Six Structured Finance Partners Join Chapman's New DC Office from Orrick

Chapman and Cutler LLP announced today that Felicia B. Graham, Douglas L. Madsen, Michael H. Mitchell, Mark R. Riccardi, Craig Fishman, and Rachel G. George, formerly of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, joined the firm as partners in Chapman's newly-established office in Washington, DC. The office is located at 1717 Rhode Island Avenue NW, and is the firm's fifth location.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome such highly regarded and talented attorneys to our firm,” said Tim Mohan, Chief Executive Partner and securitization attorney. “Our new partners will further advance the reach of our securitization and structured finance practice, which is one of the largest in the US. Opening a Washington, DC office has long been part of our strategic plan, and its importance has been increased substantially with heightened regulation affecting our clients in the banking, securities, structured finance, and public finance markets.”

Graham, Madsen, Mitchell, Riccardi, Fishman and George all have significant structured finance practices:

Graham represents financial institutions and issuers in asset-backed commercial paper transactions, asset-backed financings and structured products, and advises clients on related regulatory matters. She also has a longstanding practice as underwriters' counsel in tax-exempt housing transactions.

Madsen advises financial institution clients as issuers of asset-backed securities with a particular emphasis on unsecured consumer asset and credit card-backed revolving securitization structures.

Mitchell acts as counsel to issuers and underwriters on a variety of asset-backed securities issuance platforms and is recognized as an industry authority on SEC regulations and Dodd-Frank rule-making initiatives.

Riccardi represents financial institutions, investors and other market participants in capital markets and debt financing transactions, including structured products, secured lending, securitization, and related regulatory matters.

Fishman represents financial institutions as purchasers, lenders, and investors in asset-backed securities transactions and as lenders in asset-based lending transactions.

George represents financial institutions in a range of asset-based lending and asset-backed securities transactions and advises clients on SEC regulations and Dodd-Frank rule-making initiatives.

“Their industry experience and leadership will accelerate our efforts to expand our East Coast presence and enhance our client relationships by providing new areas of expertise,” said Walt Begley, Partner in Charge of Lateral Recruiting and member of the firm's securitization practice group.

“We are delighted to be joining the extraordinary lawyers at Chapman,” said Mike Mitchell, speaking on behalf of the new Washington, DC partners. “Chapman's focus on finance and the attention the firm continues to place on serving clients in the financial services sector provides an excellent platform for our practices. The culture at Chapman and the commitment the firm has demonstrated to the US financial services marketplace aligns perfectly with our desire to continue providing the excellent legal service that our clients have come to expect through their relationships with us over the years.”

Handling structured transactions involving financial assets, and asset-backed financings with unusual or unique revenue streams is a hallmark of Chapman and Cutler's securitization practice. Chapman is nationally known for its representation of institutional investors in private placement transactions, including securitizations. The firm has represented some of the largest bank sponsors of commercial paper conduits in transactions involving a variety of assets, and regularly advises its clients on the formation of securitization conduits issuing commercial paper to finance assets around the world. As counsel to the American Securitization Forum, Chapman partners have been active participants in advocacy efforts with respect to Dodd-Frank and other rulemaking that affect the securitization industry.

About Chapman and Cutler

The representation of financial institutions has been central to Chapman and Cutler's practice since its founding in 1913. Starting from a base of banking and public finance, the firm and its practice areas have grown and evolved over time to become a sophisticated provider of legal services to banks, corporations, insurance companies, and other participants in the financial services sector. Today Chapman has offices in Chicago, New York, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and now Washington, DC, dedicated to representing financial services clients with respect to transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters. For more information, please visit www.chapman.com.

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