The Banking and Financial Services Practice Group
The Banking and Financial Services Practice Group serves the legal needs of a wide variety of Maine-based, regional, national, and international financial institutions, including commercial banks, thrift institutions, mortgage companies, and financial institution holding companies.
The principal attorneys in the Group are
Mark Snow,
Gordon Scannell and
Julie Ray. We have among us exceptional experience and knowledge in this area of law, and take pride in developing successful operational systems for our clients, anticipating their needs, solving their problems, as well as advancing their interests across a broad spectrum of transactional arenas.
Mark Snow is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2008 (copyright 2007 by Woodward/White, Inc. of Aiken, S.C.) for Banking Law.
The services we provide span such matters as:
- commercial and consumer lending
- mortgage and asset based credit documentation
- deposit operations
- branch administration
- opinion letters
- corporate structure
- mergers and acquisitions
- workouts
- foreclosures
- creditors' rights issues
- state and federal regulatory compliance questions
- taxation matters
- employment and employee benefits matters
- real estate issues
- general and specialized litigation matters, and
- regulatory developments affecting clients' businesses
- secured transactions
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
Commercial Lending
We serve as counsel to both lenders and borrowers in a wide variety of regional, national and international commercial loan transactions, from commercial mortgages to asset-based loans, floor-planning, conduits and SWAP financing. Services for lenders include loan structure analysis, commitment and loan documentation, property title analysis, lien perfection and loan closings. Services for borrowers include analysis of finance options, commitment and loan document negotiation, opinion letters and asset acquisition services.
Agricultural Credit
We have extensive experience in agricultural credit transactions, including timber and farm financing, as well as lending to the forest products and crop processing industries and the commercial fisheries, and addressing Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") and Food Security Act (FSA) lien perfection issues. The Group's attorneys are Farm Credit certified.
Asset Based Finance
We regularly advise clients in connection with asset based financing issues and documentation and lien perfection issues, including development and administration of borrowing base formulas, collateral evaluation, UCC matters, and receivables lockbox and other deposit account security arrangements.
Financial Institutions
We counsel a variety of international, national, regional and local financial institution clients, including national banks and state chartered institutions, both depository and non-depository, as well as non-depository lenders and mortgage companies, as well as holding companies, service corporations, charitable foundations and other affiliated entities. Operational and regulatory assistance is regularly provided, as well as guidance in the areas of corporate structure, taxation and mergers and acquisitions.
Secured Transactions
We offer a complete familiarity with UCC Article 9 transactions and other secured lending transactions, providing extensive guidance to clients regarding lien creation, perfection and enforcement, legal opinion letters, collateral evaluation, documentation and priority analysis. Creation and review of mortgages and collateral assignments of real property interests, and evaluation of title and title insurance issues are also provided.
Mortgages
We have extensive experience in documenting, analyzing, and enforcing both commercial and consumer mortgages, real estate title and title insurance evaluations and other real property issues, including lease assignments, workouts, loan modifications and foreclosures.
Uniform Commercial Code
We regularly advise our clients with respect to all elements of the Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC"), with particular focus in the Banking and Financial Services area on Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9, and Article 9 Opinion Letters. Continuing developments and State law variations are carefully monitored for the benefit of our clients.
