Harris Beach Murtha represents investment banks, private equity firms and a diverse range of other clients across all major industries, structuring and executing billions of dollars of transactions per year. We routinely handle deals throughout the United States and across the globe. Our banking and financial lawyers take a collaborative, detailed approach to develop innovative solutions to achieve your business goals.

Our work includes:

• Debt Transactions: We advise clients on many different types of debt transactions, such as commercial loans, convertible debt, public debt offerings, structured finance, trust preferred securities, high-yield debt and mezzanine capital. Because our firm has significant experience representing issuers, commercial banks, institutional investors, mezzanine lenders and private investors, we are familiar with the issues relevant to both lenders and borrowers.

We also represent both commercial banking institutions and borrowers in connection with secured and unsecured corporate finance transactions, including participation and syndicated transactions.

• Equity Offerings: We represent clients in a wide variety of equity transaction types, including initial public offerings for domestic and foreign private issuers, follow-on and secondary public offerings, preferred stock offerings, shelf registrations, Rule 144A and Regulation S offerings, and PIPE transactions.

Equity transactions often give rise to securities law compliance issues and our attorneys provide advice and guidance relating to compliance with federal and state securities laws and applicable exemptions. We work with issuers to understand their goals and identify the appropriate transaction structure and plan of offering, and we assist with the development of a prospectus, private placement memorandum or other offering document. We also counsel our public company clients with respect to their ongoing reporting and compliance obligations.

• Venture Capital, Mezzanine Finance and Private Equity: Harris Beach Murtha’s attorneys provide advice at all stages of a private equity or venture capital transaction, from analysis of suitable structures to the drafting or review of documents to reflect the commercial objectives of the parties. Our clients benefit from the firm’s significant experience with corporate law and merger and acquisition transactions, as well as our understanding of the venture capital and private equity markets.

Our banking and financing attorneys have extensive experience as transaction counsel for financial institutions with respect to both large and small matters. We pride ourselves in helping balance protection of the legal interests of our credit providers with their need to maintain good relationships with their customers through and after the closing process.

Our work includes:

• Private Sector Funding Transactions: We represent a wide variety of lenders, including banks, thrifts, credit unions and agricultural credit associations in their senior credit transactions. We act as special New York counsel with respect to out-of-state and cross-border transactions and assist with New York-specific enforceability opinions.

We assist our clients with structuring and all aspects of closing the transaction, including corporate and commercial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, syndicated and club transactions, governmentally guaranteed loans, asset-based lending, portfolio purchases, leasing, letters of credit, rate swaps, cross-border lending and factoring.

The firm’s lawyers are experienced in specialty forms of lending involving state housing finance and other sources of specialized financing such as the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA), the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Financing Authority (CHEFA), MassHousing and MassDevelopment.

• Public Sector Funding Transactions: We serve as counsel to underwriters, borrowers and entities providing credit enhancement or liquidity on all types of public finance transactions. The firm is a nationally recognized bond counsel firm. We handle transactions involving FHA-insured mortgage revenue bonds, letter of credit secured financings, bond insured financings and unrated issues. Our representation includes projects financed through state agencies in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other states around the nation.

We also handle appropriation-backed financings, public finance tax representation, derivative products/swaps and non-fixed rate debt, industrial development and exempt facility financings and disclosure.

• Investment Funds: We serve as both general and transactional counsel for investment funds. We help in structuring equity investments by, and exit strategies for, venture funds. We also assist in mezzanine financing transactions. Among other aspects, our attorneys have wide experience in negotiating intercreditor agreements with senior and subordinate lenders. We are well-versed in the establishment of Small Business Administration (SBA)-licensed Small Business Investment Companies and have experience with the expedited licensing approval process.
• Tax Credits: Harris Beach Murtha assists our clients in matters involving tax credits, such as new markets, historic and low-income housing credits. We represent clients as investors in tax credits and act as transaction counsel on behalf of lenders serving as credit investors in tax structured deals.

Harris Beach Murtha provides a wide array of counsel services for financial clients in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation. Our clients include national banks, state-chartered institutions, thrifts and credit unions.

Our attorneys help with establishment of holding companies, public offerings of debt and equity securities, mutual stock conversions, mergers and acquisitions, branching matters, maximization of shareholder value, hostile takeover defenses and establishment of non-bank affiliates. We also provide legal support in general corporate and administrative matters such as tax planning and disputes, development of standard forms and trademark registration.

We counsel our clients with respect to ongoing corporate matters, including governance, compliance with exchange listing requirements, public company reporting, board responsibilities and special committees.

We also represent issuers, placement agents, underwriters and investors in private placements and public offerings. We help financial institutions comply with federal and state regulatory requirements. We identify and address securities law issues in acquisitions, joint ventures, financings and other business transactions. We assist public companies with reporting and other on-going compliance issues under federal and state securities laws.

Our securities law experience includes assisting clients with registration of securities with the SEC; mergers and acquisitions involving public company constituents; compliance with listing requirements and stock exchange rules; preparation, review and filing of current and periodic reports under the ’34 Act; Section 16 issues and filings; compliance with the proxy rules for annual and special meetings of stockholders; and insider trading policies and procedures. We have also prepared documentation and assisted in due diligence examinations with respect to debt and equity investments.

