Offering legal audit of fringe, delinquent and problem loans and leases to prepare for bank examinations and uncover weaknesses in a company's portfolio that require legal strategies and a budget to proceed with legal workouts,bankruptcy, litigation and recovery

$3MM general practice and commercial law firm.Brought Lamm Group Creditors’ Rights department to FWH&L; provide advice, litigation, and transactional support in loan workouts, foreclosures, delinquent loans/leases, bankruptcy, etc. Counsel clients on regulatory/compliance and negotiation, draft, and documentation of loan/lease portfolio sales. Prepare documentation of SBA-guaranteed 7(a) loans and 504 programs.DOCUMENTATION & REGULATORYRecognized subject matter expert and nationally respected thought leader in regulatory and compliance: Published articles, gave presentations, served on panels, and wrote opinion letters. Handled consumer protection law claims (Fair Credit Reporting, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Fair Debt Collection Practices, real estate settlement).Advised lenders on/documented $100MM+ in SBA-guaranteed funding since 2011. Counseled clients on and structured purchase orders, lease/asset purchase agreements, and syndicated leases; advised on consent agreements, equipment finance servicing agreements, and non-recourse assignment provisions.LITIGATIONNamed Sovereign Bank special counsel to probe alleged fraud in a $500MM bank participating revolver loan to an equipment lessor and business credit company, netting sizeable recovery.Retained by Wells Fargo Equip. Finance to devise breach-of-presentation/breach-of-warranty theories in lender-to-lessor, non-recourse sale of master equipment lease schedules; prevailed over bankruptcy trustee, who sought recovery of $10MM in payments necessitated by collateral’s minor value compared to total paid.Recovered $10MM debt for Community Bank: Determined priority of lender’s secured status in consigned collection accounts owned by creditors other than borrower vs. secured status in borrower-owned accounts. Appeared in 200 contested hearings under PA’s fast-track ex parte Fuentes rule for Seizure Order. Handled 500+ mortgage foreclosures/ejectments of real properties since 2009.

$2MM niche law firm focused on financial, regulatory, and compliance matters, creditors’ rights, commercial loan documentation, equipment leasing, bankruptcy, and complex workouts.Formed Lamm Group following Lamm Rubenstone dissolution, leading spinoff of its financial services department (creditors’ rights, equipment leasing/finance, and lender/creditor documentation, including SBA). Negotiated and drafted equipment leases, loans, and collateral agreements for an exclusive client list of equipment lessors, middle-market banks, asset-based lenders, finance companies, SBA groups, and factoring companies. Handled commercial creditors’ rights litigation, including mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy, and delinquent loan and lease enforcement. DOCUMENTATION & COMPLIANCEIntensified focus on regulatory/compliance issues (e.g., Dodd-Frank, Reg B, Reg M, Reg Z); published articles, delivered presentations, and wrote Opinion letters on the regulatory consumer influence over small-ticket leasing.Provided expertise regarding Article 9 (secured transactions) and Article 2A (leases), leveraging broad experience in personal property lien priority rights/disputes and remarketing/consignment issues. Played key advisory role to regional banks pursuing buildout of captive equipment leasing companies; counseled clients on licensing requirements, motor vehicle titling/finance, and dealer licensing. Connected banks with client leasing companies, and prepared M&A, joint venture, and platform documents.LITIGATIONNetted an 85% win ratio and fee recovery rate over 175+ cases (total exposure up to $20MM), with most cases centering around lien priority rights.Prevailed in bankruptcy litigation in an adversary trial over disputed Factorer’s sale of invoices vs. loan and subordinated priority.Frequently engaged where rights in portfolios, servicing agreements (including private label), and assignments without recourse present lender’s issues in lien priority and perfection.

