PRACTICE AREAS

The firm’s Financial Institution attorneys have represented clients in a wide range of transactional, compliance and other matters, including providing counsel to regional and community banks, thrift institutions, bank holding companies and financial holding companies before the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision and state regulatory agencies.

Eckert Seamans’ experience includes advising financial institution clients on a wide variety of corporate, transactional and regulatory matters.  In this regard, firm attorneys have advised financial institutions with respect to compliance issues, in responding to regulatory comments and criticisms and on improper lending practices.  Eckert Seamans’ Washington D.C. office affords the firm ready access to the governmental agencies regulating its banking clients.  In addition to banking matters, our lawyers provide advice to financial institution clients on securities laws compliance and disclosure obligations and on corporate governance, executive compensation and benefits issues.  Firm lawyers have represented clients in new bank formations, bank mergers and acquisitions, mutual to stock conversions, holding company formations, insurance brokerage company acquisitions and expansion through branch formations and acquisitions.

Our attorneys have advised boards of directors of banks and savings institutions of their fiduciary duties in the context of hostile takeover activities and otherwise.  Eckert Seamans has implemented shareholder rights plans (“poison pills”) and devised other takeover defensive strategies for certain of its financial institution clients.  We also have advised our clients on a variety of shareholder matters.

Eckert Seamans has extensive experience representing commercial and institutional lenders and borrowers in various types of lending/financing transactions, including asset and real estate based loans, syndicated loans and mezzanine financing, as well as senior and subordinated financing transactions.  The firm’s practice in these areas includes the preparation and/or review and negotiation of all of the documents necessary to complete such transactions, including appropriate loan agreements, notes, security agreements, mortgages, guaranties, intercreditor agreements, financing statements and certificates.  Our commercial lending experience also enables the firm to analyze and structure lending transactions to obtain the maximum benefit for all parties involved in a transaction.  Eckert Seamans has represented, and represents, local, regional and national lending and financial institutions in transactions ranging in size from several hundred thousand dollars to the multimillion dollar ranges.

Attorneys in the firm’s Estates & Trusts and Tax Departments also provide counsel to the corporate trust departments of financial institution clients on a variety of fiduciary and tax matters.