W. James Flynn

Doak Barnhardt engages in a broad range of finance-related areas, with an emphasis on senior bank debt and syndicated loan finance. Doak has considerable experience in corporate and commercial lending arrangements, including secured lending, acquisition and recapitalization finance, subordinated debt transactions, and work-out and restructure. Further, he represents a number of public and private companies as borrowers under syndicated credit facilities. Since joining the firm in 1984, he has...

Since beginning her legal career at Bradley, Avery Simmons has developed a diverse practice that spans practice groups, states, and the litigation and compliance sectors. This varied experience grants Avery a unique understanding of her clients, on both the legal and operational sides. Avery regularly represents financial services and mortgage company clients with compliance matters, including risk management and remediation, state investigations, regulatory compliance, and operational implem...

Paul Murphy has over three decades of experience with structured finance transactions involving a wide-range of loans, leases, contracts and receivables. Paul has represented issuers, underwriters, financial guarantors and trustees in both public and private transactions, including shelf registrations and commercial paper conduits. His extensive experience with transactions involves: Railcars Equipment leases Chassis leases Intermodal container leases Trade receivables Commercial and resident...

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 ...

J. René Toadvine maintains a nationwide practice that focuses on representing management in all facets of employee benefits matters, including: Employee benefits tax issues The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and benefits planning Executive compensation Employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions Bank finance and ERISA issues in securitizations René designs and drafts all types of employee benefits and executive compensation plans with adherence to compliance r...

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...

Jackie Shannon focuses his practice on real estate and general commercial matters, including the review, negotiation and preparation of contracts, leases, conveyance documents, easements, financing documents and other commercial documentation. Jackie's clients include a variety of parties involved in the real estate industry as well as other commercial clients involved in transactions with a real estate component. He works with clients of all sizes including real estate developers, buyers, se...

Sarah Negus is a labor and employment member with experience counseling employers on policies and procedures, personnel decisions, and other workplace challenges. She also litigates employment disputes in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. Sarah concentrates her practice in all areas of employment law. She has broad experience in discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with...

Jack M. Knight, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Litigation - Banking and Finance. Jack M., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jack M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ben Pleune is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group, with extensive experience litigating patents in U.S. district courts, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and before the International Trade Commission. Ben has also been involved with numerous patent validity challenges before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board. Ben’s practice has focused on a variety of industries, including bar code scanners, image sensors, pharmaceuticals, telecomm...