Morris Polich & Purdy LLP has extensive expertise in representing banks and other financial institutions throughout California and Nevada in a range of corporate, real estate, lending, and collection issues. The lawyers in our banking group work closely with partners in related practice areas, including our corporate, real estate and litigation groups.
A CROSS SECTION OF OUR EXPERIENCE
Our financial institution attorneys advise clients with respect to many of their corporate and business issues, some of which are unique to financial institutions. Our lawyers have handled bank and holding company formations, issues related to corporate structure and management, ownership and control, purchase and sales of assets, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Our practice in this area also includes:
- Preparation of loan documents, including loan participation and work-out agreements
- Board and shareholder meetings
- Disposition of OREO properties
- Securities, including debt and equity offerings, stock repurchases, and buy-sell agreements
- Purchase, sale, and lease of branch and headquarters properties
- UCC and common law issues related to borrowers and depositors
- Letters of credit
Our litigation and creditors’ remedies attorneys represent clients on issues extending from demand letters to pre-litigation workouts and other provisional remedies. We handle these issues through litigation and appeal, as well as mediation and arbitration. We have a variety of lender liability experience, including defending financial institutions in disputes involving:
- Lender liabilities generally
- Debt collection actions, including:
- Loan workouts
- Foreclosure on secured/unsecured real and personal property
- UCC and lien priority issues
- Debtors in bankruptcy
- Competing claims of bonding agencies
- Claims arising out of the purchase and sale contracts
- Claims arising out of transaction-related services provided by banks, including escrow and title services
- Claims involving consumer protection issues, including Truth in Lending
- Defamation claims based on disclosure of loan-related information
- Customer fraud issues, including:
- Honoring checks with forged or inadequate signatures
- Phishing attacks on depositors
Our employment attorneys handle all aspects of financial institutions’ employment relationships, for senior as well as non-management employees. These include:
- Hiring and termination
- Agreements with employees, consultants, and management
- Salary and bonus issues
- Stock option plans
- Employment and discrimination issues
- Staff handbooks
Services provided by our privacy and data security attorneys include:
- Training for compliance and audit responses
- Reviewing privacy and data security procedures to assure the safety of client and customer data in acquisition transactions
- Negotiating and drafting data security agreements, including business associate agreements
- Advising on proper procedures for customer opt-in and opt-out related to personal information
- Design strategies for document retention and electronic discovery
- Evaluate insurance coverage issues
- Risk reduction and mitigation
- Develop and implement communications for disclosing breaches
- Audit privacy and security practices and provide suggested procedures and policies
