Katten Partner Anna-Liza Harris Named Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Structured Finance Foundation

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Apr 28, 2021, 14:38 ET

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Katten announced today that Anna-Liza Harris, national co-chair of the firm's preeminent Structured Finance and Securitization practice, has been tapped to helm the Structured Finance Foundation's Board of Trustees.

The foundation is an affiliate of the Structured Finance Association (SFA), which assists members and public policymakers nationwide in growing credit availability and the real economy in a responsible manner.

Katten partner Anna-Liza Harris has been named chair of the Structured Finance Foundation's Board of Trustees.

Harris has been secretary of the SFA Board of Directors since 2019 and will keep that post along with her new leadership role with the foundation, which partners with the University of the District of Columbia to fund fellowships for its students pursuing degrees in business disciplines. Harris is a past chair of the SFA Tax Policy Committee and has been a member of its Executive Committee for two years.

"Anna-Liza continues to be chosen for these head roles because she is a proven leader, someone whose deep industry knowledge and understanding of people and processes will undoubtedly help elevate the core missions of these organizations," said Katten Chairman Roger P. Furey.

Working with a broad range of financial assets such as distressed and non-performing debt, debt secured by esoteric assets, synthetics and debt issued in revolving structures, Harris is highly skilled at designing innovative securitization structures, including many "first of their kind" transactions that require creativity and extensive market knowledge to develop.

Harris also is a partner in Katten's Tax practice and has significant experience with the tax concerns of private equity funds and hedge funds, advising clients on taxation of investment vehicles, including real estate mortgage investment conduits, grantor trusts and offshore funds related to asset-backed securitization, residential and multifamily mortgage-backed securitizations and derivatives, to name some.

Katten's industry-leading Structured Finance and Securitization practice is consistently ranked among the top issuers' counsel for issuers of asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities nationwide. Recently shortlisted for ABS Law Firm of the Year and RMBS Law Firm of the Year by GlobalCapital magazine, Katten is known for its representation of benchmark issuers in several asset classes, including auto finance and residential and commercial mortgage. Because the group consolidates in one place the tax, bankruptcy, banking, derivatives and ERISA knowledge necessary to move transactions smoothly and efficiently, Katten's practice is noteworthy in the legal industry. Within the span of one year, this practice has completed deals totaling more than $20 billion.

Katten is a full-service law firm with nearly 650 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com.

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