Equipment Leasing and Finance Association - Equipping Business for Success

R. Scott Adams

Vice President Legal & Compliance, North America
Volvo Financial Services

Scott Adams serves as VP, Legal & Compliance North America for Volvo Financial Services in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has experience structuring, negotiating and documenting a variety of commercial transactions, as well as managing bankruptcy and insolvency matters. A native of Charleston, W.Va., he attended Colgate University and WVU College of Law.

Kyle Alexandre

VP, State Government Relations
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association

Randall Armentrout

Attorney
Nyemaster Goode Law Firm

Randall D. Armentrout is a member of the law firm of Nyemaster Goode, P.C., based in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Armentrout practices in the areas of commercial law and finance contract enforcement. His clients include equipment finance and leasing companies and financial institutions. Mr. Armentrout has handled a wide variety of commercial litigation in federal and state courts.

Mr. Armentrout was a law clerk to the Honorable James H. Carter, Iowa Supreme Court, and the Honorable George G. Fagg, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Iowa (1988) and his J.D. degree, with honors, from Drake University Law School (1991). Mr. Armentrout is a member of the American, Iowa, and Polk County Bar Associations, the Iowa Defense Council, and the Equipment Lease and Finance Association (ELFA). He is admitted to practice law in the Iowa state and federal courts, the United States Courts for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Armentrout is a former Commissioner for the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission, which presides over attorney disciplinary complaints.

Shari Bacsardi Esq

Partner
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP

Shari Bacsardi means business, her clients' business. Her clients value her focus on their specific needs in deal structuring, and her creative solutions to complex financial arrangements. With more than 24 years of transactional finance experience, Shari’s detail oriented, responsive and "get it done" approach has earned her the trust of her clients. She appreciates and understands her clients' business goals and provides succinct legal guidance to reach them.

Shari has broad experience documenting and negotiating personal property commercial finance transactions. She represents lenders and lessors in all aspects of equipment finance transactions, with an emphasis on transportation assets including aircraft (corporate and commercial), rail equipment, locomotives and railcars, vessels (barges and tankers), and specialty assets.

Shari also has significant experience with financing energy generators, storage tanks, computer hardware, mining equipment, trucks, and manufacturing and construction equipment . Shari counsels clients on the acquisition and disposition of sizeable loan and lease portfolios.

Shari holds a B.A. in Public Policy Studies (Cum Laude) from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. She is admitted to practice law in the states of Maryland, New York, Vermont and West Virginia.

An avid mountain biker, hiker, baker, yogini and former Division I athlete, Shari supports community-based organizations that promote healthy living.

Vincent Borst

Partner
Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC

An accomplished advocate with over three decades of diverse and immersive litigation experience, Vince Borst develops and implements comprehensive strategies designed to achieve optimal outcomes in complex, consequential disputes. Vince's careful, thorough, and organized approach and problem-solving acumen has led to a long track record of success at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts nationwide. 

Vince advances his clients' interests and protects their rights in a wide range of matters, including those involving equipment leasing, secured lending, mortgage foreclosures, factoring, and aviation. He has substantial experience counseling clients during all stages of litigation, from pre-suit positioning and investigations through pleadings, discovery, and pre-trial proceedings, to trial and appellate proceedings when appropriate. While always ready to forcefully advocate for his clients in the courtroom, Vince also has extensive experience on the transactional side, drafting equipment lease, factoring, and loan documents on behalf of lessors, factors, secured lenders, and banks. 

Vince serves as General Counsel to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Christine Brown

Sr. Flex Financial Counsel
Flex Financial, Stryker

Christine is the Director, Senior Counsel of Stryker’s captive finance arm, Flex Financial, since 2019. Previously, Christine served as Senior Counsel at PNC Equipment Finance (successor to National City Commercial Capital) for over 14 years. Christine holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William & Mary and a law degree from The George Washington University Law School. Christine lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two daughters.

