Sebastian Torres

Sebastian Torres-Rodriguez represents issuers, underwriters, and borrowers on a variety of public and project finance transactions. Sebastian previously worked as a senior legal advisor to the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) and represented the Government of Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities on matters related to the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, including municipal debt restructuring and public finance affairs. Sebastian also served as general counsel to the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation during the issuance of its restructured sales tax bonds in 2019.My focus

Infrastructure projects are the building blocks of economic growth. Every economy needs reliable infrastructure to, among other things, enable trade, power businesses, create new opportunities, and improve the livelihood of its communities. This is why I focus my practice on providing legal advice to state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, investment banks, and financial institutions in connection with the financing of infrastructure projects that have a positive impact.

My experience working with the issuance and restructuring of distressed municipal securities has provided me an in-depth experience and capability for providing legal solutions for our clients as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, and underwriter’s counsel. This entails thinking innovatively about financing and refinancing structures so that our clients meet their capital needs and feel confident in the face of any future challenges or opportunities that might arise.

Looking ahead

Sustainable or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, has steadily gained traction in the U.S. municipal market. Increasingly issued by state and local governments to fund public projects that can have a positive social or environmental impact, municipal bonds can clearly align with sustainability goals. As a bigger appetite for building a more sustainable bond portfolio develops, federal regulators and self-regulatory organizations are looking for ways to understand how ESG practices are being integrated into the municipal securities market, as well as how to engage in information-gathering and rulemaking to protect investors, issuers, and the public interest. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities signaled that it’s taking a closer look at issuer disclosure under Rule 15c2-12, which could grow to include elements of ESG disclosure.