With 140 securitization lawyers in offices worldwide, Mayer Brown is one of a handful of international law firms that have securitized virtually every asset type that can be securitized. We represent commercial banks, investment banks, issuers, credit enhancers, liquidity providers, trustees, servicers, underwriters, placement agents and other transaction parties in jurisdictions around the world.

Market Leaders Many securitization transactions that are commonplace today were first initiated by members of our firm. In 1988, we acted as counsel in the first collateralized debt obligation transaction which gave birth to the multi-billion dollar CDO/CBO/CLO market. In 1989, we developed with our clients the first partially enhanced commercial paper conduit. That structure still serves as the model for the largest multi-seller commercial paper conduits, and the cornerstone for Mayer Brown's commercial paper conduit practice, which is one of the largest in the world. We also helped the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago to create in 1997 the Mortgage Partnership Finance® Program, which is one of the most efficient and fastest growing mortgage-backed securities.

Thompson Financial's league tables consistently rank Mayer Brown among the top law firms representing issuers and underwriters of public and private asset-backed and mortgage-backed transactions in the term markets. Our CDO practice regularly ranks among the five most active law firms representing issuers and arrangers in CDO transactions. We are also one of the top five law firms in credit card securitizations.

Institutional Knowledge We stay well-connected - with each other, with our clients, with the securitization market, and with the industries in which our clients conduct business. Our client base and its volume of securitization transactions generate broad institutional and market knowledge, which we give back to the marketplace. The Securitization of Financial Assets, recognized as the leading treatise on asset securitization since its debut in 1992, is substantially written and edited by our lawyers. Mayer Brown created and sponsors Securitization.Net ® , "a free online resource for information .[which] helps industry members stay current on global structured finance developments." (Creating Customer Evangelists, Dearborn Press, 2003.)

Fifteen of our securitization partners are ranked as Leading Lawyers in Chambers' USA and Global Guides. Our lawyers' expertise in asset classes and financing techniques places them in high demand as speakers for securitization conferences and industry summits. When new issues arise, our firm's collective securitization experience is brought to bear to deliver creative, practical, business-oriented solutions.

Industry Advocates Mayer Brown continues to represent industry groups in negotiations with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the body responsible for making and interpreting accounting rules and policy on issues that affect securitization. One of our partners was one of the three founding partners of the American Securitization Forum, the primary trade group and advocate for the U.S. securitization industry. Our lawyers played a critical role in the development of FIN 46, FAS 140 and its predecessor, FAS 125. We represented industry groups with respect to the FFIEC Recourse Project and the new Basel II Accord affecting the risk-based capital treatment of securitization and other specialized lending transactions by U.S. and international banks, as well as with respect to the SEC's Rule 2a-7 and the SEC's rules, regulations, releases and other policies that affect asset-backed securities, including Regulation AB.