Mehtap Cevher Conti is an associate in the New York office of White & Case and concentrates on asset finance and project finance transactions. Her experience includes secured debt transactions, export credit agency-supported transactions, revolving credit facilities, portfolio acquisitions, joint ventures, asset-backed structured financings and securitizations.

In the aviation industry, Mehtap has led teams representing Virgin Blue Airlines and Virgin Blue International Airlines of Australia, Pegasus Airlines of Turkey, National Air Services of Saudi Arabia and Aviation Capital Group Corp. (ACG) in connection with US Ex-Im Bank-supported financings of Boeing 777 aircraft, Boeing 737 aircraft and Hawker 750 aircraft. She has also represented ACG in connection with its US$2.7 billion acquisition of Boullioun Aviation Services, including a portfolio of 102 aircraft. Mehtap has completed the sale and the purchase and lease financing of corporate aircraft. In restructurings of leveraged lease finance transactions, she has advised numerous lenders following the bankruptcies of Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines.

Mehtap was the lead associate in representing financial institutions in connection with senior secured financing of gaming equipment for a number of casino resorts to be constructed by federally recognized Indian tribes. She has broad experience in representing borrowers in secured term facilities, secured revolving credit facilities and leveraged lease financings.

Her asset finance experience in the capital markets includes leading the team representing ACG in connection with the issuance of US Ex-Im Bank guaranteed notes in the capital markets in an offering that was exempt from registration requirements under Section 3(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. Mehtap also advised ACG in connection with the offering of US$1.9 billion senior Rule 144A bonds, secured by a portfolio of 74 aircraft on lease to 45 different airlines in 29 countries. She has represented issuers in connection with unsecured senior debt private placements in the capital markets and the initial purchasers of senior secured notes financing recycling plants and gaming facilities.

In the energy industry, she represented Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Bayerische Landesbank in the project financing of a 300 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Washington and Oregon, CIT Group Inc. in the construction financing of a 46 MW gas-fired power plant in California and the project financing of a 20 million gallon per year ethanol project in Nebraska, and Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund in the project financing of a 120 MW gas-fired peaking power plant in California.

Mehtap's project finance experience in the capital markets includes the representation of Credit Suisse First Boston as the lead initial purchaser of US$380 million of senior secured Rule 144A bonds issued in connection with the limited recourse financing of a portfolio of seven wind farms located in six different states and US$465 million of senior secured Rule 144A bonds issued in connection with the limited recourse financing of a portfolio of nine wind farms located in seven different states.

In addition, Mehtap also advised companies and manufacturers in forming joint ventures for a range of transactions, including investing in real estate funds, providing aircraft servicing and developing a new aircraft engine.

In June 2004, the Firm's Pro Bono Committee recognized Mehtap with a Pro Bono Award for negotiating and drafting a joint scholarship program for the Turkish Education Foundation in conjunction with the French Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

Bars and Courts
New York State Bar, 2003
Massachusetts State Bar, 2002

Education
JD, Boston College Law School, cum laude, 2002
BA, Economics, Koç University, Istanbul, with Honors, 1998

Languages
English
Turkish

Citizenship
Turkey
United States