Two Pillsbury Partners Named to Latinvex’s Top 100 Female Lawyers List

In its 2021 list, Latinvex recognized 100 attorneys from 63 different firms across the globe. Individuals were selected based on recent deals and cases, prominence of their firm in Latin America and rankings from the past year.

Fornos is the leader of Pillsbury’s Latin America practice and head of the firm’s New York Litigation team. Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for her corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense work, Fornos has extensive experience in all phases of federal investigations and litigation. As a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, she spent almost nine years handling a wide range of matters including bribery, bank fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud, and money laundering violations. As a member of the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit, she investigated money laundering crimes and potential violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. In addition, Fornos served in the Office of the White House Counsel from 2010- 2011 vetting candidates for presidential appointments.

For six years, Relea has been recognized each year by Latinvex as one of Latin America’s top female lawyers. Relea has significant experience representing project developers and lenders in highly structured and complex finance transactions in the U.S. and Latin America. She represents commercial and investment banks, sponsors, developers and private equity firms in connection with the development, construction, operation, and financing of energy, oil and gas and infrastructure projects. She also has extensive experience in leveraged finance transactions, including acquisition financings, asset-based facilities, private equity transactions, mezzanine facilities and cross-border financings.