Susan M. Curtis is co-head of Skadden’s Structured Finance Group. She represents underwriters, placement agents, issuers and collateral managers in asset-backed securities transactions, collateralized debt obligations and other structured financings.

Ms. Curtis has acted as counsel in a broad variety of public offerings and Regulation S and Rule 144A offerings involving the issuance of asset-backed securities. These transactions have included securities backed by consumer assets (retail auto loans and leases and credit card receivables) as well as financial assets (trade receivables, wholesale dealer inventory loans, investment grade and high-yield securities and loans, and energy contracts).

Ms. Curtis has represented underwriters and collateral managers in the collateralized debt obligation market from its inception. She has extensive experience as deal counsel in CDOs of high-yield and investment grade bonds and loans, emerging market bonds and loans, mortgage-backed securities, REIT debt, asset-backed securities and CDOs and credit default swaps relating to MBS, ABS, CDOs and loans. She often has worked with clients in developing structural innovations in the CDO market, including hybrid cash/synthetic structures.

Ms. Curtis led the Skadden team that, in 2006, received the “Securitization Legal Team of the Year” award from the International Financial Law Review for the representation of BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. as collateral manager in Tourmaline CDO I Ltd., one of the first partially unfunded hybrid cash/synthetic ABS CDOs.

Recently, Ms. Curtis has represented investment banks and others in connection with various structured products, including credit opportunity funds, warehouse lending, risk sharing arrangements and restructuring transactions.

In addition to term securitizations, Ms. Curtis has been active as counsel in the establishment of asset-backed commercial paper conduits and single seller special purpose companies to finance trade receivables, auto loans and leases, railroad receivables and other assets.

Ms. Curtis repeatedly has been selected for inclusion in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America.