Eileen Brown

Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP

Eileen is a successful negotiator and strategist who focuses on her clients' goals throughout every transaction. She advises financial institutions and operating companies in asset-based financing and equipment leasing transactions.
Eileen advises clients on maritime financing, commercial, and regulatory matters, including loan and security documents, purchase and sale agreements, and a variety of leasing and chartering arrangements. She also counsels large companies negotiating aircraft leases, acquisitions, financing, purchase and sale transactions as well as aircraft operational structures under Part 91. Eileen represents clients before various U.S. agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd), and the U.S. Coast Guard. With more than 25 years' experience, Eileen recognizes the importance of fully engaging with the client’s team on each project—from engineers to originators and portfolio managers—which helps her balance often-competing needs. Prior to joining the firm, Eileen was an attorney with MarAd, focusing on the Title XI loan guarantee program. She also served as counsel for International Registries, Inc. (IRI) at the time that IRI served as corporate and maritime administrator for the Republics of Liberia and the Marshall Islands.

Rafael Castillo-Triana

CEO, Latin American Region
The Alta Group LLC

Scott Chait

Director, Counsel - Practice Group Head
Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd.

Scott Chait is an equipment leasing and finance attorney in the Americas Division of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. His industry experience includes not only in-house and law firm positions, but he has also served “in the trenches” in an operations role with an international bank affiliate. His experience covers a wide-range of asset types in the small, medium, and large ticket sectors and he has documented, structured, negotiated, and closed a diverse portfolio of transactions, including direct originations, syndications, refinancings, workouts, transfers and assumptions, and vendor and dealer referral and remarketing programs. Scott has also developed standard documentation, policies, and operational procedures, and conducted extensive trainings for non-lawyer professionals. His past experience also includes handling litigation and bankruptcy matters for banks, bank affiliates, captives, and independent equipment finance companies.

Josephine Chang

Counsel
Reed Smith LLP

Matthew Cleaves

Managing Counsel, Equipment Finance and Vendor Financial Services
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

Robert Cohen

Partner
Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Robert S. Cohen is a Partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP, with offices located on Long Island and in New York City. With over 26 years of experience in all facets of the equipment leasing and asset based lending industries, Bob's practice is devoted to commercial litigation, creditors' rights, corporate transactions and bankruptcy matters. Bob has particular experience in the documentation of financial transactions, enforcement of equipment leases and secured loans, as well as the negotiation of workouts and resolutions. He frequently serves as a speaker and author on various topics relating to the leasing industry.

Bob devotes a significant portion of his time as an active member of ELFA, serving on its Credit and Collections Management Committee, as well as participating as a presenter at its various conferences, including its 2013 Legal Forum Conference, and 2012 and 2011 Credit and Collections Conferences where he served as a speaker at sessions on litigation strategy, electronic discovery, forbearance agreements, lease/secured transaction documentation and legal updates in the finance industry. He is also an active member of NEFA, serving on both its Legal and Education Committees and participating as a presenter at its annual conferences.

In 2012, Bob also presented at the Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys' CLEW Conference. In addition to his professional endeavors, Bob is an active supporter of the Special Olympics of New York-Long Island Region, where he has served as a Chairman of its Annual Gold Coast Tour for Champions Golf Outing for the past eleven years.

Jennifer Crastz

Partner
Hemar, Rousso & Heald, LLP

Jennifer Witherell Crastz’s practice is concentrated on bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation, representing secured and unsecured creditors in Chapter 7, 11 and 13 proceedings, and a broad range of business and commercial litigation matters, including U.C.C. and equipment leasing disputes.

Ms. Crastz received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her law degree in 1996 from Southwestern University School of Law, where she was a member of the Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas.

Ms. Crastz previously served for two years as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Hon. Robert W. Alberts, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.

A seasoned litigation and bankruptcy attorney with experience in both state and federal courts, Ms. Crastz is also admitted to all four U.S. District Courts of California.

Linda Damico CAE

Assistant General Counsel
CrowdStrike Financial Services

Joseph Davies

Partner
Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers, LLP

Snehal Desai

Attorney
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLC

Debra Devassy Babu

Shareholder
Darcy & Devassy PC

Daniel Dvorak

Chief Legal Counsel
Choice Financial Group

Dan Dvorak serves as Chief Legal Counsel of Choice Financial Group, a $5B North Dakota and Minnesota community and banking-as-a-service bank that is active in the equipment finance capital markets space. Previous to Choice, Dan held several positions over almost 10 years in the legal departments of TCF National Bank and subsequently Huntington National Bank, most recently as Senior Associate General Counsel and chief counsel for Huntington's vendor finance business, including its capital markets buy and sell functions.

