SmithAmundsen Greatly Expands Financial Services Practice

CHICAGO, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SmithAmundsen LLC is pleased to announce the expansion of financial services offered to clients with the addition of two new partners and one associate.  Patrick M. Jones and Karen A. White have joined SmithAmundsen's Chicago office as partners, and Sandra A. Franco has joined the firm's Chicago office as an associate.

"We have looked for ways to expand the scope of financial services we offer clients by looking for the right opportunities to add expertise and depth to the firm," said Glen Amundsen, Chairman and CEO of SmithAmundsen. "Our announcement today is one more step towards furthering the strategic objective of helping serve our business clients."

Mr. Jones has extensive experience in corporate restructuring, creditors' rights, and insolvency-related commercial litigation.  He regularly represents debtors, secured lenders, creditors' committees, and individual creditors in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. In addition, Mr. Jones counsels clients on fiduciary duties in the zone of insolvency and lender protections in single-asset real estate restructurings. Prior to joining SmithAmundsen, Mr. Jones was a partner with Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP where he acted as national bankruptcy counsel for Farmers Insurance Group. Mr. Jones received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D., Order of the Coif, from DePaul University College of Law.

Ms. White focuses her practice in creditors' rights in the area of commercial litigation, banking, bankruptcy, and real estate law. With this focus, Ms. White represents financial institutions and businesses and has extensive experience in secured transactions, collections, bankruptcy, commercial foreclosures, negotiating and drafting contracts (including promissory notes, mortgages, security agreements, purchase, and sale and workout agreements), real estate transactions, enforcing leasehold rights in personal and real property and forming and maintaining the legal existence of corporations, limited liability companies, and other legal entities. Prior to joining SmithAmundsen, Ms. White was a co-founder and shareholder of Burke & White, PC. She earned her B.A. from Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame and her J.D. from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Also joining our financial services practice groups, Ms. Franco focuses her practice in commercial litigation, banking law, and real estate law. Prior to joining SmithAmundsen, she was a legal intern at LR Development Company, LLC, where she was primarily responsible for drafting and reviewing new construction contracts.  Ms. Franco received a B.A. from the University of Illinois and her J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.

SmithAmundsen LLC has grown to more than 120 attorneys with offices in Chicago, Rockford, St. Charles, and Woodstock, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our attorneys share a proficiency in a broad range of practice areas.  As one of Chicago's premier firms, SmithAmundsen's success is built upon a foundation of integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to exceeding client expectations. For more information on the firm, please visit www.salawus.com.

SOURCE SmithAmundsen, LLC