Haynes and Boone

Gilbert "Gil" Porter is a partner with an international financial practice who is known for being a pioneer when it comes to handling innovative 'first-of-its-kind' transactions. Whether constructing and financing infrastructure projects in difficult markets, deploying and financing new energy technologies, seeking novel financing solutions for large-dollar exposures or high-risk customers, considering large-scale multinational joint ventures in evolving markets or with novel technologies or planning investment in emerging markets, clients have reached out to Gil for his guidance for more than 40 years. Gil is dual-qualified as a lawyer in New York and as a solicitor in England and Wales.

Gil’s reputation as an innovator in the financing world arose early in his career with his development of a number of structured credit products, including unique products used to support the independent candidacy of John Anderson for President of the United States in 1980, to fund the emerging growth of the computer industry in the 1980s, and to pioneer the project financing model that is now used by energy, power and infrastructure developers in the United States and throughout the world. He has continued throughout his career to be engaged in cutting-edge transactions for lenders, investors and major sponsors. Gil’s experience spans a broad range of industries and financial products, including a number of remarkable industry-leading precedents. Since 2001, six of his deals have been recognized as “Deals of the Year” by industry publications.

Co-chairing Haynes and Boone’s Projects Practice Group, Gil has led more than 200 project development and finance transactions and has advised on hundreds of others; projects he has led have required careful review and coordination of legal and commercial issues in more than 30 States in the United States and more than 35 other countries throughout the world (including projects in Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa), involving dozens of major international agency and export agencies. His experience includes the full life-cycle of projects, from early-stage development (including structuring of the special-purpose entity, EPC and construction contracts, feedstock and offtake contracts and O&M agreements), financing (including bank debt, institutional and private investor debt, equity and mezzanine investments, strategic alliances and international political risk insurance products), mergers and acquisitions and workouts. Among his many innovations in the course of his project finance practice has been the introduction of so-called “common agreements” (which are now considered the foundation for multi-Agency project finance transactions), “roll-up” facilities for warehousing and pooled refinancing of small scale renewable energy projects, representation in various projects involving the use of nuclear power and other innovative technologies, the adoption of master cooperation agreements (now in common use for most joint-contractor arrangements) and the design of synthetic lease products for the power industry.

While best known for his leadership in the project finance industry, Gil’s practice also includes joint ventures, emerging market investment, workouts, financial product development, structured lending, negotiated mergers and acquisitions, and mezzanine and venture financing.

Many of Gil’s transactions have developed and established precedents for current financial products, including early derivatives and securitization models, tax-efficient and bankruptcy-optimized structures under U.S. and foreign law, pioneering production payment and equipment trust products, leasing and synthetic leasing products, market-leading energy finance transactions, equity monetization products and other products providing clients customized access to capital markets monetizing unusual assets and addressing unique challenges in overseas legal regimes. He has also acted for early-stage technology companies, including companies in renewable energy, bio-fuels, data storage, energy efficiency and related industries.

Gil’s leadership in the projects and financial sectors is such that he is a frequent speaker on topics related to the projects and infrastructure industries and the banking sectors. He has served on the advisory board of financial institution clients and on the Board of a number of prominent financial publications. He served as the Editor of Project Finance Monthly from 1991-2001, as a member of the Board of Editors of Euromoney's Project Finance from 1992-2003, and as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Institute for Infrastructure Finance from 1995-1997. He is AV® Peer Review Rated Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory and has been recognized as a leading attorney in the Banking Finance and Transactional Expert Guide by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC for several years. His practice group has also been recognized as a National Tier 1 (the highest available rating) Project Finance Law practice in Best Law Firms 2019 (and prior years) by U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers®. Gil was also recognized in the 2016 edition of Latin Lawyer 250, Law Business Research Ltd.

Bar Admissions

New York
Solicitor, England and Wales

Education

J.D., University of Denver, 1977, Order of the Coif; Associate Editor, Denver Law Journal, 1975-1976; Editor-in-Chief, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, 1976-1977
B.A., Clark University, 1974

Significant Accomplishments

Mr. Porter's experience in emerging markets reflects the same combination of breadth and depth, across multiple industries and countries, including projects and privatizations, structuring of joint ventures and other long-term capital investments, representation of financial institutions in complex cross-border financing transactions and utilization of political risk products and financing available from export credit agencies and other multinational and international financial institutions. He has successfully structured and closed transactions in more than 35 different countries throughout the Americas, Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Africa.

Mr. Porter also actively represents major corporations in joint ventures, financings, and negotiated mergers and acquisitions, both domestically and abroad. Recent transactions include competitive tenders in the U.S. power generation markets and the disposition by leading power companies of their non-U.S. power generation assets, as well as proposed joint ventures and acquisitions in the telecommunications, media, gas management and power industries in the U.S., Latin America and Asia.