Prior to his in-house counsel experience, Dan was a senior associate in Faegre Drinker's Finance & Restructuring practice group, where he gained significant experience in the representation of commercial banks in the origination and workout/restructuring of commercial and agricultural credit facilities.

A native of Nebraska, Dan currently resides in the Twin Cities metro. Dan holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Nebraska and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Shawn Edwards

Maselli Mills & Fornal, P.C.

Robert Ernst

Verdant Commercial Capital LLC

Denise Field

Shareholder
Buchalter

Julia Gavrilov

Partner
Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Julia Gavrilov concentrates her practice in equipment leasing, secured finance, asset-based lending and all areas of complex commercial litigation. On the transactional side, Ms. Gavrilov specializes in the drafting of equipment lease and loan documents in various secured financing transactions on behalf of secured lenders, banks and lessors, and in representing both buyers and sellers in syndication and capital market transactions. Based on her steady rise throughout the leasing and finance industry, Ms. Gavrilov has been invited to speak on numerous industry panels, including the Legal Forum for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), the ELFA Annual Convention, the ELFA Credit & Collections conference and the National Equipment Finance Association’s Finance Summit.

As a seasoned litigator, Ms. Gavrilov’s commercial litigation practice includes the enforcement and/or preservation of lender/lessor’s rights under defaulted equipment lease and secured loan transactions, and in regularly representing both institutional and individual clients in actions involving breach of contract, fraud, shareholder derivative disputes, trademark infringement, counterfeiting, trade diversion, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), attorney malpractice and bankruptcyrelated disputes before the Federal and State courts, as well as various arbitral bodies.

In addition to her daily practice, Ms. Gavrilov also Chairs the Firm’s Women’s Initiative program: “MHH WINS” – “Women’s Initiative for Navigating Success”, and serves as a member of the Firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Education:

• New York Law School, J.D. 2006


• Barnard College, Columbia University, B.A. 2002

Eric Gazin

General Counsel
Verdant Commercial Capital LLC

Eric has practiced for more than 20 years as an attorney in the equipment leasing and finance industry. He is currently General Counsel at Verdant Commercial Capital, the sixth largest independent equipment finance company in the U.S., overseeing all aspects of legal and compliance issues. An alumnus of GE Capital, Eric was senior legal counsel in its Capital Markets Syndications groups, a business unit that, over a ten-year period, produced more than $16 billion in volume. Prior to his 13 years at GE Capital, he was a shareholder at the law firm of Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver in Baltimore, Maryland. He has expertise across an extensive array of industries, including manufacturing, motor vehicles, aircraft, marine, rail, and technology. A frequent speaker and subcommittee chairman at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), Eric strives to maintain wide-ranging and current industry knowledge. He is a former Fulbright scholar, and he received B.A. from Trinity College and his J.D. from Emory University.

Matthew Giadrosich

Partner
Padfield & Stout, LLP

Robert Goldberg

Senior Company Counsel
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance

Barbara Goodstein

Partner
Mayer Brown LLP

Barbara M. Goodstein is a partner in the Banking & Finance practice of the New York office of Mayer Brown LLP. Barbara's experience consists of commercial and structured financing as well as restructuring of transactions for a wide range of asset types including auto, trade, health care, timeshare and lease receivables, sports franchises, intellectual property, transportation equipment (including aircraft, aircraft engines, railcars and vessels), technology equipment, medical equipment, communications and office equipment, construction equipment, and marine and inter-modal containers. She also has extensive debt workout and restructuring experience primarily representing senior creditors and syndicate groups, bondholders, and secured creditors both in and out of bankruptcy; foreclosures, DIP and exit financing; contested and consensual bankruptcy matters; and other financial and legal restructurings.

Barbara is a featured columnist for The New York Law Journal's Secured Transactions section and a former Regent, and current Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. She previously served as a member of the Board of Editors of Equipment Leasing Newsletter and the Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal. She also previously served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the ELFA, and is currently a member of the Legal Committee Subcommittee on Air, Rail and Marine.

