while developing an understanding of her clients’ businesses and proactively seeking practical and efficient solutions to achieve their objectives.

Operating in foreign jurisdictions (including non-U.S. clients entering the U.S.) requires sensitivity and innovative and adaptive approaches to structuring and documenting deals. Mary Rose works closely with local counsel to ensure that transactions accommodate laws and regulations of one or more foreign legal systems, as well as the business customs and expectations of parties from multiple jurisdictions. An experienced counselor, she respects clients’ objectives and risk tolerance and proactively creates risk management strategies. Mary Rose assists clients with navigating cross-border work-outs, distressed scenarios, and insolvencies. She frequently works with clients to develop innovative document forms and efficient transaction processes.

Mary Rose is active in the areas of environmental, social, and governance (ESG); sustainability; accountability; and corporate governance. A supervising attorney at the International Transactions Clinic at New York University Law School, she trains and supervises law students in cross border impact investing legal work. She is a founding member of the Impact Investing Legal Working Group and has done a great deal of pro bono work in the impact investing space.

Education

J.D., University of California, 1982
B.A., University of California, 1979

Recognitions

Named among Latin America’s Top 100 Female Lawyer 2018, 2019

Named among New York Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (2013, 2014)

Named to The International Who’s Who of Oil & Gas Lawyers (2009, 2010, 2013)

Recipient of the 2012-2013 UCLA Regents’ Lecturers and Professor Award

Memberships

American Bar Association, Member

New York State Bar Association, International Committee, Latin America Council Community

New York City Bar Association, Member

International Bar Association, Member

Inter-Dialogue’s Latin American Energy Advisors, Board Member

Inter-American Development Bank, Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism, Panel Member, former Panel Chair (2010-2015)

Microfinance Club of New York, Board Member

New York University Law School – International Transactions Clinic, Pro Bono Supervising Attorney

Languages

Portuguese, Spanish

State Bar Licenses

New York
Articles
  • Contributor, “COVID-19 Breifing: Insights for Inclusive Finance,” CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), September 2020
  • Guest Comment, What Can Brazil Expect of Its New Chief Prosecutor? Inter-American Dialogue’s Daily Latin America Advisor (October 2017)
  • Guest Comment, Will Latin America Be Able to Solve its Infrastructure Problem?, Inter-American Dialogue’s Daily Latin America Advisor (October 2014)
  • Guest Comment, How Should Social Conflicts Over Power Projects Be Handled?, Latin American Advisor Energy Edition (April 2014)
  • Guest Comment, How Can the Region’s Energy Infrastructure Needs Be Financed?, Latin American Advisor Energy Edition (February 2014)
  • Guest Comment, Micro Money Matters, Latin Lawyer (May 2012)
  • Should We Samba, Tango, or Mambo? A Primer for Internal Counsel on Getting Started in Latin America, NYSBA Corporate Counsel Section of Inside, (Spring/Summer 2011)
  • Co-author, Cross-border Jurisdiction of US Bankruptcy Law, Global Financial Crisis: Navigating and Understanding the Legal and Regulatory Aspects, Globe Business Publishing Ltd (2009)
Presentations
  • Moderator, Panel on Impact Investing in Brazil at the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce (December 2017)
  • Panelist, Impact Terms Workshop (November 2017)
  • Moderator, Panel Beyond Traditional fund Models: Structuring Investment Vehicles and Other ways of Aggregating Capital, at the Conference Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing in the US and Beyond (May 2017)
  • Panelist, MFI Structures, 11th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference (March 2017)
  • Moderator, Family Offices: Catalyzing Impact Investing and Microfinance
  • Microfinance Club of New York and Financial Women’s Association (January 2017)
  • Panel Member, Mitigating Foreign Exchange Risk to Promote Climate Financing, World Bank (December 2016)
  • Panelist, Impact Investing in Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Northeast Regional Chapter Conference (October 2015)
  • Panelist, Knowing the Territory: Intersections of Law & Anthropology, UCLA, (February 2013)
  • Moderator, Opportunities and Benefits of a Low Carbon Economy – The Case of Mexico, The U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce Northeast Chapter Meeting (July 2010)
  • Panelist, Nicaragua in Crisis: Lessons Learned for the Microfinance Industry (April 2010)
  • Panelist, A Candid Dialogue Between Lenders and MFIs on New Lending Standards (March 2010)
  • Co-presenter, Climate Change Regulation Risks Opportunities and Mitigation Strategies (January 2010)
  • Presenter, Transforming Risk into Opportunity: Emerging Laws; Basics of Carbon Credits, Nokia Conference (November 2009)
  • Co-presenter, Legal Issues in Carbon Auditing and GHG Mitigation / Offsets (July 2009)
  • Moderator, Panel on Retail Microfinancing, Microfinance Club of New York (April 2009)