Best Lawyers in America for Securitization and Structured Finance Law

As co-head of Katten's highly ranked structured finance and securitization practice, Howard Schickler offers clients insights formed from more than 30 years of experience representing private equity funds, special situation funds, specialty finance companies and the full range of players in structured finance transactions. Howie takes care to understand his clients' businesses, having worked with some all the way from the launch of their businesses through their growth cycle, including merger...

Pat Sargent focuses on structured finance, corporate securities and business transactions, including extensive experience in securitization of diverse asset types, collateralized mortgage obligations, pass-through certificates, bond financings and various project and international finance transactions. He has represented a national credit rating agency in commercial mortgage and asset-backed securitizations and also represents issuers, underwriters, investors and servicers in public and priva...

Robert McConnell is a member of the firm’s transaction and real estate practice groups and has substantial experience in commercial financing transactions representing lenders, borrowers and developers. Mr. McConnell represents clients undertaking a wide variety of commercial and residential real estate development activities, including residential, retail and office condominium developments, low-income housing projects utilizing tax credit financing, subdivision and mixed-use community...

Scott K. Weiss is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation, Securitization and Structured Finance Law and Venture Capital Law. Scott K., who practices law in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been recognized since 2009. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Scott K. is held by other top lawyers in the same geograph...

Janette A. McMahan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Securitization and Structured Finance Law. Janette A., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Janette A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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 ...

Rex R. Veal is the chair of the Corporate, Finance and Real Estate department of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP. He regularly represents investors in CMBS and CDOs and servicers in the servicing-related aspects of structured finance transactions, as well as the purchase and sale of servicing rights. Mr. Veal has significant experience in the liquidation, restructuring and pooling and servicing of non-performing financial assets, including structured commercial mortgage loans. He represents investors...

Ed Dobbs is the founder and architect of the Parker Hudson commercial finance, debt restructuring, and ADR neural services practice areas. As a result of his focus in these practice areas over his 47-year career, Ed has acquired considerable knowledge about commercial matters generally and developed extensive transactional and litigation experience. As a commercial lending attorney, Ed represents some of the largest financial institutions in the country in structuring and documenting commerci...

Jim Smith is a founding partner of Smith Hurst, PLC. Jim’s practice experience is extensive and spans the full range of business advisory and transactional law. He routinely counsels companies across diverse industries in a myriad of business matters including capital raising, advising Boards of Directors, senior management, executives and controlling shareholders regarding governance and fiduciary duty matters, compliance with regulatory obligations, ordinary course of business contrac...

Audrey L. Sung is a partner in Holland & Knight's San Francisco office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. Ms. Sung practices general corporate and commercial law, with particular emphasis on asset-based financing for assets ranging from commercial jet aircraft to turboprop aircraft and from oil drilling rigs to private yachts. She represents financial institutions as well as borrowers and operators in a variety of financing structures, ranging from term loans to revolving credi...

David Otero’s national practice focuses on bankruptcy and tax litigation and counseling. A partner in both the Tax and Bankruptcy & Reorganization Practice Groups, his clients include Citigroup, Capital One, Nissan, Santander Bank, Sears, Synchrony Financial, U.S. Bank, Venus Fashion, and professional athletes. In his tax practice, David advises multistate businesses on state and local tax controversy matters throughout the United States. He represents institutions financing both cr...

John Giordano is regularly involved in complex business-related transactions. Mr. Giordano’s practice encompasses a broad range of areas, including federal and state securities law, corporate finance, mergers, acquisitions and tax law. Mr. Giordano has substantial experience in counseling clients, including start-up enterprises, in obtaining capital and advising clients about obstacles to successfully growing a business.