Barbara has been recognized as an outstanding lawyer by ELFA, having received ELFA's Legal Committee Edward A. Groobert Excellence in Leasing Award in 2015. She is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and recently chaired a Task Force for the ABA Committee on Structured Finance and Securitization. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library.

Edward Gross

Shareholder
Vedder Price P.C.

Edward K. Gross is a Shareholder at Vedder Price and a member of the Global Transportation Finance team.

He established the firm’s Washington, DC office and has over 30 years of experience representing bank-affiliated and large, independent equipment financing companies in all aspects of equipment finance transactions, including documenting, structuring, negotiating, syndicating and enforcing these transactions. Mr. Gross handles all types of equipment finance matters and structures, including single-investor, leveraged financings, true/ tax motivated leases, synthetic leases, TRAC leases, “bundled” and other vendor-originated financings, and domestic and cross-border financings, primarily for transportation equipment, but also for other types of equipment, including: manufacturing and assembly line, construction and drilling, energy-related and other facilities, medical and health-related facilities, high-tech equipment (including “bundled” financings), trucks and trailers, modular units and vessel repair equipment.

Mr. Gross is considered an industry leader in business aircraft and helicopter finance. These transactions vary in structure and include tax and non-tax lease, operating lease and secured loan financing of managed and/or chartered aircraft, fleet aircraft and helicopters operated in various service capacities (e.g., air ambulances, oil and gas service, flight schools, etc.) and engine pools, aircraft operated under fractional and “pay card” arrangements and progress payment, completion and other multi-funding structures. Clients include market-leading aircraft and helicopter financing providers, investors or operating lessors, as well as large publicly or privately held businesses, governmental entities or high-net-worth individual users. Many of these transactions involve foreign registered aircraft.

Many clients rely on Mr. Gross in syndication transactions, including large portfolio purchases, “one-off” sales and assignments, discounting, back-leveraging and participation transactions. He has worked with Vedder Price’s Capital Markets team on securitizations of diverse asset classes. Mr. Gross has prepared lease, loan and syndication forms for many of the most active financing providers in the industry. Working with Vedder Price’s well-regarded bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice, Mr. Gross has assisted financing providers, including various creditor groups, with workout, restructuring, bankruptcy and enforcement matters.

Mr. Gross has been selected for inclusion in numerous editions of Who's Who Legal’s The International Who's Who of Aviation Lawyers, including the 2014 edition in which Mr. Gross participated in a roundtable discussion. In the 2013 edition of that publication, Mr. Gross is named one of the top 500 aviation lawyers in the world, and is cited as “a go-to lawyer for finance, insolvency and restructuring…well-respected by commercial clients.” In 2016 through 2020, Mr. Gross was ranked Band 1 in Private Aircraft (Global-wide) in Chambers High Net Worth, which recognizes the world’s leading high net worth advisers. In addition, in 2013 Mr. Gross was ranked in Chambers USA in the Nationwide Banking & Finance: Equipment Finance & Leasing category. He was selected by his peers for inclusion in Washington DC Super Lawyers (2007–2020) and The Best Lawyers in America (2007–2021) in the field of Equipment Finance Law. Mr. Gross was elected as Fellow to the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers in 2011, and elected as Regent to the College in 2012. He has been recognized by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), receiving the Distinguished Service Award in 2008 and ELFA’s Legal Committee Edward A. Groobert Excellence in Leasing Award in 2011.

A client respondent in Airfinance Journal’s 2011 Guide to Aviation Lawyers mentions, “Vedder Price can turn a deal in a day or two if necessary. Ed Gross is our go to person for time-sensitive matters.” He also recognized among the world’s leading aviation attorneys by in Euromoney’s Expert Guides “Aviation Guide” from 2013 to 2020.

