Steve's principal areas of practice include corporate finance and banking, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets and securities, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. He regularly represents commercial lenders and corporate borrowers in a variety of corporate finance transactions that include secured and unsecured commercial loan transactions, as well as representing corporate clients in mergers and acquisition transactions, asset purchases and sales, other corporate transactions, and corporate governance matters. He represents clients in a variety of sectors, including financial institutions and others providing financial services; physician groups, hospital systems, and others in the health care industry; telecom related companies; manufacturers; and real estate companies.
Prior to joining Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, Steve practiced for a total of 10 years with Clifford Chance LLP in New York City and London and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in London. He focused on representing underwriters and issuers in European and global debt and equity securities offerings, international commercial banks in leveraged finance transactions, and European issuers with respect to ongoing reporting requirements under U.S. securities law and corporate governance best practice.
Steve has experience managing all aspects of debt and equity capital market transactions, including drafting and negotiating contracts such as purchase agreements, indentures (including covenant terms for high yield debt instruments), intercreditor agreements, secured and unsecured credit agreements, bridge loan agreements, legal opinions and other closing documents for equity and debt securities offerings, and other leveraged finance transactions. He has substantial experience drafting disclosure documents for registered and unregistered debt and equity capital market transactions and managing comprehensive due diligence processes for securities transactions. Steve has acted as lead counsel on several multi-jurisdictional leveraged finance transactions, including managing and coordinating local counsel in the context of those transactions. He also has substantial experience drafting and negotiating agreements in the mergers and acquisitions area, including stock purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements, merger agreements and related financing documents, including commitment letters for bank clients in support of bidding sponsors in connection with leveraged buyout transactions. Steve has also advised institutional investors in reviewing and analyzing credit agreements, mezzanine loans, payment-in-kind (PIK) facilities, high yield notes, and other debt obligations, focusing in particular on covenant packages, lender rights and remedies, and other syndicate bank relevant provisions in support of clients' assessment of potential portfolio investments. In addition, Steve has substantial experience acting as deal counsel in complex structured finance transactions such as CDO/CLO structures, negotiating and drafting swaps and other derivatives transactions, and representing dealer managers and issuers in debt and equity tender offers.
Prior to attending law school, Steve worked for six years as a commodity trader for Bunge Corporation and a further two years in the financial sector in New York with Lehman Brothers, among others.