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John T. Curran is a partner in the firm's Banking and Financial Services department, representing lenders in most every aspect of financial transactions, with broad and extensive experience in financing commercial real estate including mixed-use properties, commercial office buildings, hotels, multi-family housing and shopping centers.  John’s broad expertise extends to construction lending and syndicated facilities as well as transactions with derivative components (e.g., swaps and caps) with broad experience in non-traditional areas such as credit support documents for letters of credit. John has led major institutions in transactions and closings throughout New York and approximately 20 other states across the country. His experience extends to commercial condominiums, cond-ops, and leasehold estates as well as to non-real estate lending (such as co-op secured transactions). He has guided major financial institutions in establishing full-service real estate lending programs in various regions across the country, in places such as Florida, the midwest and the west coast (California), acting as a liaison between the local counsel and the firm’s lending clients.

In addition to his transactional practice, John provides the firm’s lending clients with comprehensive, detailed advice on commercial loan documentation (including commitment letters, notes, mortgages and loan agreements) as well as all types of credit supporting documentation, such as guarantees and environmental indemnities.

With a career spanning many decades which have seen several turns of the real estate cycle, John’s background includes broad and significant experience in loan workouts and restructurings, mortgage foreclosures, and mortgage enforcement, having represented numerous lenders in note sales (individual and bulk), deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure, short sales, and REO sales. John’s expansive experience with distressed loans provides the Firm and it clients with a unique and comprehensive perspective on loan documentation and the necessary provisions to protect lenders and facilitate asset recovery or asset transfers.

John has guided the Firm’s lending clients through numerous loan asset purchases and asset sales.  He assembles and guides teams reviewing loan packages for purchase.  He provides guidance and representation on participations (sale or purchase of participation interests) and leads teams which facilitate the review and analysis of loan packages, including loan sales intended for further securitization in the capital markets.

Throughout his career, John has litigated many cases on behalf of the firm's banking clients, including title claims, account disputes, receivership matters, landlord-tenant disputes, and contract disputes. His experience extends to the appellate level, and he has successfully represented numerous clients in state and federal appeals.

Practice Areas

Industries

Admissions

  • Florida (Inactive)
  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Education

  • J.D., St. John’s University School of Law, 1982
  • B.A., Hamilton College, magna cum laude, 1976

Representative Experience

  • Guided major institutional lender in the transfer of loans to a CMBS pool (approximately $1.1BB in loan assets), providing advice to CMBS counsel on loan practices and loan covenants included in the transferred assets.
  • Provided re-written and new loan documentation for major institutional lender, forms on which tens of billions of loan transactions have been written.
  • Spearheaded and guided successful efforts by a major institutional lender in establishing full service (secured real estate) lending arms in Florida and Chicago as well as throughout the United States, with billions of dollars of loans originated.
  • Represented community lender in the acquisition of packages of loans for a portfolio.
  • Completed and guided the UCC enforcement sale (auction) of loan collateral security consisting of proprietary leases for 89 Manhattan residential cooperative apartments; resulting in near total asset recovery for the lender.
  • Provided advice to major national institutional national lender on loan forms and credit support documentation

Professional and Community Activities

  • Lecturer on developments in Rent Regulations and Tax Abatements and their potential effect on lenders
  • Guest speaker, continuing legal education (CLE) panels on the topics of mortgages and mortgage foreclosures