Mr. Gross obtained his B.A. from the University of Maryland and his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Lauren Grossman

Lawyer
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Benjamin Hall CLFP, Esq

Vice President, Senior Corporate Counsel
U.S. Bank

Ben Hall is Senior Corporate Counsel for U.S. Bank Equipment Finance. Ben has over 15 years of equipment finance experience, including compliance, documentation, operations, and legal roles. He has broad expertise in direct, vendor and capital markets originations, with a primary focus on state, local and educational financing. Ben holds a JD and MBA from the University of Colorado, is on the Certified Lease and Finance Professionals Foundation board of directors and is a member of the Colorado Bar Association.

Marc Hamroff

Partner
Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Lawrence Holmes

Principal Attorney
Offit Kurman PC

C. Lawrence (“Larry”) Holmes is a Principal and Chair of Offit Kurman’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Since entering private practice in 1993, he has established a track record of landmark legal successes and longstanding client partnerships — work that includes pivotal cases that have impacted Pennsylvania law. Larry focuses his practice on representing finance lease companies and other institutional clients. As a passionate advocate for his clients, he is skilled at humanizing large institutions and effectively communicating with juries and judges.

As a highly skilled litigator, Larry has successfully argued before the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania and helped establish new insurance law in Pennsylvania. He secured a milestone victory for a finance lease company when a federal judge denied a motion to certify a class action against it as part of a claim exceeding $37 million. In addition to defending the motion for class certification, Larry obtained summary judgment against the lessees on all claims and counterclaims. He also obtained an order that the lessees were liable, jointly, and severally, for all the leasing company’s legal fees. The decision is a powerful tool for financial institutions in cases and class actions arising from program failures.

An engaging legal thought leader, Larry was appointed to ELFA’s Legal Committee in 2015. He has also presented numerous times at ELFA’s Legal Forum since 2011, most recently as a panelist in the Legal Update and the Ethics presentations in 2023.

Larry received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and upon graduation, he served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Chief Justice Robert N. C. Nix, Jr. of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court — writing opinions, providing counsel, and learning the skills of passionate persuasion and respectful dissent that would inform his career.

As an elected Township Commissioner, and President of the Board of Commissioners, Larry is also committed to public and community service. He is currently serving his fifth term as the Sixth Ward Commissioner of Haverford Township, Delaware County, PA, where he has resided with his family for over two decades.

Robert Hornby

Member of the Firm
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC

An experienced litigator, Robert Hornby represents national and regional banks and finance companies in all aspects of equipment leasing, asset based lending and civil litigation in New York and New Jersey state and federal courts. He regularly counsels clients on a wide range of matters unique to the equipment finance and leasing industry, from drafting master documentation to the enforcement of lessors’ and secured creditors’ rights.

In addition, Robert’s litigation practice extends to the areas of construction law, commercial contract, solar energy litigation, product liability/toxic tort, professional malpractice, trusts and estates and franchise law. He is directly responsible for managing numerous complex litigation matters, including, but not limited to, those involving construction defect, shareholder derivative, restrictive covenant, solar energy and governmental authority issues.

Robert received his law degree cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, and his undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of Arizona. He served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable David S. Baime, PJAD (ret.) in the New Jersey Appellate Division.

Thomas Hotard CLFP

VP - Program Management and Contracts
Midland Equipment Finance

Thomas Hotard serves as VP, Program Management and Contracts for Midland Equipment Finance, a division of Midland States Bank. He provides legal advice to the business line with a focus on syndications, the review of third-party documentation, and developing and maintaining standard documents, policies and procedures for a nationwide vendor equipment finance business. Thomas is a member of the ELFA Legal Committee and a Certified Lease & Finance Professional. He holds a JD from the University of Missouri and a B.S. from Missouri State University.

Jason Huff

Partner
Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP

Ken Ito

Attorney
Hemar, Rousso & Heald, LLP

Ken I. Ito is an attorney with Hemar, Rousso & Heald LLP whose practice consists of complex business and commercial litigation, with a focus on representing lenders in the area of commercial creditor’s rights law.

Mr. Ito has a completed multiple first chair civil jury trials to successful verdict. He also has experience with bench trials, judicial references, and arbitrations.

Mr. Ito earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Irvine.

Ross Juliano

Chief Operating Officer
Highland Capital Corporation

Matthew Kaiser

Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP

Brian Kestenbaum

Senior Vice President and General Counsel
LEAF Commercial Capital Inc.

