Luis I. Mendoza III is one of the founding partners of Pellegrini & Mendoza.He is experienced with a broad range of corporate and transactional matters, ranging from early stage business formation and development to highly complex securities offerings in the public U.S. capital markets. He has practiced law both in the U.S. and abroad with small and large firms. This multidisciplinary and multi-jurisdiction approach has allowed him to gain a comprehensive understanding of a broad range of business matters and to develop a practical approach to solving legal issues.

In this context, Luis has been involved with matters such as:

- Acting as counsel to underwriters and issuers in the offering of equity (initial public offerings and secondary), debt and convertible securities by U.S. and foreign entities.

- Venture capital, mergers & acquisitions and related matters (e.g., letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, non-disclosure/non-circumvention, shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, joint ventures, among others).

- In the oil & gas field, Luis has assisted major multinational oil & gas corporations with joint development arrangements, operating agreements, licensing, financing, engineering and procurement agreements, various services agreements and others.

- Negotiated and drafted various significant asset purchase, sale and lease agreements, including for commercial and private aircraft.

- Participated in various debt transactions and offerings, including collateralized debt, debt restructuring and workouts.

- International tax planning and development of tax efficient structures for non-U.S. persons.

- Assisted in the coordination of motions for international litigation cases in the U.S. and Venezuela.

- Served as member of the Board of directors of Valores Químicos (Valquimica), C.A., a company that manages a ⅓ equity interest in Tripoliven, S.A., a corporation engaged in the production and sale of sodium tripolyphosphate with yearly gross sales in excess of U.S.$35,000,000, and a former member of the Board of Directors of C.A. Dianamen, a company that manages a commercial office building with yearly gross income in excess of U.S.$500,000.

Luis was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He received his lawyer degree (abogado) in 1995 from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela; and an LL.M. degree in 1998 from the University of Chicago Law School. Form October 2003 to July 2004 he taught the course “Fundamentals of Commercial Law” at the Metropolitana University School of Law in Caracas, Venezuela; he is the author of a white paper on Recent Development in Oil & Gas Investments in Venezuela for the Center for International Legal Studies, Kitzbühel, Austria, March 2005; a white paper analysis on the “Pacto Comisorio for the 21st Century” presented at the Commercial Law Symposium honring Dr. Alfredo Morles Hernández at the Carabobo State Bar Association, June 2005; and is the author of the study “Contemporary Analysis of Commercial Guaranties in Venezuela”, published by the Academy of Political and Social Sciences of Venezuela as part of the Commemoration for the Centennial Anniversary of the 1904 Commercial Code of Venezuela (Anauco Ediciones, C.A. 2004).

Luis was a senior associate with Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, New York (1998-99; 2005-2009) and a senior associate with Rodríguez & Mendoza, Caracas Venezuela (1995-97; 2001-05); Foreign Legal Counsel with Akerman Senterfitt (1999-2001).

Luis can be reached at + (212) 201-2919 or by email at lmendoza@pellmen.com