Special Assets Lawyer Blog

Another noteworthy conference happening next week is the California Bankers Association's 44th Annual Bank Counsel Seminar from May 4-6 in Huntington Beach. Influential lenders, bank counsel, outside counsel, attorneys from bank regulatory agencies, and compliance officers will be in attendance for this three-day educational event, with seminars customized for each type of audience. I have attended and spoken at the Bank Counsel Seminar in past years. It is the premier meeting for legal issues affecting California banks.

This year, JMBM's very own Marty Orlick will be speaking on Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for financial institutions at 3pm on Thursday, May 5. Marty is a past contributor to SpecialAssetsLawyer.com and provides sensible advice to pass along to bank clients about the ADA. I suggest you take a look at his insightful presentation, which he will speak about in depth during the conference. By the way, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP is also a featured sponsor of the seminar. Register for this conference at http://www.calbankers.com/bankcounsel2011/.

Continue reading "Learn about Legal Issues Affecting California Banks - Attend California Bankers Association's Annual Bank Counsel Seminar from May 4-6" »

Lenders, an important conference is coming up next week. Meet the Money® is a forum for lenders in the hospitality industry to meet the experts and get your questions answered about how to get the most from the current market. Meet the Money® runs from May 2-4 at the Sheraton LAX. If you haven't registered yet, do it now at www.MeetTheMoney.com. Read below for what you can expect at this year's Meet the Money.

Hospitality experts predict that 2011 will be the first year of significant growth in hotel transactions since 2007 -- will you be ready? Meet the Money® 2011 is your chance to find out how some of the most knowledgeable and successful people in the industry are preparing for the improved economic environment.

You'll get answers to your questions about the anticipated market at Meet the Money®, including:

• What are the real players doing?
• How can lenders, receivers and investors create value in this market?
• Who's doing transactions and how?
• Where are the biggest investment opportunities?
• What's the best way to work with the media?

Follow and join the conversation on Twitter using #MTM2011.

Continue reading "Special Assets Lawyer Update: Lenders, make the most out of 2011 at Meet The Money® next week" »

When a bank makes a loan, it underwrites the deal to determine whether the risk of repayment is reasonable. Banks don't consider the risk of acquiring the business that is being financed. All too often, of course, when a loan goes bad, the Bank ends up with its collateral, and occasionally, must essentially operate that collateral, which could be the business that was the Bank's customer.

There are numerous risks involved in succeeding to a failed business. Bankers are very good at their own business, but in my experience, most bankers are not very good at running hotels, apartments, packing sheds or -- perish the thought -- construction companies. When foreclosure is the only way out, the Bank must carefully consider the consequences of its enforcement actions or find that it has unwittingly assumed a sea of liabilities. My partner, Joe Demko, wrote about the surprises of successor liability and how to avoid them in the article below which was published in the Daily Journal's California Lawyer. Although he penned the article in 2007 after a trial he had won on the topic, the issues he wrote then still ring true today.

Continue reading "Successor Liability Law - Avoiding the Surprises of Successor Liability" »