Commercial Finance LawyersProviding Legal Help
For Banking and Finance
» Practice Areas » Corporate Law » We Provide Sound Creative Solutions
To Our Clients Throughout Florida
Our commercial finance lawyers are experienced skilled legal advisors that work with businesses and lending institutions, of all sizes, alike in all facets of commercial finance.
Commercial lenders often employ us for a wide variety of commercial finance matters, including the creation of loan contracts, formation of business entities during merger and acquisitions, the formation of subsidiaries, SBA-guaranteed loans and HUD-insured loans, and for bank representation during foreclosure, loan workouts and bankruptcy matters.
Representing both lenders and borrowers we have gained experience advising clients through all phases of commercial credit facilities; from simple small loans to single borrowers to large syndicated credit facilities and other types of structured finance.
We have years of experience representing commercial lenders and commercial borrowers of all sizes.
We are committed to helping our clients protect their interests while negotiating complex commercial financial instruments and deals. Give us a call and find out how our legal services can help you. (407) 259-2426 or Schedule a Consultation
What We DoCommercial Finance Legal Services
We Provide and Clients
Complex financial transactions make up an increasingly large part of the Florida economy. Local and multinational corporations continue to invest in growing their businesses throughout the state. Commercial loans, security interests, and working capital are needed by these companies and their lenders to facilitate equipment investments, mergers, and new projects.
We assist and advise clients through all phases of a commercial finance transaction. We help clients with everything from negotiating, structuring, documenting and executing loan related documentation; including, credit agreements, collateral documents, subordination agreements, purchase and sale agreements, to letters of credit, operating agreements, maintenance agreements, option agreements and many others.
Our team of corporate lawyers focuses on using their extensive legal skills, experience, and knowledge to develop creative solutions to difficult corporate finance issues. Because we have guided clients through every stage of the corporate finance process from both the lender and the borrower side, we are able to recognize both problems and opportunities quickly and take action to advance your interests.
Our clients often retain us to assist with:
- Revolving credit facilities
- Traditional Commercial Loans
- Term loan facilities
- Senior secured credit financing
- Acquisition finance (lender or seller finance)
- Letters of credit
- Sale and Leaseback transactions
- Private finance
- Real estate based lending facilities
- Asset based loan facilities
- Equipment financing
- Workouts
- Collection Actions
We represent both lenders and borrowers:
- Private lenders
- Banks
- Commercial mortgage brokers
- Construction lenders
- Entrepreneurs
- Real estate developers
- Private individuals
- Non-profit organizations
What Does A Commercial
Finance Attorney Do?
Each party to a commercial transaction will be represented by its own banking lawyer including, commercial lenders, commercial borrowers, brokers, and agents. Commercial finance lawyers are tasked with helping to negotiate favorable terms for their client, drafting and reviewing contacts and other legal documents, and ensuring the process complies with federal and state laws.
The job of a commercial finance attorney is to be a creative problem solver. This means that the attorney must be prepared to find new avenues to accomplish the client’s goals when legal, regulatory, or business obstacles get in the way of a planned transaction.
This work may include:
- Restructuring financing agreements
- Creating new, separate legal entities to facilitate a transaction
- Finding alternative sources of capital
- Negotiating a workout agreement
- Securing letters of credit
Who Should Hire A
Commercial Finance Lawyer?
Typically, they are responsible for much more than just reviewing the legal documents prior to the signing of a deal. They are deeply involved in helping to structure the entire transaction to make sure that the client’s rights and interests are protected and the documents accurately convey the terms of the deal.
In a single transaction, commercial finance lawyer will only work for one side. But, many commercial finance lawyers represent both commercial lenders and commercial borrowers in separate, non-related transactions.
Commercial Lenders
The types of commercial lenders involved in any transaction include banks, construction lenders, private lenders, and entrepreneurs.
Commercial lenders hire banking attorneys to:
- Draft and negotiate loan documents
- Ensure regulatory compliance
- Handle senior secured credit financing
- Negotiate workout agreements
- Manage collection actions
- Represent the lender’s interests in bankruptcy proceedings
Because lenders must operate under an extensive layer of regulation and oversight, commercial finance attorneys are needed to help make sure that not only are deals in the best interest of the lender, but that the deals do not violate and legal restrictions on the lender’s activities.
Large, complex commercial loans and transactions often require many different documents and involve multiple parties before they can be successfully closed.
Commercial Borrowers
Commercial borrowers include companies, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, and private parties. A banking lawyer works to help the borrower get the best deal and make sure their legal rights are protected in the legal documents formalizing the deal.
Commercial borrower retain banking lawyers to:
- Draft and negotiate documents
- Structure buyouts and merger agreements
- Secure financing for startups
- Guide a company through the stock exchange listing process
- Negotiate deals for working capital and equipment financing
It is not uncommon for a commercial borrower to need deals with multiple lenders and investors to secure the capital needed for a particular project or transaction. A commercial finance attorney works to make sure all of the smaller deals work together to fit the needs of the client.
Security Interests,
Workouts, and Bankruptcy
A commercial loan only makes business sense for the lender if they have a high degree of confidence the borrower will pay off the loan or if the loan is secured by enough collateral should the borrower fail to meet its obligations. Commercial finance attorneys make sure that the paperwork creating security interests in collateral such as equipment or inventory are drafted, executed, and properly filed.
However, sometimes despite everyone’s best efforts a borrower is not able to pay back a loan in full. The lawyer for a commercial lender will oversee collection efforts that could include everything from simple written correspondence to filing a lawsuit and seeking to take possession of any collateral securing the loan. In many cases a lawsuit or collateral seizure are not practical. A lawyer can help negotiate a workout agreement that best protects the client’s financial interests under the circumstances.
In the case of workout agreements both sides typically have their own banking attorneys to represent their positions.
If a borrower files for bankruptcy protection, a commercial finance lawyer will be needed to make sure that the lender’s position is represented and that its security interests are properly respected. This may include attending the meeting of creditors, filing a claim with the bankruptcy court, and signing off on any reorganization plan.
Working Capital,
Mergers, and Acquisitions
For many companies, just running the business day-to-day requires large amounts of working capital. In order to ensure they have enough cash flow to get products to market, they need working capital loans. This is a special type of financing that requires familiarity with the company’s business model and financial health and well as the expertise to structure a loan that serves the lender and the borrower. No two working capital arrangements will be exactly the same. Commercial finance lawyers on both sides of the transaction work to protect their client’s financial and legal interests.
While some corporations need loans just to operate, other corporations seek commercial financing to fund mergers and acquisitions. Even a small merger or acquisition is a complex transaction that is typically made up of several smaller transactions all needing varied levels of funding.
Banking attorneys work to structure deals that often include cash payments, exchanges of stock, formation of new corporate entities to facilitate the deal, and commercial loans to finance part, or all of the deal. Every party involved in the transaction including the buyer, the seller, brokers, and lenders will need their own team of commercial finance lawyers negotiating the details, drafting the documents, overseeing compliance issues, and making sure the deal gets done in a timely fashion.
Commercial finance law is deeply technical area of law that requires creativity, discipline, and a deep knowledge of everything from securities regulations to the bankruptcy process. Both commercial lenders and commercial borrowers benefit from the expertise and insight of having experienced commercial finance attorneys guide them through the commercial transaction process.
