Heather Ryan

Mark Kelly is a member of the Corporate Transactions & Securities Group in the firm’s Charlotte office. He concentrates his practice in the areas of public offerings, private financings, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. Mr. Kelly leads the firm’s private equity practice and has worked with private equity firms and their portfolio companies since the late 1980s in equity and debt financings, leveraged buyouts and exit transactions, including mergers with ...

Tom Mitchell has served as Managing Partner and Chair of the Management Committee since 2018 and is a nationally recognized finance lawyer with over 30 years of experience representing financial institutions. Tom serves in multiple leadership positions at the firm, including as Managing Partner, Chair of the Management Committee, and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. He is also an active member of the firm’s Inclusion & Belonging Committee. Tom served previously as head of ...

Todd King is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Todd, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Todd is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Richard Simons regularly represents developers, real estate investment trusts, investors, landlords and tenants in complex commercial real estate transactions. Richard's experience includes acquisitions, dispositions, financing, joint venture formation, large-scale office, industrial and retail leasing, and advising on condominium matters, land planning and real estate components of mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Richard practiced with a firm in Columbia, South C...

MacKenzie C. Henry is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. MacKenzie C., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which MacKenzie C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Bernard Clark is experienced in all types of sophisticated tax planning and controversy work, representing large corporations and tax-exempt organizations mostly at the federal level. He has participated in obtaining numerous rulings from the Internal Revenue Service involving tax accounting and acquisition issues. Clients trust him to offer practical and creative solutions for a broad array of tax planning and controversy matters. Corporate mergers and recapitalizations Planning involving is...

Patrick Hayden is a partner in the Global Finance & Debt Products Group. His practice focuses on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securitization, and he has represented global financial institutions as indenture trustee in negotiating and closing hundreds of CDO transactions, including CLOs, commercial real estate CDOs and synthetic CDOs. He currently represents indenture trustees in connection with the administration of CDO transactions and has extensive experience with questions and dis...

Micheal L. Littlejohn Jr. founded Littlejohn Law, PLLC , based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He primarily deals with civil rights and employment law issues, assisting clients throughout North Carolina. Mr. Littlejohn became licensed to practice in North Carolina in 2015 and handles cases in the federal district courts, including the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, and Eastern District of North Carolina. Mr. Littlejohn has expe...

Ryan Smith is co-head of the Investment Team and a member of the Management Committee. For over 20 years, he has built a practice that represents clients on a variety of complex leveraged financings, senior and junior capital lending transactions, private equity and other equity investments, and corporate transactions. Ryan’s primary focus is in finance and equity investment transactions. As counselor to lenders and passive and controlling stakeholders, he represents a variety of financ...

Skott Smith brings considerable experience to his clients in the areas of retail, office and mixed-use development, leasing and financing. In this capacity, Skott assists developers, owners, tenants, lenders, and investors in a variety of transactions: He recently handled the development of a downtown office tower adjacent to and part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC He has handled the acquisition, financing, development and disposition of numerous large office, retail and resident...