Regulatory
Our attorneys are at the forefront of regulatory review and monitoring, providing advice and guidance to our clients with respect to compliance with federal and state laws and regulations affecting the financial services industry. Our banking group includes attorneys which have represented community and regional banks in a general counsel capacity, with extensive experience in matters involving the regulation of financial institutions, including the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S.A. Patriot Act, OFAC sanctions programs and corporate governance.
Today's monetary world has moved away from the exchange of coins and paper money to a fast swipe of a credit card and computerized online banking. Electronic banking has allowed consumers to instantly process deposits, payments and other transactions. This advanced technology brings an ever changing and increasingly complex regulatory and technical environment, creating need for legal counsel that understands the laws and regulations governing evolving technology such as Electronic Funds Transfers, ACH transactions, Automated Sweeps, electronic deposits, substitute checks, and bank deposits and collections.
Our attorneys are experienced in both commercial and consumer finance. Our commercial finance attorneys regularly handle real estate and asset based finance transactions, acquisition and construction loans, receivables and inventory financing, and transactions involving international trade and Letters of Credit. Our consumer finance team is well versed in consumer regulations under the Truth in Lending Act (“Regulation Z”), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“Regulation B”), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Truth in Savings Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act (“GLBA”) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). Our attorneys regularly consult with regulators, including the FDIC, OCC and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerning the interpretation and implementation of banking regulations, as well as resolution of consumer complaints and provide advice and guidance to our banking and other financial services clientele.
Litigation
GrayRobinson attorneys represent our lending clients in all aspects of complex commercial litigation, including banking software litigation, collections, mortgage and securities agreements, foreclosures, lender liability, title insurance claims defense and prosecution of fraud, forgery, and other matters involving deposit accounts, letters of credit, wire transfers that are governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”), and litigation and defense of defamation suits involving both federal and state fair debt collection acts and collection reporting acts. We offer an experienced and tenacious trial team with an impressive record of resolving cases to our clients' satisfaction.
GrayRobinson attorneys have vast experience in deposit litigation and frequently engage in litigation involving defenses arising under Articles 3, 4 and 4A, 5, and 8 of the UCC as well as deposit disclosure agreements.
We also have significant experience representing financial institutions in putative class actions matters, and our attorneys are aggressive in attempting to dispose of the merits of the case prior to a certification hearing and in attempting to stay class merits discovery until after certification.
Our banking litigation team has extensive experience in matters involving the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. Patriot Act, OFAC sanctions programs and regulations. In addition we have experience with matters involving consumer regulations under the Truth in Lending Act (“Regulation Z”), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“Regulation B”), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Truth in Savings Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act (“GLBA”) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”).
Our litigators routinely assist our banking clients not only with respect to subpoena compliance but also in the review of documents being produced in response to subpoenas for compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the U.S. Patriot Act
The firm actively litigates all real estate matters including mortgage and mechanics lien foreclosures, boundary disputes, property rights, real estate commissions, and condominium problems. GrayRobinson also has a long history of representing financial institutions in highly specialized areas including representation of lenders in ship/vessel mortgage foreclosure.
Sometimes, obtaining a "money judgment" is the easiest part of litigation for a creditor. In addition to our impressive trial record, our team has collected millions of dollars for our clients using Florida's full range of collection remedies. In particular, we have experience in successfully utilizing Florida's enactment of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts.
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is not only an area of specialization within the practice of law: bankruptcy is also a forum uniquely suited to resolve many complex business disputes in a fast, efficient, and fair manner. Disputes pertaining to corporate governance, misappropriation of business assets, landlord-tenant disputes, insurance coverage, and other forms of sophisticated litigation can often be resolved most rapidly in bankruptcy court. While our litigators are experienced in all courts in the State of Florida, we have litigated complex disputes in every Florida division of the United States Bankruptcy Court, as well as many bankruptcy courts throughout the country.
We have experience representing creditors in bankruptcy issues including business workouts, Chapter 11 reorganizations, Chapter 13, commercial collections, insolvency and loan workouts. We are experienced in representing clients in every one of Florida's state and federal courts. One of our practices is devoted to representing credit card issuers in bankruptcy matters including non-dischargeability proceedings, relief from stay proceedings and objections to confirmation in Chapter 13 cases.
Loan Enforcement and Workouts
Our philosophy is to get results for lenders throughout Florida. GrayRobinson attorneys have designed reorganization plans, coordinated workouts and loan restructurings, represented and worked with creditors' committees and trustees and handled bankruptcy appeals. Our firm has represented many of our client financial institutions for more than thirty years, as well as private investors and property owners that seek guidance on how to resolve a financial relationship.
Debt Restructuring
Insolvency contexts often require loan modification transactions to be completed on an expedited basis in order to maximize the lender client's ability to expand the available pool of collateral, and to avoid the consequences of certain bankruptcy law that sometimes retroactively "undo" workouts. Our team appreciates the need for prompt, skillful service when a borrower is at the point of insolvency.
Representation of Fiduciaries
We represent fiduciaries in the full range of state and federal contexts. At any time, our teammates may represent a state court receiver, assignee for benefit of creditors, chapter 7 trustee, chapter 11 trustee or examiner, post-confirmation disbursing agent, or other fiduciary. We develop insights from these representations that are beneficial for all of our clients.
