Natalia Rezai (2018)
Associate, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
About
Natalia Rezai is an Associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in the New York, NY office. Her practice focuses on international corporate and financial transactions, with particular emphasis on Latin America. Natalia has worked on a broad range of transactions, including assisting MercadoLibre in a $2 billion equity offering consisting of a $1.15 billion public common stock offering and concurrent private place investments by PayPal for $750 million of shares of the company’s common stock and by an affiliate of the Dragoneer Investment Group for $100 million of series A perpetual convertible preferred stock, as well as MercadoLibre’s recent inaugural registered public offering of $400 million sustainability notes due 2026 and $700 million notes due 2031. MercadoLibre intends to use the proceeds of the sustainability notes to finance or refinance ongoing or new projects with social or environmental impacts. Natalia has also represented bondholders and lenders in connection with the restructuring of Arendal’s obligations to those creditors in the form of an exchange offer and consent solicitation for a chapter 11 prepackaged bankruptcy. She is also currently representing an ad hoc group of bondholders in connection with Stoneway Capital Corporation’s restructuring of the company’s obligations under its existing senior secured notes due 2027.
Before joining Cleary, Natalia was a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, DC. While at the IDB, Natalia coordinated data collection surveys across 17 countries in Latin America and helped draft and publish the results in an Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and IDB publication. She also managed the publication of an IDB and International Monetary Fund book on public financial management in Latin America and co-authored the chapter comparing and assessing public procurement frameworks across Latin American countries.
Natalia graduated from William & Mary Law School in 2018. While at William & Mary, she took a range of classes in international law, including post-conflict justice and the rule of law, European Union law, international business transactions, international trade law, and advanced applied international research. During her time at William & Mary, Natalia also served as a Legal Practice Fellow, member of the William & Mary Law Review and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition Team, fellow for the Center for the Study of Law and Markets, and a Dean’s Associate. Natalia also served as president of the Human Security Law Center and the Latino Law Student Association. The topics covered in her international law classes helped Natalia in her 1L summer working for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, and 2L summer working for Cleary Gottlieb as a summer associate.
William & Mary recognized Natalia Rezai, a graduating law student, with the Thatcher Prize for Excellence during commencement on May 12. The prize is named for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who served as the university’s chancellor from 1993 to 2000. The university awards the honor each year to a graduate or professional student who exemplifies outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service.