Vedder Price > Los Angeles, United States > Firm Profile

Vedder Price > The Legal 500 Rankings

Transport > Aviation and air travel: finance Tier 1

Transport > Rail and road: finance Tier 1

Transport > Aviation and air travel: finance Tier 1

Fielding ‘an outstanding group with great competences‘, Vedder Price‘s global transportation finance team handles a broad range of aircraft finance work. Its coverage includes sizeable M&A transactions, aircraft-related asset-backed securities matters, portfolio debt financings, structured multi-aircraft financings, and sale and leaseback transactions. The group also advises on individual aircraft and parts sales, as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul agreements. Focused on structured financings in the aviation transportation sector, Geoffrey Kass leads the team from Chicago, where Adam R. Beringer is a highly regarded commercial aircraft finance specialist. Also in Chicago, Michael E. Draz‘s broad experience includes representing investors in establishing strategic joint ventures and new leasing platforms for aviation assets; and Mark J. Ditto advises on significant commercial aircraft and large-value equipment transactions. In New York, Jeffrey Veber has an enviable track record in high-stakes aviation financings, while Cameron A. Gee is ‘a go-to partner‘. Also integral to the practice are Los Angeles-based aircraft finance deal specialist Raviv Surpin, along with Chicago’s James Kilner and the ‘very strong‘ Justine L. Chilvers in New York – both were elevated to shareholder status in April 2022.

Transport > Rail and road: finance Tier 1

Vedder Price‘s sizeable transportation asset finance and securitization practice is consistently sought out by lessors, lenders, manufacturers, government agencies, equity investors and operators for major transactions, including complex railcar portfolio securitizations, and railcar purchases and sales. The team also fields experts in domestic and international leasings and debt financings of rail assets, in addition to advising both borrowers and lenders on railcar warehouse and term loan facilities involving bankruptcy remote borrowers. Among the department’s several experienced partners, rail finance structuring specialist Michael E. Draz ‘provides great counsel‘, New York-based Jeffrey Veber routinely represents lenders in transportation finance matters, and Clay C. Thomas in Los Angeles advises on acquisition, leasing and financing deals. Also integral to the group is John T. Bycraft, who is an expert in structured finance transactions involving rolling stock portfolios, while Geoffrey Kass chairs the firm’s global transportation finance practice. Within the enviable associate pool, Joel R. Thielen is experienced in representing private equity and hedge funds, commercial banks, operating lessors and manufacturers in railcar financing structures, and Jillian S. Greenwald‘s practice covers a range of transactions involving rolling stock portfolios. All practitioners listed are based in Chicago unless otherwise stated.

M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m) Tier 2

Transport > Shipping: finance Tier 2

Transport > Shipping: finance Tier 2

As ‘one of the go-to firms in the industry‘, Vedder Price‘s global transportation finance team regularly acts for lenders, borrowers, lessors, lessees, shipbuilders, marine terminal operators, owners and charterers on structuring major maritime and offshore finance deals. The group advises on a broad range of maritime and offshore assets, including cargo and passenger transportation vessels, intermodal containers, chassis, barges, terminal facilities, ferries, and offshore construction and oil exploration vessels. It also has extensive experience in workouts and restructurings, and is additionally sought out for its expertise in maritime and offshore construction contracts, and ship registration and mortgage recordation laws in the US, the Marshall Islands, Liberia and Vanuatu. In New York, John Bradley is a specialist in cross-border marine finance structures, the ‘responsive and experienced‘ John Imhof Jr is experienced in a range of financings, and associate John Geager consistently advises on large-scale vessel financings and refinancings. Geoffrey Kass chairs the firm’s global transportation finance group from the Chicago office.

Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds Tier 3

Admired for its ‘extensive knowledge and experience in the mutual fund industry‘, Vedder Price is a reliable choice for the range of matters in the registered fund sphere, from the plethora of regulatory matters, securities regulations and ERISA and tax matters, to derivatives and structured products, transactions and contentious issues. The practice acts for hundreds of separate open and closed-end Investment Company Act of 1940 registered funds, ranging from those with $5bn to over $100bn in assets. The firm’s Chicago office is a key location for the practice; practice co-heads Cathy Gonzales O’Kelly and Joseph Mannon are based there, as well as Renee Hardt and Deborah Bielicke Eades. Bruce Rosenblum is the third of the trio coordinating the department and is based in Washington DC, alongside Marguerite Bateman and Amy Ward Pershkow.

