Mike’s practice focuses on the purchase, sale and trading of loans, securities, claims, derivatives and other interests in domestic and international companies in, near, or emerging from financial distress. He has extensive experience representing commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds in corporate finance, structured finance and derivative transactions, with an emphasis on investments in and secondary market trading of loans, securities, claims, derivatives and other interests in domestic and international companies in, near or emerging from financial distress, using LSTA, LMA, ISDA and bespoke documentation.

Mike advises clients throughout the life of the financial asset, from primary asset origination through pre-trade diligence, confirmation negotiation, trading and settlement, through restructuring (whether through bankruptcy or private transactions) or maturity. Areas of substantive counsel include due diligence, internal compliance, regulatory, bankruptcy, and corporate and securities, with an emphasis on public side/private side, confidential information flow issues and Securities Act registration exemption analysis.

Mike is a frequent panelist at LSTA events, and author and draftsman of various LSTA-published documents, articles, user's guides and market advisories on a broad range of topics affecting the secondary loan market, including forms of LSTA standard documentation, user's guides, domestic trading advisories and cross-border trading literature.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1996

BA, Classics, University of Virginia, with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, Raven Society, 1993

• Represented numerous commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds in thousands of LSTA, LMA, ISDA and bespoke purchases and sales of domestic and international distressed and par bank debt, "when issued" securities and other securities, and bankruptcy claims. 
• Served as counsel to the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) in drafting jointly with the Loan Market Association (LMA) the standard cross-border distressed trading documentation glossary and user's guide.
• Served as counsel to the LSTA in drafting the standard domestic distressed trading documentation and related user's guide. 
• Served as counsel to the LSTA in drafting the standard domestic "buy-in/sell-out" remedy provisions in the par trade confirmation. 
• Represented numerous commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds in managing the flow of confidential information and negotiating confidentiality agreements and "big boy" letters. 
• Represented numerous commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds in actively monitoring bankruptcy proceedings and assisting in creditor recovery valuation. 
• Represented large financial institution in connection with an equity-linked note issuance program. 
• Represented numerous lenders and borrowers in negotiating syndicated credit agreements. 
• Represented numerous investment banks, commercial banks and mortgage companies in various purchases and sales of mortgage loan portfolios. 
• Represented issuers and servicers in several residential mortgage securitization programs. 
• Represented large financial institution in sale of mortgage loan servicing platform. 
• Represented Fortune 500 corporations in connection with financings for acquisitions aggregating over $1,000,000,000. 
• Represented commercial finance subsidiary of Fortune 500 corporation in providing financing of energy savings and generation projects.

• Member, Loan Syndications and Trading Association, Inc.
• Member, International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.
• Member, LSTA Legal Advisory Committee and Trade Practices and Forms Committee; ISDA Loan Only CDS Committee and Loan Settlement Working Group Committee

• "Rising Star," North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, 2009-2010