Defense Against Estate Claims
Sometimes bankruptcy debtors or fiduciaries for debtors bring claims under bankruptcy laws against third parties in order to accumulate assets for distribution to creditors. "Preference claims" are asserted by debtors or trustees against creditors who legitimately received payments shortly before bankruptcy. Our team successfully represents scores of creditors in preference litigation every year. We also defend other business clients against similar "estate claims."
Complex Litigation
Bankruptcy is not only an area of specialization within the practice of law: bankruptcy is also a forum uniquely suited to resolve many complex business disputes in a fast, efficient, and fair manner. Disputes pertaining to corporate governance, misappropriation of business assets, landlord-tenant disputes, insurance coverage, and other forms of sophisticated litigation can often be resolved most rapidly in bankruptcy court. While our litigators are experienced in all courts in the State of Florida, we have litigated complex disputes in every Florida division of the United States Bankruptcy Court, as well as many bankruptcy courts throughout the country.
Transactional
GrayRobinson attorneys serve as transactional counsel for a number of banks, commercial lenders and financial institutions, broker-dealers, hedge funds and private equity firms, pension funds and insurance companies. We have vast experience in the transactional arena for the banking and finance industry including structuring financing arrangements, mergers and acquisitions, securities-related matters and real estate transactions. In addition we provide counsel on effectively and efficiently planning, structuring and documenting commercial transactions whether more simplified contracts or sophisticated outsourcing arrangements.
Financing
GrayRobinson attorneys have experience in various types of financings such as: senior and subordinated debt and loans unsecured or secured by assets such as accounts, inventory, equipment, intellectual property and investment property; syndicated loan transactions including those with sub-facilities such as swinglines and overlines, and single lender lines of credit, revolving credit facilities or term loans; trade finance matters, such as letter of credit, receivable purchase, EXIM and other ECA financings, pre-export facilities, political and commercial risk insurance and factoring transactions; structured finance transactions such as residential and commercial mortgage loans, timeshare loans, automobile loans and consumer finance contracts and equipment loans, airline credit card receivables, insurance premium loans, and sports stadium receivables.
In secured transactions, our attorneys commonly work in securitizations of various asset classes, acquisition finance, asset-based lending, bridge loans, cash-flow loans, commercial paper facilities, debtor-in-possession financing, leveraged buyouts, mezzanine loans, off-balance sheet financings, receivables purchase agreements, standby letters of credit, subscription facilities and working capital lines of credit.
We represent banks and financial institutions in revolving mortgage warehouse loan facilities (structured as sales, repos, participations or credit lines) and whole loan pool purchases/sales and participations for U.S. Government Agency eligible and non-eligible residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, construction loans, automobile loans and other asset classes.
In addition, GrayRobinson attorneys have experience in negotiating a variety of swaps and derivatives contracts including currency, commodities, futures, equity and credit derivatives, forward traders and repurchase transactions, and government bond options traded on exchanges or over-the-counter under ISDA, SIFMA, CFTC and exchange rules. We have experience in structuring REMICs, QSPEs and offshore on onshore SPEs.
Our attorneys work closely with banks and similar financial institutions, hedge funds, and private equity firms to design reorganization plans and coordinate workouts and loan restructurings. In addition we actively seek opportunities to refer our developer, landowner and corporate clients to appropriate sources of funding.
GrayRobinson attorneys advise corporate trustees, custodians, escrow agents, collateral agents and other similar fiduciaries and non-fiduciaries as well as issuers, underwriters and placement agent in transactions involving the issuance and refinancing of corporate and municipal debt, equipment finance, mortgage securities, cash control systems and repo agreements.
Acquisitions, Sales & Leasing
GrayRobinson attorneys represent banks and other parties in connection with the acquisition and sale of bank owned real estate (and loans secured by real estate), and the acquisition, development, and leasing of bank branch offices.
Securities
GrayRobinson represents banks and financial institutions in private placements and public offerings and securities regulatory compliance. Our attorneys have experience dealing with private equity investors and investment banks acting as securities underwriters and preparing the necessary disclosure documents and registration materials for the Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities administrators. Our attorneys frequently assist clients in developing creative means of obtaining financing, including Tier 1 capital common and preferred stock issuances, subordinated debt, and issuances of debt instruments with equity participation features
Real Estate
GrayRobinson has served as counsel for a number of banks and savings and loan associations for many years and has developed expertise in all aspects of commercial lending, particularly commercial real estate financing. We handle all types of commercial and residential real estate transactions in addition to representing companies seeking acquisition, construction, permanent term, mezzanine and subordinated financing. Our attorneys have experience in structuring, documenting and closing securitized and life insurance conduit loan financings, non-consolidation analysis and opinions, commercial mortgage loan defeasance or assumptions, and workout of defaulted loans and negotiation of loan modifications.
In addition to performing legal services on behalf of our lending clients, we actively seek opportunities to refer our developer, landowner and corporate clients to appropriate sources of funding.
Environmental Issues
Environmental regulatory requirements play an increasingly important role in commercial real estate transactions. We offer our clients proven ability and experience in dealing with local, state and federal environmental rules and regulations.
We have successfully cleared the way for clients' real estate projects to proceed, which had been languishing for years because of environmental concerns, and we have served as environmental counsel to major banks.
Lender Liability
We have successfully defended financial institutions and other businesses from lender liability litigation, including class action litigation, usury claims, and "truth in lending" claims, in both state and federal courts. Our team has also successfully prosecuted multi-million dollar usury and other lender liability claims. These experiences enable us to better represent both lenders and borrowers, not only in the courtroom but also in the boardroom while analyzing legal rights and business options.
