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Sylvester “Syl” Orsi is a corporate attorney with more than 20 years of experience representing both public and private companies in complex international corporate and financial transactions, including mergers & acquisitions, private equity, project finance, public offerings and private placements of securities, corporate governance, ethics and compliance, and dispute resolution.

As a former Chief Executive Officer of a private equity-backed company and a former public accountant with Big Four experience (CPA certificate earned), Syl offers clients a unique combination of legal, business and financial skills. With more than ten years of his career in the European emerging markets, Syl is adept at negotiating and managing complex international and domestic transactions and understanding how legal issues impact clients’ overall strategy and tactics.

In 1992, Syl received a Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. During law school, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as Executive Editor of the Nebraska Law Review. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1986 and has received executive education at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Syl is licensed to practice law in Nebraska.

Education

  • University of Nebraska at Lincoln, J.D., 1992
  • University of Nebraska at Lincoln, B.S., 1986
  • The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Executive Education

Professional & Civic Affiliations

  • Nebraska Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, The District 108 Community Betterment Project, Inc.
  • Advisory Group, Downtown Omaha 2030 Master Plan
  • Director, Invest Nebraska Corporation
  • Member, Advisory Panel for Green in the City
  • Winner, Omaha by Design’s 2009 Neighborhood Leaf Award

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Nebraska, 1992

Selected Practice Highlights

  • Representing the seller in a $140 million sale of a Polish telecommunications company; the seller of a $45 million interest in a Hungarian telecommunications company; the seller in a $16 million sale of a Polish telecommunications company; the incumbent operator in a $16 million joint venture of a pan-European cable television provider; the NYSE-listed acquirer in the $15 million merger with another property and casualty insurance company; and the buyer in a $10 million telecommunications asset acquisition
  • Representing clients in a $65 million subordinated debenture offering; a $20 million convertible private equity investment; a $30 million project finance facility; a $50 million term credit facility and vendor finance contracts
  • Identifying an opportunity for and led a tax reorganization that involved a Dutch holding company, a disregarded foreign subsidiary, a US public company and several other US corporations. The strategy saved in excess of $15 million in taxes
  • Leading a team of lawyers, and expert and fact witnesses that led to a recovery of $49 million in damages for breach of contract following a London-based international arbitration
  • Representing agents in agreements respecting the monetization of commodities under USDA and USAID programs in Afghanistan, El Salvador, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger and Senegal
  • Representing manufacturers in sales representative and distribution agreements throughout the world


1700 Farnam Street | Suite 1500 | Omaha, NE 68102 | 402.344.0500