Afzal Karim

Brad Johnson is a partner in the Finance Group of Alston & Bird. Brad is a senior partner in the firm’s trust, agency and asset servicing practice, one of the largest corporate trust focused practices in the country. Brad regularly represents financial institutions which provide corporate trust, custody, loan agency, reporting and administrative services in a wide variety of capital markets transactions, including transactions involving collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), projec...

Ingrid McClintock is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. Ingrid, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ingrid is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Clients trust Mike, both as a litigation attorney and as a Certified Fraud Examiner, with their most sensitive and complex investigations. Mike gets to the bottom of the facts efficiently to help clients navigate challenging legal situations to achieve better-than-expected results in line with their business objectives. Mike is a seasoned investigator with a long track record of helping clients uncover the truth in complex—and sensitive—internal investigations. Mike represents cor...

Bill Macurda is a partner in the Finance Group of Alston & Bird. Bill is the senior partner in the firm’s trust practice, one of the largest trust, agency and asset servicing practices in the country. He represents all major trustees, in a wide variety of product types, including structured finance (CMBS, RMBS, ABS, CDO, CLO and REO), corporate debt, municipal debt, hedge fund transactions, lending and project finance. He advises clients in all roles: trustees, master servicers and ...

Christopher E. Hannum is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Tax Law. Christopher E., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christopher E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Having tried nearly 20 cases to verdict, Ben Chesson is a trial lawyer with a proven record of winning when it matters. He has tried cases for corporate and individual clients in state and federal courts across North Carolina. Ben has also represented clients in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, all appellate courts in North Carolina, and the South Carolina Supreme Court. Whether representing plaintiffs or defendants, Ben understands that while disputes are resolved in courtrooms—cas...

Clay Littlefield, a partner based out of the firm’s Charlotte and New York offices, is a member of the Federal and International Tax group. Clay’s practice concentrates on tax issues confronted by underwriters, issuers and investors participating in structured finance transactions, including mortgage and asset-backed securitizations, REMICs, CLOs, REITs, and similar structures. Clay’s practice also focuses on advising financial institutions on the tax and legal aspects of va...

Caitlin Horne is a member of Moore & Van Allen’s Wealth Transfer group. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in estate planning and probate law, and holds an advanced degree in Taxation with a Certificate in Estate Planning from Georgetown University Law Center. Caitlin’s practice is focused on providing high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational families with sophisticated estate, tax, and busin...

Elizabeth Murphy advises institutional and nonbank lenders on the origination and servicing of conduit and portfolio real estate loans. She is active in the firm’s Women’s Initiative and has been honored by the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy with its 2021 Pro Bono Award. Elizabeth represents senior and mezzanine lenders and borrowers in the origination and servicing of conduit and portfolio loans. She concentrates in originating loans secured by complex collateral structures ...

Mike Connor is a partner in the firm’s IP Litigation Group. He is a recent co-chair of the firm’s national Intellectual Property Practice and a past chair of the national IP Litigation Group. He handles patent infringement and other IP disputes and counseling. Mike has experience in technologies such as cardiovascular implants and other medical devices, mobile telephony, high speed computer networks, financial services, diagnostic imaging, music downloads, robotics, textile machin...