Maria M. Livanos

Maria M. Livanos is Senior Counsel and a member of Dentons' Agency & Trust sector and the Capital Markets practice. Her primary practice area is Capital Markets Law.

She represents major financial institutions in their roles as trustees, securities administrators, master servicers, collateral administrators, collateral agents, calculation agents, escrow agents, paying agents and backup servicers in matters involving CLO transactions, whole business transactions, aircraft securitisations, esoteric financings, asset and mortgage-backed securitisations, project financings and corporate debt issuances.

She has been recognised by Chambers USA for Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitization: Trustee Counsel since 2021. Following five consecutive years of Band 1 rankings (2021–2025), she is now recognised as a Nationwide Senior Statesperson, with sources calling her "the leading trustees' counsel in the market."

Her recognition includes being ranked Senior Statesperson for Capital Markets: Securitization: Trustee Counsel – Nationwide (Chambers USA, 2026); ranked Band 1 for Capital Markets: Securitization: Trustee Counsel – Nationwide (Chambers USA, 2021–2025); ranked Highly Regarded for Capital Markets: Structured Finance and Securitization – New York and US (National) (IFLR1000, 2023–2026); ranked Band 1 for Capital Markets: Securitization: Trustee Counsel – USA (Chambers Global, 2022–2024); ranked Band 2 for Capital Markets: Securitization: Whole Business – Nationwide (Chambers USA, 2023–2024) and – USA (Chambers Global USA, 2023–2024); recognised in IFLR1000 2023–2024 Capital Markets: Structured Finance and Securitization; named to Crain's New York Business' Notable Women in Law (2020); and recommended for Structured Finance by The Legal 500 (2020).

She is an active participant in industry groups such as the Structured Finance Association (SFA) Trustee Committee. She has spoken on topics including "LIBOR Fallbacks – Questions (and Some Answers)" and "LIBOR – The Road Forward" at the Corporate Trust Committee of the American Bankers Association.

She was formerly with the law firm of Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP. She holds a JD from New York University School of Law (1983), where she was on the editorial staff of the Journal of International Law and Politics, and a BA, cum laude, from Smith College (1980).