Alston & Bird has enhanced its finance capabilities with the additions of partner Joseph McKernan in New York and counsel Maria Merritt in Atlanta.
For more than 25 years, McKernan has developed a sophisticated opinion letters practice and counseled clients – including lenders, administrative agents, borrowers, investors, sponsors, financial institutions, hedge funds, and private equity funds – on a broad spectrum of complex financing transactions.
Merritt focuses on structuring and negotiating syndicated and single-lender debt facilities, as well as structured financing transactions across an array of asset classes.
“We look forward to collaborating closely with Joe and Maria, who enjoy outstanding reputations for hard work and trusted advice on a range of finance issues and transactions in technology, real estate, energy, and numerous other industries,” said Shanell Cramer, Alston & Bird partner and co-head of the firm’s Finance Group. “Both are both team players with specialized skill sets and versatile business acumens that will add tremendous value to many of our corporate practices and the clients we serve.”
McKernan handles a variety of syndicated and single-lender credit facilities, secured and unsecured senior and mezzanine financing transactions, debtor-in-possession and exit financings, acquisition and leveraged-buyout financings, and restructurings. His experience also encompasses energy-related transactions utilizing ISDA and other master agreements and other purchase and sale agreements.
In addition, Merritt represents agents and lenders in asset-based loan facilities, cash-flow facilities, and asset backed facilities. Her lending practice involves acquisition financings and cross-border deals across multiple asset classes and structures, including residential mortgages, merchant cash advances, and online marketplace loans.
Alston & Bird’s team of more than 100 finance lawyers represents the market’s most active players in matters involving commercial real estate lending, corporate debt, commercial mortgage servicing, corporate trust, structured finance, and other areas. The team brings particular expertise in investment grade and leveraged syndicated credits, structured finance products (including CLOs and CDOs), energy infrastructure project finance, CMBS structuring and servicing, acquisition finance, dividend and other recapitalizations, leveraged REITS, letter of credit financing, credit default swaps and other derivatives products, ABLs, high-yield bond and other public debt issues, and mezzanine financing.