Banking and Commercial Lending

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Our Banking and Commercial Lending Practice Group navigates the constantly shifting business environment to provide comprehensive legal counsel to the full spectrum of financial institutions. We represent lenders of all types, including commercial banks, institutional lenders, finance companies and insurance companies, as well as private lenders. We also act as counsel to borrowers in all phases of the loan acquisition process, from commitment to closing. 

The team maintains a flexible and efficient approach to financial transactions, blending our experience in many vertical industries with the broader, cross-disciplinary experience that is often needed for larger, multifaceted capital transactions. Our lawyers bring additional value to such deals by streamlining negotiations and simplifying the loan documentation process.

Counsel to Lenders

Many of the nation’s leading lending institutions turn to us for timely and cost-effective legal services in connection with their commercial lending needs, including real estate, asset-based, construction, revolving credit and term loans. Our lawyers are experienced with a wide variety of commercial finance transactions — including both secured and unsecured debt financing — and provide strategic advice throughout the loan process, from pre-commitment loan structuring to loan documentation and related credit documents.

When necessary, we work with the Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights and Commercial Law practice group to represent lenders in the workout and/or restructuring of delinquent financings, as well as with the foreclosure of real property securing loans. Our litigators also have decades of experience defending against lender liability claims and related defenses raised by debtors. We have successfully represented the retail departments of various financial institutions in more than 125 cases involving unauthorized transactions and other banking issues under the Uniform Commercial Code, Articles 3 (Negotiable Instruments) and Article 4 (Bank Deposits and Collections). Examples include forged endorsement schemes, forgery makers’ signature schemes, check kiting, identity theft, phishing schemes, violations of the midnight deadline rule, account ownership disputes and fraudulent accounts. The group also serves as national counsel for insurance clients in unauthorized transaction cases.

As lender’s counsel, we have taken a leadership role in numerous significant lending transactions. The team served as lead counsel for a consortium of banks in the takeover of one of the largest condominium projects on the East Coast and represented one of the nation’s largest banks in resolving tax, environmental, bankruptcy, title, zoning and lending issues related to the restructuring of a major real estate loan.

Equipped with a thorough understanding of the entire financing process, our multi-disciplinary team finds creative, time-saving solutions for our lenders’ complex business problems.

Counsel to Borrowers

We provide knowledgeable counsel to borrowers in all aspects of loan transactions, including the negotiation of initial term sheets, and drafting and revising loan agreements and related documents through closing. The group’s substantial background in this area helps borrowers secure the working capital they need to run their businesses and seize strategic opportunities.

Recognizing that legal costs are a critical component of any loan, we streamline deals by collaborating with our colleagues in the related disciplines of real estate, environmental law, tax, bankruptcy and intellectual property. The breadth of experience across our teams offers borrowers a one-stop shop for all their transactional needs.