George Soumalevris
Counsel
Prior to joining Venable, George lived and practiced extensively in Greece, Belgium, and France and served in the Greek military. He also passed Level I of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program.
Experience
Experience
Representative Matters
- Representing collateral manager of collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and its affiliate, as special servicer of collateralized commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), in a lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion in damages for alleged breaches of contractual and fiduciary duties. The lawsuit was brought by the Cayman Islands issuer of the CDO and is sponsored by a multi-trillion-dollar fund and CDO investor. Secured dismissal of all claims in federal court in the Southern District of New York and a preliminary injunction claim in New York state trial and appellate courts, forcing the issuer to further discontinue permanent injunction and declaratory judgment claims. Succeeded in obtaining dismissal of the majority of fiduciary duty and other tort claims in New York state court
- Representing a special servicer of a CMBS trust in a Minnesota trust instruction proceeding concerning the creation of $38 million in holdbacks/reserves to pay for the trust’s expenses. Other interested parties in the proceeding include the CMBS trust’s master servicer and senior and junior certificate holders fighting for the remainder of the withheld funds. Resolution of the proceeding will have implications for holdbacks/reserves CMBS trust parties routinely create to cover CMBS trust expenses
- Representing a collateral manager and a former CDO investor in a lawsuit against the issuer of the CDO and existing CDO investors for breaches of contract and tortious conduct. Secured denial of investors’ motion to dismiss in New York state court, enabling an ultimate settlement with CDO investors
- Represented the special servicer of CMBS trusts in a New York trust instruction proceeding concerning the application of more than $700 million in trust proceeds. Other interested parties included senior and junior certificate holders. Secured a landmark judgment agreeing with the special servicer’s reading and application of the trust documents, and holding the special servicer was entitled to more than $600 million allocated to it as default interest
- Represented a U.S. fund and its affiliates as unsecured lenders in a Chapter 15 application requesting the recognition of a Cayman Islands insolvency proceeding brought by a drillship company and its affiliates
- Represented a Hong Kong fund as senior secured lender in a Chapter 11 proceeding filed by a U.S. chemical company
- Represented special and master servicers of a CMBS trust, as senior lender, in a lawsuit brought by a junior lender for alleged breach of contract and tortious conduct. Secured dismissal of all tort claims, enabling settlement between parties
- Represented Chinese mining companies in investment arbitration against Mongolia under the bilateral investment treaty between Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China concerning the expropriation of certain investments in an iron ore mine
- Represented the Kingdom of Cambodia and an electricity incumbent in investment-treaty arbitration against a U.S. energy company for alleged breaches of contractual obligations
- Represented a European chemical manufacturer in a Brazilian trade investigation targeting the company’s $200 million strategic investment and multi-million-dollar exports to Brazil
- Represented a European energy company in a Turkish trade investigation targeting multi-million-dollar exports to Turkey
Insights
Insights
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- LL.M. Georgetown University Law Center 2009
- LL.B. National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Law 2005
Bar Admissions
- New York
- District of Columbia
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
Languages
- Greek
- French