Benny C. Pace joined Adams and Reese in 2011 as the Banking and Finance Team Leader in Texas, practicing in the firm's Houston office.
Benny has been practicing law since 1974, serving as the head of the banking and finance section at several Texas law firms. During his career, Benny has successfully represented clients in loans of all sizes, including more than 100 lending transactions involving amounts between $50 million and $4 billion.
He represents foreign and domestic banks, investment funds, borrowers and savings and loan associations in secured and unsecured lending transactions relating to a wide range of financing including syndicated transactions, merger and acquisition lending, energy lending (including oil and gas loans, loans secured by producing properties; exploration and production loans; energy service company loans; mezzanine loans; drilling rig loans; refinery loans; ethanol plant loans; chemical company loans; pipeline loans; loans to power companies; loans to energy trading companies; construction loans of various energy-related projects); loans involving Native-American properties; loan restructurings and workouts (including foreclosures of both real and personal property); lender liability matters; real estate financings (including acquisitions, development, construction financing, permanent financing, real estate loan restructuring and workouts, and building loans); financing acquisitions of stock and assets; various equity financing transactions including recapitalization of banks and subordinated capital debenture financing; inventory and receivables financing; marine financing; barge financing; bank acquisition and bank stock loan workouts; asset based loans; project financings; securitized loans; venture capital funding; FMHA loans; airplane loans; and railroad car loans.
Benny has experience in banking regulatory work including the formation of one bank and multi-bank holding companies; purchase and sale of controlling and minority ownership interest in banks and bank holding companies including compliance with regulatory requirements concerning changes of control and bank mergers. His banking practice also includes preparation of proxy statements for bank stockholder meetings; advice concerning conduct at such meetings; advice concerning preparation of stockholders' control agreements such as voting agreements; experience with Regulations O, T and U; bank and savings and loan white collar crime; director and officer liability; Texas escheat law; and FIRREA matters. He also practices in energy, real estate and business transactions.
Benny credits his single greatest accomplishment in his legal practice to the transaction when he closed an extremely complex energy loan where he represented the agent bank which at the time was the largest bank in the state of Texas, and it was the largest loan they had ever made as the lead lender.
Benny's speeches, presentations and publications include:
· Over 20 speeches on lender liability and loan workouts
· Presentations on oil and gas lending
· Presentations on Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code
· Presentation on "Convention on International Interests in Mobil Equipment and Protocol Thereto on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment"
· Co-Editor of Texas Cases and Materials on Workman's Compensation by Professor John L. Cox, Jr.
· Writer of Chapter IX of The Law of Texas Medical Malpractice by Jim M. Perdue
· Writer of chapter entitled "Nondegradation" of Federal Influence on Land Resource Management by Professor John Mixon
· Author of comment entitled "Injunction of Revenue Ruling 73-530; Distortion of Income Test for Deducting Costs of Prepaid Cattle Fee Rejected"
Benny is a former member of the military as a United States Air Force Officer from 1969-1972. He was voted outstanding junior officer of his squadron in 1971. He served as an assistant hospital administrator at the United States Air Force Hospital at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas.
Benny received his bachelor of arts in 1969 from The University of Texas at Austin with a major in mathematics and a minor in accounting, and his JD in 1975 from The University of Houston Law Center, where he was the Casenote and Comment Editor of the Houston Law Review and a member of the Barons Honor Society. He also received the American Jurisprudence Award in Trusts and Wills, was an Honor Court Judge, President of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity, and recipient of the Fulbright & Crooker Scholarship Award.
Benny is the former co-chairman of the Houston Touchdown Club's annual UT vs. A&M Golf Shootout, former chairman of the Cancer Counseling, Inc.'s Golf Tournament, former member of the American Heart Association's Golf Committee and Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year Award Banquet Committee, former member of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Annual International Cup Polo Ball Committee, and a former member of the Boy Scouts of America Annual Golf Tournament Committee.
Benny was a football letterman as a quarterback at the University of Texas. Preceding his college football career, he was the only 5-sport letterman in school history and an All-American quarterback at Sweetwater High School in Sweetwater, Texas.
In his spare time, Benny enjoys spending time with his children, grandchildren, and his wife, Patricia Mahon Pace, who is the Executive Director of Elementary Administrative Services for Spring Branch I.S.D. (all 32 elementary principals report to her). Benny has three children and six granddaughters. Benny enjoys charity work, sports, especially football, basketball and golf (0-4 handicap when playing), coaching kids in sports, reading and attending church.
Among the people Benny has always admired is former President Abraham Lincoln because he saw a wrong and made it right even though many people strongly disagreed with him. Benny admired President Lincoln's perseverance - even when President Lincoln failed in business twice, had a nervous breakdown after his fiancé died, and lost six major elections, he never gave up and went on to win the Presidential election.
Professional Memberships / Affiliations
State Bar of Texas: Sections - Real Estate, Probate and Trust; American Indian Law; Oil, Gas and Mineral Law; and Entertainment Law
Houston Bar Association: Sections - Oil, Gas and Mineral Law; and Real Estate Law
American Bar Association
Houston Touchdown Club, director and president-elect
Greater Houston Area Texas Business Network, former chairman
First City Bank Northeast, former director
Texas American Bank/Southwest, former director
Texas Longhorn Hall of Fame Council, member
Cancer Counseling Inc., former advisory director
Spring Branch Education Foundation Golf Committee, former member
American Heart Association
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Touchdown Club of Houston, President
Other Distinctions
AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
H-Texas Magazine® - Top Lawyers, 2006
Announcements
High-Profile, Banking Attorney Benny Pace Joins Adams and Reese, 7/20/2011