Jonathan Ching

Jonathan has significant experience advising arrangers and investors in derivatives (over-the-counter and cleared) and in structured products involving swaps, forwards or options linked to debt, equity or esoteric asset pools and futures. He regularly advises market participants on asset-backed securitizations and secured financings involving cash flow producing assets, including purchases and dispositions of asset portfolios. He has broad transactional and regulatory derivatives experience, including all derivatives-related aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act (Title VII), and in negotiating a wide range of trading agreements including ISDA Master Agreements, repurchase and securities lending agreements and prime brokerage documentation.

Jonathan also assists clients with the structuring, negotiation, documentation and administration of physical and financial commodity transactions, including crude oil and refined products, base and precious metals, agricultural products, natural gas liquids, and renewables.

Earlier in his career, Jonathan was assistant general counsel at J.P. Morgan in New York, vice-president of Bear Stearns and vice-president of the hedge fund, D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P.

Work highlights

Jonathan has advised clients on a wide range of structured finance and derivatives transactions. These include advising:

• First Key Mortgage (owned by Cerberus) on the U.S. law aspects of cross-border residential mortgage-backed securities issuance, including U.S. credit risk retention structuring and due diligence issues
• a global investment bank on a total return swap structure referencing a pool of non-U.S. mortgage assets
• a global investment bank on structuring standard documentation for a commodity inventory financing program
• the steering committee of first lien lenders of Memorial Production Partners (MEMP) in connection with MEMP’s outstanding interest rate and commodity swap portfolio, and swap trading issues arising from MEMP’s voluntary reorganization under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code
• swap providers and borrowers on discretionary interest rate, commodity and FX hedging and currency conversion transactions under syndicated secured loan facilities and project financings, together with trading platform documentation

Jonathan is a member of the lawyers’ committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

Jonathan writes regularly on derivatives issues. His publications include:

“Prudential Regulators and the CFTC Finalize Swap Margin Requirements and Cross-Border Rules”, Linklaters Client Note, June 2016, with Caird Forbes-Cockell and Edward Ivey

“A Survey of Portfolio Margining under Dodd-Frank”, Futures & Derivatives Law Report, September 2014

Jonathan studied international relations at the University of Southern California and holds a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, where he also edited the Journal of Corporate and Financial Law.