GuyLaine Charles

Practice Areas

GuyLaine Charles is the founder of Charles Law PLLC. She has over twenty years of experience structuring, negotiating, and documenting complex financial transactions for buy-side clients, including prominent asset managers, some of the largest public pension plans in the U.S. and Canada, as well as emerging and established hedge funds and private equity funds and their portfolio companies. She also represents market infrastructures and financial institutions. GuyLaine is exceptionally effective at collaborating with stakeholders and advising executives and has a reputation for building consensus among parties with competing interests.

GuyLaine routinely negotiates derivatives and other trading agreements, including ISDA Master Agreements, Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreements, repos, sponsored repos, securities lending agreements, prime brokerages agreements, and futures and options agreements. She also advises on regulatory compliance.

GuyLaine is a speaker, instructor, and moderator at industry conferences, training sessions, and financial institutions across North America, including at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the International Energy Credit Association, the Practising Law Institute, the National Association of Women Owned Law Firms, the New York City Bar Association, the Futures Industry Association, the American Bar Association, Morgan Stanley and the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec. She has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, the American University Washington College of Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Georgetown Law. GuyLaine also teaches courses on “Energy Derivatives and the ISDA Documentation” and “NAESB Negotiations” through the Oak Leaf Energy Training Institute.

Professional Memberships

GuyLaine is a member of the New York Bar and the Law Society of Ontario.

Publications

Overview – Cleared Derivatives Addendum – Bloomberg Law, May 2023

Checklist – Force Majeure in Derivatives Contracts – Bloomberg Law, April 2021

FINRA Rule 4210 Compliance Readiness and MSFTA Negotiation for U.S. Public Pensions – Bloomberg Law, May 2020

Overview of NAESB Contract for the Sale & Purchase of Natural Gas – Bloomberg Law, May 2020

Drafting Guide – ISDA 1994 Credit Support Annex Paragraph 13 – Bloomberg Law, May 2020

The ISDA Master Agreement – Part I: Architecture, Risks & Compliance – Practical Compliance and Risk Management, January 2012

The ISDA Master Agreement – Part II: Negotiated Provisions – Practical Compliance and Risk Management, June 2012

Industry Sector Expertise

Negotiation and Documentation of Trading Agreements and Ancillary Documentation including:

• ISDA Master Agreements (Swaps and Derivatives)

• Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreements (MSFTA)

• (Global) Master Repurchase Agreements ((G)MRA) and sponsored repos

• Securities lending ((G)MSLA) and prime brokerage agreements

• Futures and options agreements

• Account Control Agreements

• Guaranties

• Non-Disclosure Agreements

Derivatives and Structured Products Advisory

• Equity derivatives

• Cleared derivatives

• Commodities, energy, and environmental products

• Digital assets and cryptocurrency derivatives

• Risk management through collateral agreements and credit support annexes

Regulatory and Compliance Guidance

• Dodd-Frank Act compliance (CFTC, SEC)

• FINRA Rule 4210 compliance

• Treasury Clearing

• Securties Lending Reporting Rule 10c-1a

• Cross-border regulatory analysis and advice

• Structuring documentation and processes to align with changing regulatory requirements

Strategic Advisory for Financial and Energy Markets

• Practical insights into emerging market trends and risks

• Structuring and negotiating energy transactions (EEI, WSPP, NAESB Agreements)

• Customized training and practical guidance materials for clients on new regulatory requirements

Clients

Proprietary trading funds, hedge funds, asset managers, public pension plans, mutual funds, family offices, insurance companies, private equity funds, corporations, financial institutions, and market infrastructures

Languages Spoken

GuyLaine is fluent in English and French.