Paulina Sosa

Associate, Washington, D.C.

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Paulina is a senior associate in the Energy & Infrastructure practice. Paulina has experience advising on a variety of U.S. and cross-border project financings, corporate financings and acquisition financings, representing project sponsors, lender groups and export-credit agencies throughout the world. Paulina has also advised on acquisitions of energy assets in the U.S., representing both sellers and potential buyers. She has particular experience with renewable energy projects and gas-fired power plants. Paulina is fluent in Spanish.

Paulina is strongly committed to pro bono service and international affairs, particularly immigration and human rights. Paulina has represented asylum seekers, immigrants in deportation proceedings, women and children fleeing violence, and acted as guardian ad litem for children in the midst of custody proceedings before the D.C. Superior Court.

Work highlights

Relevant matters on which Paulina has advised include:

U.S.

  • Solar projects financing: advising C2 WM DSA Sponsor, LLC and C2 Energy Capital LLC, an equity fund focused on solar asset development and operation and a repeat client of the firm, in connection with structuring permanent financing from City National Bank for a portfolio of photovoltaic solar projects to be constructed across the United States.
  • Project Saw: advising a wood pellet producer on two separate asset-based revolving credit facilities to provide working capital for two plants in Arkansas.

  • Project Trumbull: advising the lenders on a mezzanine credit facility in connection with the project financing of a $1.2bn 940 MW CCGT Ohio power plant.

  • A holding company: advising a group of banks on the acquisition financing of largest container terminal operator in North America, as well as a subsequent incremental facility financing.

  • Penn Terminals Holdings LLC: advising in connection with its refinancing and entrance into a New York law governed senior secured term loan facility and capex facility in an aggregate amount of US$90m provided by Scotiabank, as well as the related hedging agreements.

  • Elia Group: advising on its acquisition, through Elia Group’s wholly owned subsidiary WindGrid USA LLC, of a 35.1% stake in energyRe Giga Projects, a subsidiary of energyRe LLC, the proceeds of which will be used to fund renewable U.S. transmission and energy generation projects.

Cross-Border

  • Project Bronco: advising Electricidad Firme de Mexico Holdings, S.A. de C.V., a leading independent power producer in Mexico on a letter of credit facility agreement in which Scotiabank is the initial issuing bank. Also advising Cometa Energia, S.A. de C.V on the upsizing of its existing revolving facility agreement.

  • A Vietnamese bank: advising on its financing from a U.S. development agency.

  • Raizen: advising the banks as lenders, arrangers, facility agent, coordinating bank, bookrunner, documentation bank and green loan coordinator, as applicable, in connection with a €300m SACE-covered untied green loan financing. This transaction was named the 2023 Energy Export Finance Deal of the Year by TXF.

  • Norte II Project: advising the sponsors on the refinancing of a power plant and ancillary facilities in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
  • Cydsa S.A.: advising the lender and Italian export credit agency on untied SACE-covered term loan facility to CYDSA, S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican chemical and textiles company.
  • Wind farm and hydroelectric power plants in Chile: advising a Chilean sponsor and its Chinese shareholders on the refinancing of a wind farm and several hydroelectric power plants held by a number of project companies.
  • Atacama wind project: advising a consortium of banks and financial institutions on the refinancing and expansion of this wind farm located in the Atacama region in Chile.
  • Kelar: advising Samsung C&T Corporation and Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd. in the equity bridge and senior secured credit facilities to finance the development and construction of the Kelar gas-fired combined power plant in the Mejillones region of Chile
  • Cabo Leones 1: advising EDF Energies Nouvelles S.A. and Ibereólica Renovables on the project financing, as well as the subsequent US$450m refinancing and expansion
  • A Dissolving Wood Pulp (DWP) Plant in Brazil: advising Lenzing AG and Duratex S.A. as sponsors and LD Celulose S.A. as borrower on a US$8bn development and financing of a dissolving wood pulp plant in Brazil.
  • Wind farm and Hydroelectric power plants in Chile: advised a Chilean sponsor and its Chinese shareholders in the refinancing of a wind farm and several hydroelectric power plants held by a number of project companies.

Professional experience

Paulina was a member of Columbia Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic, an extern at the International Affairs section of the General Counsel’s Office for the U.S. Secretary of Defense, an intern for Immigrant Justice Corps, an intern at Church World Service, and the Design and Layout editor for Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems.

She previously worked for an immigration law firm in Bethesda, MD where she assisted on cases before INTERPOL, Inter-American Committee of Human Rights, and U.S. consulates.

Education and qualifications

Paulina holds a Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School, where she was Harlan Fisk Stone scholar and received the Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law. Her article “The Regulatory Leach of the One-year Refugee Travel Document” was published in the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems in 2019.

Paulina graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University, where she double majored in Arabic and Political Economy.