Best Lawyers in America for Banking and Finance Law
State
Shane Clanton serves as counsel in the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. Prior to joining Bradley, Shane served as senior deputy general counsel for PNC, general counsel for BBVA USA and chief legal officer for BBVA’s U.S. operations. In those roles, he provided legal advice to counsel in all areas of the company, including regulatory and corporate governance matters, significant complex and class action litigation, and government enforcement-related issues, as...
Drawing on over 20 years of legal experience, Peter Klein advises buyers, sellers, lenders, and borrowers on the full spectrum of legal issues relevant to real estate development. Pete has significant expertise in real estate finance, permitting, land use, project development and construction, and commercial leasing transactions. A significant portion of Pete’s practice focuses on representing developers, lenders, and investors in projects involving historic tax credits and low-income h...
Harley Steffens’ practice, though focused in real estate, has included general corporate transactions, health care, and securities matters. Harley represents commercial real estate developers, public and private corporations, investment companies, family offices, and lending institutions including state and national banks and insurance companies. Development clients include local, regional, and national developers, as well as landlord and tenants in retail, industrial, and office leases...
Scott Willis practices primarily in the areas of commercial transactions, negotiated acquisitions, banking, and commercial real estate acquisitions, development, and financing. Across his career, Scott has consistently held leadership roles in major professional organizations focused on real estate, banking, and transactional law. He is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and serves as secretary of its 2026 Board of Governors . He is also a member of the American C...
Stuart Shulruff has spent his entire career with the firm, concentrating his practice on the representation of lead arrangers in connection with their financing activities. Stuart regularly counsels administrative agents, lead arrangers and other investors in connection with syndicated senior secured cash flow and asset-based financings including mergers and acquisitions and going-private, leveraged buyout and recapitalization transactions. He also represents lead arrangers and asset managers...
Joseph M. Patchen is a Partner at Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP, representing businesses, financial institutions, owners, and professionals in business and real estate matters. His business law practice emphasizes corporation and limited liability company formation, mergers, and succession planning. His commercial real estate representation focuses on finance, construction, leasing, and acquisition. Joe joined CPM in June 1987. He serves as Chair of CPM’s Real Estate Practice Group.
Mark Cress is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, leads the Banking, Finance and Bankruptcy practice group, and co-leads the Health Care practice group. Mark has significant experience and possesses a broad range of knowledge and skills in representing banks and other financial institutions, for profit and not-for-profit entities and individual clients in connection with all forms of financing and business transactions. He also represents parties in creditor-debtor relationships...
Daniel L. Lowry has more than 30 years experience assisting domestic borrowers and lenders in structuring, negotiating, documenting, closing, and administering secured and unsecured credit transactions. His clients principally include domestic financial institutions, national and middle-market companies, sponsors, developers and investors. Mr. Lowry’s extensive experience includes construction loan facilities, oil and gas project financing, real estate development financing, commercial ...
Jeff Cole is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Banking and Finance Law. Jeff practices law in Dallas, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Jeff Cole since 2022. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Jeff Cole is held by other lawyers.
Wayne A. Yaffee is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Banking and Finance Law and Real Estate Law. Wayne A. practices law in Houston, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Wayne A. Yaffee since 2016. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Wayne A. Yaffee is held by other lawyers.
Jason Avery is a member of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and the Natural Resources and Banking and Financial Services Practice Teams. Unlike many other lawyers who concentrate in either a transactional practice or litigation, Jason represents clients in both areas, splitting his time between real estate transactional matters and real estate and mortgage litigation. This hybrid practice allows Jason to think progressively on transactional matters by understanding potential areas ...
Bill Taibl has experience in nearly all areas of financial institution representation and in a wide variety of real estate related matters. He provides counsel on law and regulatory compliance issues related to consumer and operational matters, including Truth in Lending, RESPA and ECOA, required Board policies, branching activities, new product development and subsidiary transactions. He has handled major troubled loan workouts in Wisconsin and around the country. He has been involved in a w...
Franca Harris Gutierrez is Chair of the Financial Institutions Practice. She leads one of the country’s preeminent banking and financial services practices from the firm’s Washington DC office, where she advises domestic and international banks, mortgage servicers, student loan servicers, consumer lending companies and emerging financial services providers on complex regulatory, enforcement and transactional issues. Ms. Harris Gutierrez is an active member of the firm’s Cons...
David R. Keyes represents companies and financial institutions with respect to loans and deposits, structured finance and securitization, project finance, sales of financial assets, energy transactions, check clearing and bank payments systems, letters of credit, bankers acceptances, loan workouts, lender liability, bank insolvencies and related acquisitions, reorganizations and conveyances, and in financial and commercial transactions in the energy, financial institutions, and technology ind...
James Gradel, a partner in the firm's Commercial Finance and Real Estate Finance practices, has more than 25 years of experience representing institutional and private lenders and borrowers in secured and unsecured debt financing transactions. He focuses his practice on senior and mezzanine financing of leveraged buyouts, construction and permanent real estate loans, multilender loan syndications and participations, intercreditor transactions, high yield note offerings, credit enhanced bond f...
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.
