JOHN PICKERING is a Partner in the Birmingham office of Balch & Bingham LLP. He is the leader of the firm's Real Estate, Credit and Commercial Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on real estate and commercial lending, factoring, secured transactions, loan restructurings and real estate development. His clients include large and small banks, commercial finance companies, and other businesses, and he assists them with various types of transactions, procedures, regulatory compliance, and new product development.
John has experience in the following areas:
Commercial Lending: Lender and borrower representation on asset-based credit facilities; form document development and drafting for asset based lending and factoring; UCC Revised Article 9 implementation
Real Estate Lending and Development: Lender, borrower and letter of credit bank representation on real estate loans and municipal bond and tax-free financings for development of multi-family housing (including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and HOME projects), residential subdivisions, churches, warehouses and office buildings; developer representation in land acquisition and subdivision and hotel development.
Leasing: Review and negotiation of office and retail real estate leases
Usury: Multi-state analysis and planning for commercial usury compliance
Payment Systems: New product launch, agreement drafting and dispute resolution (including Check 21, paper checks, credit cards, debit cards, payroll cards, automated clearinghouse transfers, and electronic bill presentment)
Bank Branching: Bank representation in branching applications and issues.
Representative Experience
· Developer representation on new $13,000,000 hotel on the Alabama coast
· $25,000,000 Ex-Im-guaranteed credit facility by bank client to European government to finance purchase of US-manufactured aircraft
· Sale of international loan portfolio by bank
· Acquisition of $80,000,000 portfolio commercial financing company by private equity fund client (credit and compliance issues)
· Acquisition of $20,000,000 portfolio medical receivables finance company (credit and compliance issues)
· Lender representation in working capital lines of credit for healthcare providers backed by Medicare receivables
· Renegotiation by commercial finance company client of $110,000,000 working capital line of credit with group of five lenders
· Launch of new payroll card product for bank client
· Procedure development for bank client for implementation of UCC Revised Article 9
· Letter of credit underwriting and issuance by bank client in taxable note financing for development of $19,000,000 medical office building
· Multiple financings of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit multi-family housing contruction by bank client
Professional Activities
· Alabama State Bar
· The Federalist Society, Past-President, Birmingham Lawyers Chapter; Financial Institutions Practice Group Steering Committee
· American Bar Association, Banking Law Vice Chair, Joint Task Force on Deposit Account Control Agreements
· Alabama Law Institute, Committee on Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
· Founding Board Member, The Westminster School, Birmingham, Alabama
· Ruling Elder, Red Mountain Church, Birmingham, Alabama
· Advisory Member, Administrative Committee, Presbyterian Church in America
· Listed in Super Lawyers
· Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2012
News
March 08, 2007, Commercial Finance Association Reception
Publications
April 2011, Legal Landscape: Current Topics of Interest. Alabama Bankers Magazine
Thomas G. Amason, III, H. Hampton Boles, Daniel R. Hugunine, M. Lee Johnsey, Jr., Richard L. Pearson, John D. Pickering, Jeremy L. Retherford
July 2009, "A Primer on Applying Articles 3 and 4 to the Ten Most Common Check Disputes". The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 70 No. 4; p. 279
Gregory C. Cook, John D. Pickering
Speaking Engagements
August 18, 2008, Birmingham Corporate Banking
April 30, 2008, Commercial and Real Estate Loan Documents: More Than Just Papers
July 01, 2005, Receivables Financing Issues Under UCC Article 9
November 01, 2004, Check 21
October 01, 2004, Check 21
August 01, 2004, Lender Liability and Environmental Issues
February 01, 2004, USA PATRIOT Act
September 01, 2003, Revised Article 9 Topics
April 01, 2003, Contract Formation Under the UCC
February 01, 2003, Revised Article 9 Topics
November 01, 2002, Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement, the War on Drugs and the USA PATRIOT Act
October 01, 2002, Software Licensing
September 01, 2002, Check Processing Law
July 01, 2002, Privacy Law
May 01, 2002, Supreme Court Decision making Process
March 01, 2002, ACH and Electronic Banking
February 01, 2002, Revised Article 9
January 01, 2002, Revised Article 9: Control and Control Agreements
December 01, 2001, Revised Article 9
December 01, 2001, Revised Article 9
November 01, 2001, Revised Article 9
November 01, 2001, Revised Article 9
October 01, 2001, Revised Article 9: Control and Control Agreements
September 01, 2001, Revised Article 9: Control and Control Agreements
August 01, 2001, Revised Article 9
July 01, 2001, Customer Information and Internet Privacy Issues
July 01, 2001, Digital Signatures and Software Licensing Issues
June 01, 2001, Revised Article 9: Control and Control Agreements
May 01, 2001, Privacy Issues
May 01, 2001, Revised Article 9: Control and Control Agreements
March 01, 2001, Non-Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Issues
May 01, 2000, Mechanics of Establishing a Presence on the Internet -- Regulatory, Payment and Tax Issues