Best Lawyers in America for Banking and Finance Law
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Don joined the firm in 1993 and is the Managing Partner and Chair of the firm’s Commercial Bankruptcy and Creditor’s Rights Practice Group. He practices in the areas of eminent domain, commercial real estate finance, civil litigation, construction law, and business bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. He has provided advice and counsel to clients in commercial real estate financing, loan workouts, construction matters, collections and foreclosures and has successfully represent...
Steven Messina is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. Steven, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
J. Patrick Murphy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law, Commercial Finance Law and Corporate Law. J. Patrick, who practices law in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2005. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which J. Patrick is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Kimberly Zirkle focuses her practice on corporate finance and acquisition transactions. She regularly represents a variety of lenders, private equity portfolio companies, and private companies in corporate finance and acquisition transactions. Kimberly’s experience involves a wide variety of debt structures including: unitranche, ABL, first lien, split lien, second lien, and mezzanine (secured or unsecured). Kimberly primarily represents SBICs, BDCs, lenders and institutional investors ...
Thomas G. Amason III is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. Thomas G., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Thomas G. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Christian George serves as managing partner of Akerman’s Jacksonville office. Christian has a statewide practice focusing on commercial litigation and creditors’ rights in all courts, including bankruptcy court. Christian routinely represents financial institutions and other lenders, shareholders, members and partners in professional corporations, LLCs and partnerships, as well as all types of businesses, individuals and families in all areas of commercial litigation. Additionally...
Mark is the Chair of the firm's Financial Services & Products Group, focusing on the representation of banks and other financial institutions, as well as real estate investment vehicles, such as REITs. Mark assists these companies with private and public securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, underwritings, corporate formations and restructurings, recapitalizations, corporate governance and a host of related complex regulatory issues. In the current economic cycle, Mark has worke...
Donald Pfundstein is the former legal counsel to the New Hampshire State Senate. He continues to be listed in Woodward/White Inc.’s The Best Lawyers in America® , and was named by Best Lawyers as Concord's 2013 "Lawyer of the Year" in Government Relations. He has practiced law for more than 30 years. Previously, Don served as the firm's president and managing director. Don’s practice focuses on the regulated industries. He regularly appears before various executive agencies in...
Doug Waldorf is a shareholder of Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A. and has practiced law in Southwest Florida since 1987, including more than a decade as in-house counsel for SunTrust Bank. He is board certified in real estate by The Florida Bar since 2002 and listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in both Banking and Finance Law (2016-2017) and Real Estate Law (2016-2017), as well as in Super Lawyers©. Mr. Waldorf represents institutional and private equity lenders in structuring, docume...
Howard Hagen practices primarily in banking law. For over 25 years he has counseled banks in virtually every Iowa county on such issues as regulation, acquisitions and various corporate and shareholder matters that have confronted banks in both good and troubled times. Howard also has served as counsel to the Community Bankers of Iowa for more than 20 years. He currently serves as a member of the American Bar Association Banking Law Committee. Earlier in his career, Howard served in the publi...
Kim Brown’s practice focuses in the area of commercial transactions, including commercial lending, real estate finance and development, leasing, public and private finance, and condominium development and conversions. Mr. Brown is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law with honors. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Business with high honors and was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma national business honor society. Mr. Brown is a member of the Nashv...
Robert Flowers focuses his practice on corporate and regulatory representation of small to large regional and national financial institution franchises and privately held companies. He counsels clients on M&A transactions involving both bank and non-bank entities, as well as provides representation on securities offerings, capital planning, and corporate restructuring, and lending matters for bank and non-bank entities. He also advises financial institutions and financial service provider...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.