Sponsor Profiles

Shawn Kodes is the co-chair of the Asset-Backed Finance practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office.

Shawn advises issuers, sponsors, banks, underwriters, investors, asset managers, purchasers, insurers and rating agencies in all aspects of asset backed finance transactions, both in the United States and abroad. He has experience in the acquisition, sale and securitization of a broad range of asset types, including auto loans and leases, equipment loans and leases, rental car fleets, credit card receivables, U.S. and foreign trade receivables, student loans, unsecured consumer loans, music royalties, pharmaceutical royalties, manufactured homes, agricultural loans, commercial loans, high yield bonds, healthcare receivables, insurance broker commissions, corporate loans, and residual interests in securitizations. He has participated in structuring commercial paper conduits, master trusts, grantor trusts and owner trusts, as well as other forms of domestic and offshore special purpose vehicles.

He regularly advises on the most complex and sophisticated asset-backed transactions, often lending his experience and acumen to clients undertaking their first-ever securitization transactions. His clients have included AIG, Apollo, Atlas SP, Blackstone, Brigade, Carlyle, Credit Suisse, CFG Partners and Group 1001. He has become a go-to counsel for large asset manager clients looking to establish asset-backed financing and credit opportunities for their investors, including for the likes of Blackstone and Carlyle. Shawn also has experience with derivatives, including credit derivatives, FX and interest rate swaps and total return swaps, both in commercial and structured finance contexts.

Shawn is consistently recognized by leading industry publications for his work in securitization and structured finance. He is ranked by Chambers USA for Securitization and recognized as an “Up & Coming” lawyer by Chambers Global. He has also been named a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500 U.S. and a “Highly Regarded” lawyer by IFLR1000 for Structured Finance and Securitization. Earlier in his career, he was repeatedly recognized as a “Rising Star” by publications including Law360, Super Lawyers, and Expert Guides, and was named “Best in Structured Finance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Rising Star Awards.

Before joining his prior law firm, Shawn was a vice president of a financial services company that arranged capital markets financing for global financial institutions, responsible for transaction management and execution, as well as oversight of the company’s legal matters. He has been involved in various community and charitable organizations. He has served on the board of Start Small Think Big and was previously chair of the Junior Board of Partnership with Children. He has also been involved with the Robin Hood Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club and regularly advises on a wide range of pro bono matters.

Shawn received his J.D., cum laude, from the New York Law School, where he was associate managing editor of the New York Law School Law Review. He also served as a judicial extern, in his second year, for the Honorable Faith S. Hochberg, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey. He received his BA, cum laude, from Syracuse University.