Chris Muessel practices in the area of corporate law with a focus on international law in Southeast Asia. He has experience with mergers and acquisitions, international trade, banking and commercial law, with in-country experience in Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia and Japan.

The recent past Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ho Chi Minh City (and current Vice Chairman), Mr. Muessel is a 1988 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.

Areas Of Practice

Cross-Border Transactions
International Law
Corporate Law

Representative Matters

Advised a French-based bank on a $300 million loan facility to the Vietnamese government for Vietnam's first oil refinery.
Advised a global U.S.-based beverage producer on restructuring its investment vehicles in Vietnam.
Advised a US-based insurer (AIG) on political risks related to a 715 MW gas-fired combined-cycle BOT power plant to be constructed at Phu My 2-2 in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, Vietnam.
Advised a Japanese-based insurer (NEXI) on a time charter (and related documentation) for a first-of-its-kind $170 million limited-recourse project-financed Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel to be used offshore in the Su Tu Den oil/gas field (Block 15/1) in Vietnam.
Advised a Belgian-based company (Provimi) on the acquisition of two different Vietnam-based manufacturing concerns, and a Vietnam-based company (Theodore Alexander) on a partial share sale of its holding company to a US investor.
Worked on debt rescheduling for several Japanese banks related to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical projects in Qatar and Indonesia, respectively.
Advised Japanese and US clients regarding asset-backed securitizations and other cross-border financings and investments.
Worked on multibillion dollar LNG projects involving companies from the US, Japan, Indonesia, India and Qatar.
Advised clients concerning the legal and financial aspects of the US Government's $12 billion bond-guarantee project-finance program (the "Title XI Program"), pursuant to which companies from Europe and Asia secured financing to build power barges (50-60 MW) and large ocean-going vessels in the US for use in their respective countries (e.g., $134 million in financing to build four product tankers for a Greek company).
Undertook World Bank assignments in Cambodia and Mongolia in 1998-1999 in relation to commercial-law and banking reforms, respectively.

Professional Activities

American Chamber of Commerce, Vietnam
- Vice Chairman of the AmCham Board in Ho Chi Minh City, 2006 and present
- Chairman of the AmCham Board in Ho Chi Minh City and Chairman of AmCham Vietnam, 2007
- Secretary of the AmCham Board in Ho Chi Minh City, 2005
- Governor of the AmCham Board in Ho Chi Minh City, 2004
British Business Group Vietnam
- 2001-present
Canada-Vietnam Business Association
- 2001-present
American Bar Association
- International Section, 1998-2001
Maritime Administrative Bar Association
- Member, 1990-2000

Admissions

Pennsylvania
District of Columbia

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1988

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2007-present
Baker & McKenzie
- International Attorney at Law, 2001-2007
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
- Senior Associate, 1997-2001
U.S. Department of Transportation
- Senior Attorney, 1991-1997
Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, P.C.
- Associate, 1990-1991

Board Memberships

American Chamber of Commerce of Vietnam, HCMC Chapter, 2003-present
- Vice Chairman, 2005-present

Honors and Awards

Listed in Chambers Asia: Asia's Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Global: Global Leading Lawyers for Business, 2008

Selected Publications

Vietnam's Evolving Legal Framework for Clean Development Mechanism ("CDM") Projects Under the Kyoto Protocol, 13th Annual Environmental Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, June 2006 (also published in Clean Energy and Climate Change Newsletter (Global), 21st Edition, August 2006)
Vietnam's Clean Development Mechanism ("CDM") Projects Under the Kyoto Protocol, 12th Annual Environmental Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 2004
Compendium of Cambodia's Commercial Laws, Internet Website funded by the World Bank, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, February 1999

Selected Speaking Engagements

Mr. Muessel's most recent presentation was at the Political Risk and Project Finance Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular speaker on the lecture circuit on issues related to the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement, Oil & Gas projects, cross-border transactions, securities laws and legal ethics (including the FCPA). Excerpts from Mr. Muessel's presentations have been printed in several Vietnamese newspapers and trade publications.