Our compliance attorneys represent U.S. and foreign-based financial services institutions and commercial clients in a wide range of matters, including grand jury and federal regulatory investigations and international corporate investigations.

They handle issues with multi-jurisdictional or international implications, such as compliance with requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti Money-Laundering Act (BSA/AML) and the PATRIOT Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), data privacy requirements, import-export issues, and matters involving the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FCEN). In addition, Harris Beach Murtha attorneys have interacted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Secret Service, state police and overseas law enforcement officials in the resolution of matters.

We counsel on federal and state regulatory compliance issues, including matters involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Association (NCUA), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Federal Reserve, National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and agencies in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and states around the nation.

We assist our clients in developing financial products and related disclosure documents that comply with consumer protection regulations, developing procedures that meet regulatory standards, and reviewing transactions for compliance with applicable rules. We provide educational and training programs to employee groups regarding compliance with various regulatory requirements and assist our clients with compliance audits and compliance program implementation.

Harris Beach Murtha provides a full complement of services to financial institutions of all sizes, from the largest national and international banks to local banks and credit unions. Our attorneys have extensive experience handling virtually every type of litigation a banking institution encounters, including contract disputes, lender liability claims, environmental claims, customer disputes, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act class actions and defense of claims of trustee mismanagement.

We handle matters before state and federal agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Association (NCUA), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Our class action attorneys have litigated complex class action cases for financial institutions, as well as public entities and private companies. Our class action clients include some of the largest companies in the financial industry.

We often defend banks in lender liability litigation in state and federal courts, providing experienced counsel to efficiently evaluate and defend lender liability claims. We have a track record of obtaining favorable jury verdicts and bench decisions in our lender liability cases. Often, we are able to eliminate many of the claims on summary judgment and have been able to enforce jury waivers even against guarantors who did not sign them.

Harris Beach Murtha’s wide range of experience helps our clients sort through the countless regulations to ensure all financial restructuring, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights issues are resolved to their best benefit.

We assist our clients with bankruptcies, foreclosures, workouts, debt refinancing and restructuring, surplus money proceedings, deficiency judgment collections, original real estate sales, sales of troubled assets, dispute resolution, commercial and consumer collection and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) compliance. We are approved counsel for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, enabling us to assist mortgage servicers with the wide variety of their files.

We provide alternative solutions to various financial challenges, including all areas of bankruptcy, refinancing, assignments for the benefit of creditors, litigation, pursuit of various debtors and foreclosures. We also restructure classified loans, including preparing forbearance agreements, assist with UCC asset sales and negotiate and help implement pre-packaged bankruptcy plans.

Our attorneys analyze our clients’ rights and responsibilities under executed – or yet to be executed – documentation and under applicable statutes, regulations and judicial decisions. We consider lender liability risks and also assess and address environmental issues.

Harris Beach Murtha’s banking and financial attorneys have a great deal of experience assisting with commercial and consumer collections. With offices throughout New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as other states around the nation, we have the extended reach to help our clients accomplish their business.

Our attorneys and professionals handle every stage of the collection process, from demand letter to litigation and enforcing the money judgment. Our services include high-volume systems, negotiated settlements and strategy, debtor asset searches and debt collection.

We use restraining notices, informational subpoenas, property executions, income executions, contempt motions and other appropriate vehicles to maximize collections.

We have developed standardized procedures for handling documents in routine collections and customize those procedures to meet our clients’ needs. Our highly sophisticated tracking system monitors each and every file, updates account balances daily and provides functional statements and monthly status reports for each file being processed.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in commercial real estate matters. We assist financial institutions in matters including acquisition of branch locations, leasing, zoning and use compliance and variances, environmental matters and real property tax valuation disputes.

Harris Beach Murtha has a strong reputation for working closely with private wealth management and trust and estate administration groups within our financial institution clients to assist clients with a broad range of personal services, including life and asset planning, tax planning and estate administration.

We partner with our clients in providing asset and succession planning advice, documentation, and probate and estate administration assistance. We have significant experience in defense of institutional trustees against claims of improper administration and in appropriate portfolio investment.

Our attorneys represent financial institutions acting as trustees and successor trustees in bond and other financing transactions. We assist with document review, ongoing administration and defeasance issues. We also work with our clients in foreclosures and restructures under bond indentures and related agreements.

Protecting digital information and assets is vital to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. To protect your data, your business interests and your reputation, you need robust protection that extends beyond firewalls.

Our cybersecurity team provides a full range of data privacy and cybersecurity services, including compliance counseling and legal risk assessments, defense in litigation and investigations, advisement on state and federal regulations and rapid response should a breach occur. Our attorneys, information security and communications professionals partner with you to reduce risk and protect your data.

Digital currency providers and platforms are drawing increased attention from the public and regulators as digital transactions and exchanges become more mainstream and increasingly drive a new economy.

It is critical for business owners, financial institutions, developers and others navigating this new landscape to consider legal and compliance issues. Our blockchain and digital assets attorneys monitor developments in this evolving area, keeping abreast of changes and even paradigm shifts such as U.S.-backed digital dollars, coded contracts, trademarks of digital representations and other matters.

We strategically advise on structuring, investing, licensing, regulation, smart contract coding, information protections, cybersecurity, monetizing digital creative works, contracting, tax issues, security compliance, anti-money laundering, cryptocurrency mining centers, estate planning for digital currency investments and many more aspect of blockchain and digital assets.