From our base in New York, we represent a diverse range of clients across the country and around the world.

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The world of financial services is characterized by intricate transactions, creative solutions and effective enforcement — and our attorneys understand all of these areas inside and out. Davis+Gilbert offers a comprehensive suite of legal services tailored to the financial services sector, encompassing areas such as lending, specialized financings, insolvency, financial products litigation, M&A and complex contractual disputes. The firm’s multidisciplinary approach integrates corporate transactions, tax and litigation expertise to address the complex needs of financial institutions, fintech companies and borrowers across various industries.

Davis+Gilbert represents banks, asset management firms, sponsors and other market participants in high-stakes litigation involving syndicated loans, asset-backed securities, commercial contracts, derivatives and structured finance products, both in and out of bankruptcy proceedings.

When a global bank or a fast-growing fintech startup requires financing, our team structures and negotiates complex senior-secured and asset-based loan transactions, warehouse facilities and revolving credit lines — ensuring clients secure optimal financing terms and robust protections in an evolving regulatory environment.

In the digital banking and payments space, we advise on platform development, payment-processing agreements and data-driven services that align with financial services regulations and technological innovation.

When disputes arise — whether over credit-agreement defaults, commercial contracts, employment matters, FINRA arbitrations in securities matters or complex RMBS repurchase claims — our Litigation + Dispute Resolution group pursues efficient results in court, arbitration or mediation. In restructuring and insolvency proceedings, our specialists advise lenders, servicers and trustees on workouts and bankruptcies, drawing on a track record of crisis-driven restructurings and distressed-asset acquisitions.

We have defended and prosecuted claims arising from alleged misrepresentations in offering documents, fraudulent transfers under the Bankruptcy Code, enforcement of liquidated damages provisions, clearing brokerage agreements, and disputes over loan workouts and restructuring terms. Those matters continue to generate precedent for deal parties, distressed-asset investors and insolvency practitioners seeking to unwind transactions, recoup losses or enforce contractual rights in times of market stress.

The growth of blockchain, digital assets and decentralized finance has transformed how businesses, investors and innovators operate — but it has also created new legal and regulatory challenges and the need for safeguards against fraud. Davis+Gilbert helps clients navigate this rapidly evolving space with clear, practical counsel. Our team litigates recovery of assets in bankruptcy and fraud situations, and advises on compliance and enforcement matters, technology transactions, custody and ownership issues. We also guide clients on disclosure requirements for celebrity and influencer promotions of crypto products, as well as advertising and marketing practices.

From cutting-edge securitizations to crisis-driven restructurings, Davis+Gilbert delivers sharp, practical counsel that helps financial services clients navigate complexity, limit liability and achieve their strategic objectives.

Representative Experience

Financings, Credit Facilities and Corporate Transactions

  • Counseled a West Coast-based bank in over $100 million of commercial real estate refinancing and revolving-credit transactions, creating protective and effective deal documents tailored to specific properties and borrower needs — helping the client expand its East Coast presence.
  • Advised a residential mortgage lender as borrower with over $100 million in warehouse financing, resolving regulatory and structural matters to help the client bring a new, innovative product to market and reduce the risk of regulatory scrutiny.
  • Structuring, negotiating and implementing senior-secured credit facilities for global media agencies to support strategic growth.
  • Represented a major financial services company that holds a portfolio of media assets, in drafting and negotiating multiple agreements with U.S. and international publishers to restructure and transfer those assets.
  • Advising on amended and restated senior credit facilities with syndicates of financial institutions for companies in the nutritional supplements and wellness products sector.
  • Representing providers of prepaid and payment solutions in securing senior credit facilities with multinational investment banks.
  • Representing a global beauty retailer in negotiating a receivables purchase agreement with a French bank, providing enforceability opinions to facilitate the deal.
  • Represented an automated creative testing platform for brands and agencies in its multimillion-dollar Series A preferred-stock financing led by a venture-capital fund.
  • Represented a leading DTC provider of insulated drinkware for adult beverages in its first institutional round — a $20 million Series A financing from a consumer-focused private equity firm.
  • Advised one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and beers in structuring and executing its U.S. venture-investment program.
  • Represented an e-commerce solution company in its Series Seed financing, guiding formation, term-sheet negotiation and closing.
  • Represented a cutting-edge fintech company in its sale to a strategic acquirer.
  • Represented a global innovation leader in its strategic investment in a technology-based data and analytics consultancy firm.

