Our multidisciplinary team of real estate, finance, litigation and bankruptcy attorneys are expert in advising institutional and private lenders at all stages of the credit relationship.
Commercial And Consumer Finance
Our team has significant experience in the negotiation, documentation and closing of commercial and consumer finance transactions, including secured and unsecured revolving lines of credit, secondary financing and the regulatory framework for consumer and commercial finance transactions.
Complex Lending Transactions
We have extensive experience documenting and negotiating secured and unsecured credit facilities, including real property and mixed collateral secured loans for the acquisition, development, construction and refinancing of a wide variety of real property assets and projects. We are highly experienced in the nuances of California real estate lending law and the importance of careful loan structuring. In addition to representing lenders in connection with loan originations, we represent numerous clients in loan participations, the acquisition and disposition of outstanding loans, and the packaging and disposition of loan portfolios.
Creative Thinking
We pride ourselves on being careful, thorough and inventive in seeking good business solutions for our clients. What our clients can do, and what our clients should do, are often misaligned. Our job is to advise and support by identifying, recommending, and taking the actions best suited for our clients. Our transactional lawyers are accomplished in complex, significant acquisitions and dispositions, and the risks and benefits associated with most types of secured loan collateral. We add “deal sense” to the mix of advice and strategy we provide to our clients.
Diversified Expertise
Our clients benefit from a cohesive team of dedicated litigation, transactional and insolvency specialists. Our experience in negotiating, documenting and, when necessary, enforcing commercial loans provides the knowledge on which to base sound problem-loan advice. And our experience in the acquisition, operation and disposition of master development projects, commercial office projects and other commercial transactions allow us to provide unique advice and insight into workout or recovery strategies. We also understand title insurance, representing some of the nation’s largest title and escrow companies, and their insureds, in a variety of litigation and non-litigation contexts.
Individual And Portfolio Loan Sales
We have experience in the sale of loan participations, individual loans and loan portfolios. Among other transactions, we represented the State of California in negotiating and documenting two portfolio sales of the CIWMB’s mixed-collateral “Recycling Market Development Zone Loan Program” and we represented a private investor in the acquisition and disposition of a 453-asset portfolio of performing and non-performing loans.
Loan Document Review And Preparation
Due to complex regulations, many lenders have revised their use of internally-generated “form” loan documents. Though they are cost effective, internal forms can create legal problems. We have developed loan documents for a variety of transactions with a view to the nuances of California practice, and we frequently assist clients with cost-effective document alternatives to better protect the lender’s interests.
OREO Property - Acquisition And Disposition
We have experience in major, complex real estate acquisitions and dispositions. We routinely assist lenders with foreclosures and the subsequent disposition of real estate assets. We handle all aspects of the disposition of OREO assets, as single asset sales or as part of a portfolio, in single-buyer sales and through the packaging of assets and private/public auction process.
Our Bankruptcy Practice
Boutin Jones also represents creditors, trustees, committees and court appointed fiduciaries in all aspects of the bankruptcy process. We have experience in handling litigation, defense, and enforcement of complex bankruptcy and insolvency matters. From relief from stay to claims and objections, our expertise is extensive. We have been recognized by peers and the courts for our exception bankruptcy practice.
Strategic Advice
We can help lenders remedy non-performing loans, and assist in devising strategies for loan enforcement and recovery. We understand California’s “anti-deficiency” protections and “one-action rule,” and can effectively help lenders through complex law. We know how to integrate foreclosure and receivership actions with actions against guarantors and other third-parties to maximize the lender’s recovery. In the workout context, we understand the importance of pre-negotiation agreements, confidentiality agreements, standstill and forbearance agreements, and other, similar documentation. We also understand the post-foreclosure risks to lenders and the disposition process for lender-owned properties.