• What dads want – and don’t want – for Father’s Day, Fox News
• It’s not you, it’s me – A Netflix breakup, The Charlotte Observer
• God Is in the Punch Line, WSJ
• Courage? Civility? I’m your guy, Mr. Bezos, The Charlotte Observer
• Peer Pressure Can Be Good, The Wall Street Journal
• Would I make it on the Dutton Ranch in ‘Yellowstone’?, The Charlotte Observer
• ‘Dustoff’ Crews Deserve Recognition, The Wall Street Journal
• Seizing joy at the airport: An invaluable lesson from my 11-year-old, The Charlotte Observer
• Why you won’t catch me in madras pants at the office any more – not even on a Friday, The News & Observer
• The True Colors Of A Southern Fall Face Off This Saturday, The Federalist
• George Costanza’s Guide to Better Living, The Wall Street Journal
• Support International Mother Language Day. Use A Simile, American Greatness
• Character Counts at the Super Bowl, The Wall Street Journal
• User's Guide for LSTA Distressed Trading Documentation
• Toward a More Integrated World: The Future of the Global Distressed Loan Market, The Handbook of Loan Syndications & Trading
• The pandemic’s jarring soundtrack: the vroom-vroom of leaf blowers, The Charlotte Observer
• Friendship, Fitness and French Press: Wellness in the COVID Era, The Charlotte Observer
• The Constitution Makes Beautiful Music, Wall Street Journal
• Nobody Knows I’m a Bad Chess Player, Wall Street Journal
• Christmas memory I’ll always treasure – you won’t believe this woman’s act of generosity, Fox News
• The Intercession of the Grateful Dead, Wall Street Journal
• C-120 Cassettes Taught Me Econ 101, Wall Street Journal
• Clichés Set Off Alarm Bells, The Wall Street Journal
• The Best $14 I Ever Spent, American Greatness
• Happy Birthday, P.G. Wodehouse!, American Greatness
• ‘The Hound of Heaven’ in Slow Pursuit, The Wall Street Journal
• If Dylan and Springsteen can cash in on their songbooks, maybe I can?, The Charlotte Observer
• A Thousand Silent Farewells, The Wall Street Journal
• From March Madness To The Masters, It Must Be Nice To Be Jim Nantz, The Federalist
• The Blessing of a Mother’s Love, The Wall Street Journal
• What I Learned From My Father About The Prodigal Son, The Federalist
• A Sweet Lesson in Changing My Opinions, The Wall Street Journal
• The man doesn’t find the nickname. The nickname finds the man., The News & Observer
• Could Virgil Write a Good College Essay?, The Wall Street Journal
• Sports Movies That Continue to Inspire, The Wall Street Journal
• T-Rex to Modern Science: Don’t Give Me Any Lip, American Greatness
• Hit Your Walk-Up Song Out of the Park, The Wall Street Journal
• Jerome Powell and the Grateful Dead, The Wall Street Journal
• What I want for Father’s Day? Absolution. For the tenderloin incident., The Charlotte Observer
• I’ll have a Bojangles biscuit and a sweet tea with that COVID shot, The Charlotte Observer
• The Super Bowl made it official: I’m turning into my dad. | Opinion, The Charlotte Observer
• Easy Listening = Alternative Music + Time, The Wall Street Journal
• Coronavirus lesson - what I learned about worship services while social isolating, Fox News
• The Future of the Global Distressed Loan Market, LSTA Loan Market Chronicle
• Humor Begins to Clear My Family’s Covid Brain Fog, Wall Street Journal
• We Don’t Need Any Education, Wall Street Journal
• Jack Makes it Rain, American Greatness
• Teddy Roosevelt’s Advice for Those Who Get College Rejections, The Wall Street Journal
• Houston, We Have A Tiger Problem, American Greatness
• The Lost Wisdom of the Busy Signal, The Wall Street Journal
• The story of my first Charlotte crush, Charlotte Observer
• God’s Jigsaw Puzzle Needs Every Piece, The Wall Street Journal
• Eternity and the Grateful Dead, The Wall Street Journal
• The Sixth-Best Feeling, The Wall Street Journal
• A Touch of Heaven at the Dino Stop, The Wall Street Journal
• God and Math at Dinner, The Wall Street Journal
• Standing Back to See More Clearly, American Greatness
• Did My Prayer Solve a Fictional Murder?, The Wall Street Journal
• My First Lesson in Beauty, The Wall Street Journal
• Man Bites What? No, Rye Is a Dog, The Wall Street Journal
• I narrowly avoided tragedy on a Colorado highway. Meet the two hero cops who put their lives on the line, Fox News
• Commentary: A birthday salute to PG Wodehouse, Blaze Media
• God’s Mercy and the Atari I Never Got, The Wall Street Journal
• Let Beauty Nourish and Move You, The Wall Street Journal
• In Praise of Toby Keith, Carl Weathers, and Every Other Wild American, National Review
• DJ Burns Jr.’s Slam-Dunk Smile, The Wall Street Journal
• Our nation owes a debt to these heroes of Vietnam. Let's pay it off, Fox News
• Let’s Shake On It, The Wall Street Journal
• Sing to forget your least favorite things, The Charlotte Observer
• During the Coronavirus shutdown, the waitress who tipped me – and other Easter miracles, Fox News
• Can 2020 get any more squirrelly? Pro-tip -- it can always get worse, Fox News
• Season of Change: New Editions of LSTA Form Documents, LSTA Loan Market Chronicle
• COVID-19 and the value of letting things go, Charlotte Observer
• Brooks Brothers Is a Brand Out of Time, The Wall Street Journal
• The Fog of Worship With Facemasks, Wall Street Journal
• An update on some proverbs for Generation Z, Charlotte Observer
• My Mom’s Christian Lesson: ‘Offer It Up’, The Wall Street Journal
• Love, Duty and a Friend’s Death, The Wall Street Journal
• My Old Truck Spoke Louder Than Words, The Wall Street Journal
• I Finished Second in the Cheapskate Sweepstakes, The Wall Street Journal
• I Can Live Without a Living Room, The Wall Street Journal
• For Lent, I’m Reading Up on the Christian Saints, The Wall Street Journal
• After A Perfect Week Of Sports, Can The Universe Deliver Another Gift To American Soccer Fans?, The Federalist
• My Free-Range Parents Kept Me Healthy, The Wall Street Journal
• Christmas presence: The true gift we must offer each other, Fox News
• A car-sized asteroid? Don’t beat yourself up if you missed it, Opinion, The Charlotte Observer
• God Is My Global Positioning System, The Wall Street Journal
• Generation X Did Summer Vacation Right, Wall Street Journal
• A Spa Day, and the Price Is Right, The Wall Street Journal
• Loretta Lynn and My Sister-in-Law, The Wall Street Journal
• A Life Hack, if You Can Keep It, The Wall Street Journal
• My ‘Sweater Theory’ in Practice, The Wall Street Journal
• We Can All Learn From Travis Hunter, The Wall Street Journal
• Halloween? Not scary. But this one night sure was., The Charlotte Observer
• Big Love for a Small Dog, The Wall Street Journal
• User's Guide for LSTA Distressed Trading Documentation
• As Coronavirus keeps us at home, we need laughter to get us through a tough time, Fox News
• ‘The Hunt for Red October’ has this timeless message for Americans today, Fox News
• LMA and LSTA Standard Documentation (Distressed) A Comparative Study for Users
• Late Bloomer Learns to Forgive, Wall Street Journal
• Confidence, College and How to Beat COVID-19, The Charlotte Observer
• Homesick In Heaven, American Greatness
• A Priest Finds Serenity in Humor, The Wall Street Journal
• Lessons From the School of Classic Rock, The Wall Street Journal
• Someday We’ll All Look Back and Laugh, Wall Street Journal
• Wodehouse, Similes, and Summer, American Greatness
• What Football Can Teach Us About Losing A Loved One, The Federalist
• A Canonized Saint Who Began as an Everyday One, The Wall Street Journal
• Running Jump-Started My Prayer Life, The Wall Street Journal
• The Hunt for Red October at the Breakfast Table, The Wall Street Journal
• Marcus Aurelius in the Middle Seat, The Wall Street Journal
• Like Tim McGraw, I miss ‘back when’ - but not all of it, The Charlotte Observer
• An Anti-Cat Study Gives Me Cause for Paws, The Wall Street Journal
• Our Dog, Who Art in Heaven, The Wall Street Journal
• Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Global Finance