Cryptocurrency and NFTs

  • Represented investors in the major cryptocurrency bankruptcies of FTX, Celsius and Voyager, in asserting claims and defense of clawback litigation.
  • Represent investors in recovery of assets in cryptocurrency forfeiture proceedings and DOJ remission processes, including those related to Bitfinex and BTC-e.
  • Represented the founders of a cryptocurrency trading fund in connection with fund formation, governance and related operational structuring.
  • Counseled a new NFT-focused social media platform — backed by several high-profile crypto/NFT investors — through its formation and early-stage financing rounds.

Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights and Insolvency

  • Achieving dismissals and favorable resolutions for a major residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) sponsor in cases involving fraud and repurchase claims, leading to the dismissal of over $1 billion in claims.
  • Defending a European investment bank against over $600 million in exposure from a fraudulent transfer lawsuit related to Madoff bankruptcy proceedings.
  • Developing strategies to limit legal exposure for marketing communications intermediaries when clients become insolvent, saving hundreds of millions in potential liabilities.
  • Represented financial-services clients in complex structured finance and insolvency litigation, including asset-based securities disputes, leveraging deep transaction expertise to enforce creditor rights through workouts, loan modifications, negotiated settlements and, when necessary, full-blown litigation.
  • Represented a global financial services firm in over 50 deals throughout the country as part of bankruptcy proceedings to protect assets and recover their value.

Litigation and Arbitration

  • Represented a global financial services institution in a $45 million FINRA arbitration brought by an investor asserting unauthorized securities trading, securing a favorable outcome for our client.
  • Defended a global investment bank against $250M legal exposure in RMBS litigation brought by investors who sought to hold it liable for fraud based on alleged misrepresentations in offering documents. Obtained dismissals and favorable resolutions in all actions.
  • Defended a global investment bank against a multibillion dollar exposure in a nationwide antitrust class action and multidistrict litigation brought by municipalities that issued tax-exempt bonds alleging, industry-wide bid-rigging in the procurement of municipal bond investment vehicles. Facing the leading class action plaintiffs' law firms in the country, we obtained a favorable settlement for our client.
  • Won a post-trial motion to have a federal district court set aside a jury verdict of a multimillion dollar finder's fee claim related to the alleged lift out of a team of wealth management professionals. Then defeated the plaintiff's appeal and won court costs related to that appeal.
  • Represented a major hedge fund in a $15 million contract dispute in JAMS arbitration, obtaining a favorable resolution for our client.

Real Estate

  • Negotiated various contracts for the construction of an international financial institution’s new U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, including a $75 million build-out contract.
  • Represented a renowned global investment company with total assets of over $200 billion in negotiating various leases involving its future corporate headquarters at Hudson Yards.

Labor and Employment

  • Advised a global equity management firm on claims for failure to pay millions in incentive compensation. Negotiated settlement terms significantly below the potential value before any public lawsuit or other legal action was initiated.
  • Advising a public alternative asset manager with over $70 billion in assets under management with respect to their day-to-day employment needs, including employment, restrictive covenants, arbitration and separation agreements, as well as the employment issues arising from their M&A activities.

Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing

  • Providing a prominent financial institution with ongoing digital counsel for mobile applications and consumer initiatives. We regularly consult on product legal issues and open-source compliance, as well as review UI/UX copy, draft terms and conditions and negotiate technology agreements.
  • From marquee global banks to emerging digital lenders, Davis+Gilbert delivers strategic, business-minded legal solutions that help financial-services clients anticipate challenges, manage regulatory risk and capitalize on growth opportunities.

Key Contacts