Named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year in Banking and Finance Law in Philadelphia by Best Lawyers, James’ practice includes representation of lenders and borrowers in commercial finance matters and of issuers, underwriters and credit enhancers in taxable and tax exempt debt offerings. He has extensive and diverse experience in public, securitized and project financings. Jim has served as bond, underwriter, bank and borrower counsel in bond issuances, and as both lender's and borrower's counsel on syndicated and bilateral bank credit agreements. A significant portion of Jim’s practice involves finance transactions in the healthcare, communications and media, energy, higher education, non-profit, and transportation industries.
“Simply put, welcome back, Jim,” said Ed Estrada, global chair of Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group. “Jim’s return to the firm where he spent 12 years is a testament to the strides we have made in building a top-notch finance practice in a very competitive market. Undoubtedly he will play an instrumental role in the practice’s continued growth.”
Jim is the latest of several significant additions to the firm’s commercial finance practice – on both the lender and borrower-side - throughout the United States and around the world over the past year. Last month, Vivian Wong joined the firm as counsel in San Francisco from David Polk, working alongside partners William Veatch and Catherine Hagerty Young, who joined from Morrison Foerster in spring 2017. Internationally, the firm recently added project finance, asset finance and export finance partner Victoria Westcott in Paris.
“We are thrilled to welcome the return of a phenomenal attorney and good friend back to the firm,” said Len Bernstein, Reed Smith Philadelphia Office Managing Partner. “Jim’s stellar reputation as one of the top commercial lending transactional attorneys in the field, combined with our existing finance law capabilities, further positions us as a go-to-firm for bank lenders and institutional borrowers in the city, state, and region.”
Jim added “It is great to be back and my return does feel like a homecoming. This is a great opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues, to meet the new ones whom Ed has brought in, and to be part of the growth in the finance practice that Ed is engineering.”
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