Financial Services

Services for Businesses Seeking Financing

Despite an unprecedented economic downturn and additional banking regulations, the basic nature of business transactions has not changed. While additional regulations may complicate transactions, sophisticated financings continue to support the flow of business. The breadth of our experience provides us with an understanding and knowledge of rapidly changing market standards for various types of transactions. Accordingly, our team is particularly well suited to advise and assist clients in the following:

• anti-money laundering
• aviation finance
• commercial lending
• equipment financing and leasing
• maritime transactions, bankruptcies and workouts
• mergers and acquisitions
• public finance, including swaps and derivatives
• public-private partnerships
• real estate finance
• revolving lines of credit
• structured finance
• tax credit transactions
• warehousing
• workouts, restructurings and insolvency

Services for Financial Institutions

Holland & Knight’s Financial Services Team is comprised of innovative strategists, experienced litigators and transactional attorneys with practical experience and long-term dealings in the banking arena. We understand how our clients’ businesses work, are intimately familiar with the regulations and have perspective gained from years of experience. New regulations governing the financial services industry have created fundamental and unprecedented challenges relative to managing risk, achieving operational efficiency and addressing funding concerns.

Moreover, bank failures, convergence, consolidation and globalization have threatened the industry and continue to redefine it. With much at stake, banks, lenders and other financial institutions seek our experienced legal counsel to help them navigate through the new and emerging marketplace realities and manage the regulatory and operational changes. In addition to the services noted above, which reflect the potential needs of any business involved in a financing, we provide comprehensive, informed support for our bank and financial institution clients in these additional areas:

• art loans
• bank regulations
• bank failures
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• financial investigations
• investment management
• foreign banks expanding into the U.S.
• trust fund management
• data privacy and security

Compliance Protection from Inception Through Ongoing Operation

Acknowledged as one of the first firms to organize a national practice dedicated to corporate governance issues, we work with both public and private companies in all aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance. We help establish or refine programs, including those that address white collar crime and fraud.

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

When legal disputes arise, Holland & Knight is a trusted partner, responsive to client needs and capable of employing creative and aggressive dispute resolution strategies to assert and protect our clients’ interests. Working with members of our Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution teams, we assert and protect our clients’ interests at the negotiating table as well as in the courtroom. Highlights in this area include:

• defending clients in investigations and enforcement actions dealing with virtually every SEC enforcement issue
• representing clients in Department of Justice investigations
• litigating cases involving a variety of securities on behalf of brokerage firms, mutual fund companies and other financial institutions
• advising clients through complex antitrust, RICO and consumer fraud investigations and litigation
• defending financial institutions in breach of fiduciary claims