Labor and employment > Labor-management relations Tier 3

Vedder Price offers specialist advice on substantive and procedural points of law under the National Labor Relations Act and frequently appears before the NLRB in unfair-labor-practice and representation matters. Union organizing, decertification petitions and maintaining union-free status are key focuses of the team. Elizabeth N. Hall  chairs the group, while Eugene A. Boyle  counsels and defends companies in cases spanning all aspects of labor law, and Kenneth F. Sparks  has extensive experience working with health care organizations, logistics companies, and manufacturers on labor litigation matters. Los Angeles-based Candice Zee focuses on traditional labor law matters and NLRB proceedings. All lawyers are in Chicago unless otherwise stated.

Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling Tier 3

Vedder Price has experience counseling and representing business clients in traditional labor and employment matters including harassment, discrimination, wrongful discharge claims and union-centric grievances. The team operates out of Chicago and has developed expertise in advising clients in the healthcare, financial services and cannabis sectors. Elizabeth Hall heads the practice and represents employers before state and federal courts in claims relating to breach of contract, negligence and failure to accommodate disabilities. Nicholas Anaclerio is a seasoned litigator and assists clients with sexual harassment matters.

Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense Tier 4

Vedder Price government investigations and white-collar defense practice has a solid track record in representing individuals in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the SEC, DOJ, and other regulatory authorities. The team is led by Chicago-based duo Thomas Cimino and Junaid Zubairi, both of whom act for corporations as well as their executives and board of directors in a broad range of matters including financial and securities fraud. Also in Chicago, former Assistant US Attorney Ryan Hedges is praised for his ‘ability to break down complex accounting processes.’

Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design Tier 4

Vedder Price, a practice that has both ‘depth and expertise’, has a number of specialisms, including SEC disclosure, corporate law and the tax implications of executive compensation, employee benefits and retirement plans. The firm also handles a variety of day-to-day design issues as well as retirement and welfare benefit plans, alongside C-suite and executive compensation and employment arrangements. Practice head Christopher Collins has a particular focus on retirement and welfare plan design, qualification and compliance. ‘Responsive’ and ‘intelligent’ Thomas Hancuch primarily focuses on employee benefit plan design, such as ERISA compliance, while Kelly Starr has experience of negotiating and structuring executive employment agreements, executive compensation, and benefit arrangements. All listed attorneys are based in Chicago.

Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions) Tier 4

The team at Vedder Price is headed by Elizabeth Hall in Chicago, who has a particular specialism in employment issues relating to COVID-19 including return-to-work matters, employee safety, remote working environment management, and managing leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The practice is experienced in representing employers at both state and federal level, as well as before administrative agencies and arbitral forums. Alex C. Weinstein is a key contact in Chicago for trade secret matters, while Candice Zee is a noted name for traditional labor issues in Los Angeles.

Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense Tier 5

Vedder Price’s Chicago office is well known for its prowess in SEC and DOJ investigations and enforcement actions, in which it is ‘very practical and strategic in its approach, as well as being excellent at collaboration and cost-efficient’. Thomas Cimino is chair of the firm’s overall litigation practice and also the financial services litigation practice group, of which the securities litigation practice is a key part. His experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts includes high-stakes securities fraud class actions and shareholder disputes. Randall Lending has extensive jury trial, bench trial, arbitration and class action experience. His recent work includes acting for independent directors of Great-West Funds connection with litigation under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act, alleging breach of fiduciary duty by the investment adviser. Regulatory enforcement specialist Junaid Zubairi is ‘a very effective advocate and has had major engagement in numerous civil securities matters’.

Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital) Tier 6

Vedder Price‘s private fund formation practice is ‘dedicated to getting projects completed as efficiently as commercially possible‘, with its team drawing on diverse experience to advise private equity and venture capital funds, funds focused on aviation, maritime, railcar and other real assets, and real estate funds. Joseph Mannon at the Chicago office is the main contact and leads an array of matters for private equity, venture and real asset funds. Robert Crea in San Francisco is the name to note on the West Coast and his broad caseload includes representing pension plans and other institutional investors targeting PE and VC funds.

Real estate > Land use/zoning