International law firm Haynes and Boone has hired Ricardo Martinez as a partner at its New York office.

Martinez moves to the firm from his position as partner at Baker & McKenzie’s, also in New York.

“Rick possesses a vast knowledge of both project and trade finance that will wonderfully complement our existing talent,” says New York partner Gil Porter, co-chair of the firm’s projects practice group. “He has closed transactions involving every major Latin American and Asian country during his career, adding to our existing trade and project finance experience in over 85 countries. We look forward to tapping his cross-border expertise on behalf of clients.”

In the last five years, Martinez has represented parties in more than US$2bn of financings in Latin America, says a statement issued by the firm. He has also worked extensively with major Chinese and Japanese banks investing in Latin American enterprises and entities.

Throughout his career Martinez has represented lenders and borrowers in cross-border finance transactions across a broad spectrum of contexts, including project finance, acquisition finance, general working capital facilities and trade finance.

Scott Night, head of the Haynes and Boone finance section, comments on the hire: “Our activity in Latin America is on the rise, and we are increasingly focused on representations involving Asian investments inbound to that region. Given Rick’s contacts and experience in that arena, we couldn’t ask for a better professional fit with our goals and ambitions.”