DerivativesOverviewMichael Best advises dealers and end users on a full range of derivative products throughout the entire derivatives lifecycle, including regulatory compliance, transaction documentation, and enforcement.
Counseling Bank Clients
We serve as primary outside counsel to national, regional, and community banks throughout the United States for their derivatives product lines, including counsel on customer documentation and Dodd-Frank compliance.
Efficiently and cost-effectively, we prepare and negotiate International Swaps ands Derivatives Association (ISDA) documents for our clients’ interest rate portfolios. We work with loan counsel to ensure that the swap obligations are secured by the same collateral as the loan. In addition, we work with the bank’s upstream dealer on its back-to-back trades, including negotiating the ISDA Master Agreement, Schedule, and Credit Support Annex.
We also provide guidance on the evolving regulatory issues facing our bank clients, such as compliance with rules on the conduct of swap dealers, eligible contract participants, clearing, swap execution facilities, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and the municipal advisor rules. We provide in-house training and webinars on these and other derivatives-related topics. Related People Preview Attorney's BiographyDaniel advises clients on a variety of domestic and international tax matters. He represents public and private companies in many industries including technology, manufacturing, life sciences, energy, insurance, and more. Lila J. Brueggeman* *Names that appear with an asterisk indicate a Michael Best professional not admitted to practice law.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAlec serves as primary outside counsel to national, regional, and community banks on interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, commodities, and other derivatives product lines, including documentation for customer transactions and Dodd-Frank Act compliance. In addition, he represents end-users on interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, commodities, and other derivatives transactions and compliance. Alec also practices in the areas of commercial lending, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions.  Preview Attorney's BiographyJames is an Associate in Michael Best’s transactional group. He assists clients with a variety of business and transactional matters, with a focus in the banking and financial services sector. Before joining Michael Best, James was an Associate at a boutique trading and investment law firm headquartered in Chicago. In this role, he reviewed, revised, and tracked terms of various physical and derivative trading agreements including ISDA Master Agreements, Prime Brokerage Agreements and Term Lockups, Total Return Swap Master Confirmations, and repurchase agreements. James also regularly assisted with negotiations and conducted due diligence related to clients’ potential trading relationships. While pursuing his law degree, James served as a Law Clerk for an Illinois business law firm where he drafted briefs and motions related to commercial and business litigation matters and conducted legal research on shareholder derivative litigation and dissolution of corporations and LLCs. James also gained experience as a Legal Extern for Gold Coast Bank in Chicago.  Preview Attorney's BiographyBrent represents clients on the full spectrum of finance issues. His strong background in commercial, real estate, and municipal finance and transaction experience have generated an excellent track record in these areas.
Representative matters on behalf of lenders and borrowers encompass negotiating and documenting secured and unsecured financing transactions.  Preview Attorney's BiographyPatrick’s practice focuses on advising hedge funds and investment firms in trading and financing arrangements. With specific knowledge and experience in prime brokerage, margin financing, and derivatives trading documentation, he has helped clients ranging from startup funds to multi-billion-dollar advisors manage trading and portfolio finance risks and develop operational best practices. Patrick negotiates platform agreements such as prime brokerage agreements and financing lockups, ISDA Master Agreements and master confirmations, and repurchase and securities lending agreements, as well as trade-level agreements for specific investments.  Preview Attorney's BiographyJane brings a well-versed background of experience to her work as a banking & financial services paralegal. As the lead paralegal in the firm’s Derivatives group, she assists bank clients as a documentation specialist for interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, and other derivative products. Jane also has extensive experience in assisting with matters involving estate planning, probate, and registered investment company filings with both the SEC and FINRA. Jane C. Taugher* *Names that appear with an asterisk indicate a Michael Best professional not admitted to practice law.
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