Seward & Kissel has appointed Michele (Miki) Navazio as a partner in New York. Navazio has advised many of the world’s largest hedge funds and asset managers on derivative transactions and regulatory compliance, and brings more than a decade of experience negotiating complex derivatives to the firm’s Corporate Finance Group.

“We are thrilled to bring Miki on board,” says Seward & Kissel managing partner James Cofer. “Miki is a leader in his field. His wealth of experience advising buy-side clients and structuring complex derivatives expands our ability to service clients in our market-leading investment management and asset securitisation practices.”
 
Navazio structures and negotiates complex derivatives involving the broadest range of underlying assets for hedge funds, private equity firms, funds of funds, and mutual funds, many of which do business worldwide. He advises clients on swaps, prime brokerage and term financing arrangements, repurchase agreements, and futures and swaps clearing matters.
 
Navazio also counsels clients on regulatory issues, including multiple aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act and its extra-territorial reach, as well as global regulatory reforms. Highly respected in the securities and private funds industries, he has acted as counsel to the Asset Management Group of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) on issues relating to the Federal Reserve’s QFC Rule and the ISDA 2018 U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol, and to the Managed Funds Association (MFA) on the implementation of the swap margin regulations and related protocols and documentation developed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). 
 
“I’m excited to join the highly respected team at Seward & Kissel, which offers an ideal platform for my practice,” says Navazio. “The firm is known for its strength in investment management and asset securitisation, and I am looking forward to putting my experience to work for our clients.”
 
Navazio was most recently a partner at Sidley Austin. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Derivatives and Structured Products Law Committee, and received his law degree from the Fordham University School of Law.