$7MM legal firm (corporate, syndication, creditors’ rights [CR], fraud, and contracts documentation, including asset-based, C&I, SBA, warehouse, and PDIC loans) for banking, equipment leasing, and financial services industries.Built, led, and grew CR group, winning business of high-profile lenders/equipment lessors ($250K-$100MM deals in secured lending, equipment leasing, asset-based finance, loan workouts, bankruptcy, bank/lender documentation). Managed cases/transactions/docum. processes for SBA federally backed guaranty/secondary market sale (including servicing rights/fees). Directed business operations/performance, budgeting, cash flow mgmt., debt service, HR; managed/integrated Corporate, Litigation, Estates, Medical Malpractice.BUSINESS GROWTH/PERFORMANCEGrew firm from $4.2MM/12 attorneys to $7MM/22 attorneys. Integrated Corporate, Litigation, and Estates practice groups. Expanded CR group from $450K/1 FTE to $2.8MM/7 FTEs by 2013—35% of firm revenue. Approved counsel “short list” in PA for BoA, WFargo, TD Bank, etc.CORPORATE/DOCUMENTATIONIn-house counsel for Fleet Advantage ($150MM innovator in truck fleet bus. analytics, equip. finance/syndication/servicing, and asset mgmt./remarketing). Saved $150K+ in legal fees annually.Negotiated/docum. tractor-trailer lease and syndic. prog./servicing agreements between Fleet, syndic. banks, and end users.Led $50MM auto transport deal with adversarial in-house counsel unaware of Article 2A. Negotiated changed master lease terms for syndic. approval/bank group sale.Oversaw $1MM-$100MM international deals, leveraging $80MM warehouse credit line. LITIGATIONSuccessfully concluded lender-borrower disputes via negotiation/mediation/settlement/litigation. Authored workout strategies for $250K-$25MM commercial bank loans/equip. leases.Pioneered initiation of litigation in PA, transfer of judgments to debtor jurisdictions, and acquisition of ex parte Fuentes Writs of Seizure (70+ hearings w/o service).

$50MM small-ticket leasing company operating in 35 states.Coordinated the $35MM liquidation of the company’s equipment assets portfolio. Handled collection litigation in-house and successfully challenged 13 independent bank financings through individual bank lines of credit secured by “bundled” equipment leases limiting banks’ lien perfection rights and unraveled each lender’s lease collateral in portfolio with traditional intercreditor agreement. Managed national outside counsel litigation and registration of Pennsylvania foreign judgments. Oversaw a team of 25-30 personnel. Reduced outside legal fees by $300K annually.

$250MM trailer lease company (XTRA Lease).Built legal dept. as 1st in-house counsel; formed organiz. structure, reporting matrix, and processes to support lease/finance business growth and pursue debt remedies. Negot./docum. manufact. equip. sales orders (MSOs), long- and short-term rental leases,, real property leases, etc. Led workout solutions/pleadings, oversaw outside counsel, served as employment counsel for hiring/performance issues. Developed/managed 15-20.DOCUMENTATIONSecured/docum. $500MM bank group equip. financing revolver loan. Negotiated financing for A-rated private family group loans, global bank syndicates, and conduits of large-ticket leases ($10MM-$25MM).Averted $25MM losses and eliminated exposure potential (hundreds of millions) on erroneous changes to railroad co. equip. lease. Created docum. group; ended unlawful changes of lease/installment sale contract lang./terms; developed team to manage full contract cycle.REGULATORY/COMPLIANCEDoubled Strick size to 53 sites; leveraged knowledge of fleet regis./titling, motor vehicle laws/regulations, equip. leasing/finance, and GATT.Bettered protection of lessor interests: Filed UCC precautionary statements on long-term leases. Facilitated cross-border NA equipment lease/sale financing in CAN/MEX. Modified stock lease to comply w/province legalities/regulatory (leasing licenses, titling, dual-language registration). Protected Strick personal property: Initiated policy compliance/enforcement for CAN Personal Property Act and MEX creditors’ rights.LITIGATIONDeveloped finance deal that recovered $1.5MM, added $650K in new sales, and preserved relationship. Financed obligations as new debt collateralized with parental guarantee.Saved $500K-$700K yearly in outside litigation; built national/state collection/commercial litigation practice and federal bankruptcy motion practice. Prevailed w/o loss in litigating lessor right to register foreign judgment by confession in most U.S. states.