Article courtesy of Lisa Conmy (Foley & Lardner)
The ACIC is thrilled to welcome the following new members since August 2020:
- Michael Urschel (King & Spalding)
- Jonathan Arkins (King & Spalding)
- Ryan McNaughton (King & Spalding)
- Katy Berger (King & Spalding)
- Ignacio Hirigoyen (Prudential)
- Brandon Van Balen (Genworth)
- Sobara Simon-Hart (MetLife)
- Katherine von Geldern (Symetra)
- Michael Warren (Taft Stettinius & Hollister)
To learn more about our new esteemed colleagues, read below:
Michael Urschel leads King & Spalding’s Specialty Finance and Securitization practice recognized as the 2020 Practice Group of the Year by Law360. Mr. Urschel focuses on debt capital markets, securitization, private placements offerings and specialty lending, with a particular focus on esoteric asset financing and acquisition financing of complex assets. Under his leadership, the team has structured over $15 billion in whole business securitizations of franchise royalties and recently represented a lead arranger in a multi-billion-dollar incremental term facility and incremental revolving facility to finance the acquisition of Inspire Brands of Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc.
Mr. Urschel also serves as a member of the firm’s Financial Services leadership team and advises financial institutions and institutional investors on a variety of financing opportunities, regulatory matters and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions across the capital structure. He represents banks, private equity funds, and other institutional investors in a wide range of acquisition financing transactions. He has structured and led financings of numerous franchised concepts, cellular tower, data center and distributed antenna operators, solar and renewable energy assets, an intermodal shipping container business, outdoor advertising receivables, specialty leveraged finance transactions and real-estate lending platforms, among other types of secured lending. Mr. Urschel is top ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and named a “Leading Lawyer” by the Legal 500.
Mr. Urschel received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his M.B.A from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jonathan Arkins is a partner in King & Spalding’s nationally recognized Specialty Finance practice. He represents major financial institutions, private equity funds, and other institutional investors in private placement offerings, revolving and static warehouse facilities, bankruptcy safe harbored financing transactions and structures, domestic and foreign asset-backed securitizations of a diverse range of asset types, supply chain and trade financing and related trade receivable financing and securitization, mortgage and related asset repurchase transactions, fund finance and subscription lines, standby and trade letters of credit, and various other types of secured lending. In addition, Mr. Arkins has extensive experience in short and long term international and domestic monetization transactions, as well as the representation of institutional investors in corporate and asset-backed private placement transactions.
Mr. Arkins received his LL.M., LL.B. and B.Sc from Monash University in Australia.
Ryan McNaughton is a partner in King & Spalding’s nationally recognized Specialty Finance practice. He represents underwriters, issuers, lenders, borrowers, private equity firms and other financial institutions in a variety of structured and asset backed financings, including public and private secured and unsecured note offerings and credit facilities. In addition, he advises ABS investors and sponsors on the structuring, diligence and execution of direct placements in the 4(a)(2) market, as well as acquisitions of ABS issuers, potential ABS issuers and asset backed notes.
Prior to and during the credit crisis, Mr. McNaughton focused his practice primarily on traditional securitization asset classes, including RMBS, CMBS, trade receivables, automobile loan ABS and CLOs. Following the crisis, he has focused more extensively on the esoteric ABS market, including significant transactions in each of the following asset classes: whole business and other operating asset and royalty-backed securitizations; tax liens; PACE bonds; timeshare ABS; structured settlements; BDC lending (pre-securitization warehouse facilities); and wireless spectrum. Mr. McNaughton is currently an Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School, where he teaches a seminar on Secured Transactions.
Mr. McNaughton received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from Williams College.
Katy Berger is a senior associate in King & Spalding’s nationally ranked Specialty Finance practice, resident in the New York office. Ms. Berger represents financial institutions, private equity funds and other institutional investors in a variety of financing transactions, including repurchase transactions, warehouse facilities, receivables financings, securitizations and other asset-based financing transactions and secured and unsecured lending transactions.
Ms. Berger received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A. in Economics from Cornell University.
Brandon Van Balen is Senior Investments Counsel at Genworth Financial based in Stamford, CT. At Genworth Brandon covers several asset classes, including private placements, private equity, middle market loans and other alternative investments. Brandon also assists with internal compliance functions and corporate and vendor contracts. Prior to joining Genworth in April 2020, Brandon was in private practice at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (formerly Hunton & Williams LLP) in Atlanta, GA for approximately 17 years where he was a member of the financial services team representing lenders and other institutional investors. Prior to joining Hunton, Brandon clerked for the Honorable Robert W. Lovegreen, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Rhode Island. Brandon received his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law and his B.A. in environmental studies from Gettysburg College.
Katie von Geldern is Senior Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Symetra Investment Management Company. She is responsible for providing securities and investment legal counsel with respect to alternative investments, structured products, private placements and derivatives in addition to providing regulatory and compliance counsel. Katie was previously counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft in New York representing broker-dealers and financial institutions in financial services and capital markets, focusing on derivatives.
Katie received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.A. from Colorado College.
Michael Warren is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. As a commercial finance attorney, Michael advises institutional investors, private equity groups, lenders and borrowers on legal matters related to private debt/note placement, leveraged, project, unitranche, asset-based, mezzanine and structured financings. He also counsels institutional investors, banks, fund and family office clients on mergers and acquisitions and minority investments.
Michael provides legal guidance for senior and mezzanine lenders (including institutional investors, banks, funds and SBICs), private equity groups and family offices spanning industries such as health care, agriculture, food, manufacturing, contractors, retail and biotechnology.
Michael earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he was the senior editor of the University of St. Thomas Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
