At every step of the way, Machlin, 48, and about ten other Mayer Brown lawyers have navigated the ACP’s complex legal underpinnings. As the government agency set up to run the canal after its 1999 transfer from United States control, the ACP is governed by Panamanian constitutional law, national legislation, and its own internal regulations. But it’s run much like a private company, with an independent balance sheet and board of directors. (The chairman of the ACP board is a Cabinet-level position in Panama.)
The ACP is not your typical business in growth mode, though. The board had to take expansion plans to Panama’s president, legislature, and citizens for approval. (More than 70 percent of Panamanians voted for the plan in an October 2006 referendum.) “You couldn’t really have a higher-profile, more politically sensitive transaction than this,” Machlin says.
