Michael E. Draz > Vedder Price > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

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.

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.