Anderson Kill Forms Banking and Lending Group

Anderson Kill, a national law firm, announced that it has formed a Banking and Lending Group to consolidate the services its attorneys provide to banks and other financial institutions. The group will be chaired by Inez M. Markovich, a shareholder in the firm's Philadelphia office, who represents banks in a broad range of lending and bankruptcy and restructuring matters.

The Banking and Lending Group is comprised of attorneys who represent national and regional banks, leasing and finance companies, life insurance companies, investment funds and other financial institutions in matters including all types of lending and other financing transactions, equipment leasing, securitizations, sales and acquisitions of financial asset portfolios, creditors' rights, workouts and bankruptcy, financial services litigation, insurance recovery, and regulatory matters.

The group offers a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary approach to the representation of financial services clients, drawing on the experience of colleagues in Anderson Kill'sCorporate and Securities, Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Litigation, Real Estate and Construction, and Insurance Recovery practices. The group will also have the support of Anderson Kill'sForeign Investment Recovery Group, which helps asset managers and other investors deploy innovative litigation strategies to monetize distressed debt and equity investments, non-performing commercial paper, and unpaid judgment debts.

Group chair Inez Markovich represents banks and financial services companies in all aspects of secured lending, asset-based lending, syndicated lending, commercial leasing, and credit enhancement transactions. Markovich also has played significant roles representing secured and unsecured creditors in a variety of complex bankruptcy matters nationwide.

Markovich's colleagues in Philadelphia, shareholders Peter J. Deeb, Frank G. Murphy and Stephen H. Frishberg, all of whom joined Anderson Kill along with Markovich in October of last year, likewise have extensive experience representing regional and national banks and financial institutions in loan transactions, enforcement of creditors' rights, financial services litigation, and bankruptcy matters locally and nationally.

Deeb has more than 25 years of service to banks and leasing companies, representing financial clients in litigation and mediation of disputes arising from sales of lease portfolios, loan and lease workouts, enforcement of creditor's rights, and litigation of adversary proceedings in bankruptcy courts. Murphy has litigated Article 3 and Article 4 issues as well as numerous asset recovery matters for banks in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts in Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey. Frishberg has extensive experience representing lenders in commercial loan transactions, including asset-based loans, commercial and industrial loans, and construction loans. Carole Sheffield, a shareholder in Trust & Estates also based in Philadelphia, brings to the group years of experience helping banks analyze whether prospective trust borrowers qualify for banks' borrowing standards.

Also joining the Banking and Lending Group are three shareholders and one senior counsel from Anderson Kill'sNew York office. David Graff, a litigator and shareholder who chairs the firm's Foreign Investment Recovery Group, has done path-breaking work on behalf of investors seeking to recover value from distressed foreign companies. Isaac Druker, senior counsel in Corporate and Securities, has extensive experience in lending and financing transactions. Allen Wolff, a shareholder in the firm's Real Estate and Construction Group, has litigated and negotiated large foreclosures and workouts and handled a variety of mortgage issues. Marshall Gilinsky, who concentrates his practice in insurance recovery and commercial litigation, has represented national banks in insurance coverage disputes and litigated complex secured lending and lease portfolio matters. Attorneys Luma Al-Shibib in New York, Karen Hansen in Philadelphia and Joshua Falakassa in Ventura, CA will also participate in the group.

Markovich commented, "The new Banking and Lending Group brings together attorneys with deep experience representing banks in the core lending and bankruptcy matters with colleagues who bring to bear a unique mix of experience in investment recovery, insurance recovery, real estate and corporate work."