Brian Kestenbaum is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. LEAF, headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, is one of the leading equipment leasing and finance companies in the U.S. Through its highly automated origination platform, it facilitates the equipment needs of small, mid-sized and enterprise businesses. LEAF serves these needs both directly and through referral relationships with manufacturers, distributors and dealers of essential-use equipment and software in a variety of business sectors, including office products, telephony, technology, medical and light industrial.

Prior to joining LEAF, Mr. Kestenbaum was counsel in the corporate department of Ledgewood, P.C. Previously, Mr. Kestenbaum was an associate at the law firms, Ballard Spahr and Piper & Rudnick LLP. Mr. Kestenbaum is a past chairman of the ELFA Legal Committee.

Mr. Kestenbaum graduated from the Villanova University School of Law, cum laude. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Alexis Leventhal

Counsel
Reed Smith LLP

Dominic Liberatore CLFP

Deputy General Counsel
DLL

Dominic A. Liberatore is the Deputy General Counsel for DLL, a global provider of leasing and business finance solutions, including vendor finance.



Mr. Liberatore has been practicing law for 38 years focusing on leasing and asset based lending, and has served in a variety of senior in-house legal positions with DLL, IOS Capital, Inc. (the captive finance subsidiary of IKON Office Solutions, Inc.), Copelco Financial Services Group, Inc. and the FDIC. Prior to going in-house, Mr. Liberatore was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City and Wolf Block in Philadelphia. Mr. Liberatore is a past chairman of the ELFA Legal Committee, current ELFA Subcommittee Coordinator and a past chairman of the Subcommittee on Leasing of the Uniform Commercial Code Committee of the ABA Business Law Section. Mr. Liberatore is also a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Equipment Lease Financing.



Mr. Liberatore holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from the University of Buffalo.

Leigh Lytle

President and CEO
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association

Leigh Lytle is the President and CEO of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), the premier trade association representing 575+ member organizations in the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. In her role, Ms. Lytle leads the association in executing its mission and delivering on the value proposition to its members. This includes providing a platform to promote and advocate for the industry, including attracting and developing new and diverse talent; a forum for professional development and training; and a resource that develops information about, and for, the industry. She also serves as the President of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF), which is dedicated to inspiring thoughtful innovation and contributing to the betterment of the equipment leasing and finance industry.

Before joining ELFA, Ms. Lytle served as the Head of North American Policy at Plaid and led education and engagement efforts with regulators and financial institutions. In this role, she advocated for protecting consumers' rights within the digital financial ecosystem and in Washington, D.C. She also served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Financial Technology Association (FTA), which represents innovative companies shaping the future of finance. The industry trade group champions the power of technology-centered financial services and advocates for the modernization of financial regulation to support inclusion and responsible innovation. Before joining Plaid, Ms. Lytle spent over 15 years in the Federal Reserve Bank system in various executive roles ranging from engagements in monetary and regulatory policy to operations and data analytics oversight.

Kevin MacLeod

Vedder Price P.C.

Thomas Makens

Kutak Rock LLP

Trudie McAdams

Associate General Counsel
Huntington Vendor Finance

Cody McDavis

Attorney
Vedder Price P.C.

Matthew McKeon

Senior Associate General Counsel
Huntington Technology Finance

Bonnie Michael

Shareholder
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC

Bonnie Michael, a shareholder at Baker Donelson, has more than 20 years of legal experience representing equipment finance companies and the financial services industry. She guides banks, financial institutions, equipment and leasing companies, and other lenders in structuring and negotiating their complex finance transactions, as well as advising on commercial financing disclosure laws and other regulatory matters. She has extensive experience advising clients on motor vehicle fleet financing.

Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Ms. Michael served for more than a decade as the General Counsel and Vice President of Legal and Compliance (USA) for Volvo Financial Services. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Equipment Leasing & Financing Foundation from 2015 – 2021 and is a former member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) Legal Committee. From 2010 – 2016, Ms. Michael served as chair of the ELFA Motor Vehicle Subcommittee. She is a frequent presenter on industry topics and actively supports various ELFA legislative initiatives. Ms. Michael is the 2021 recipient of the ELFA's 2021 Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence.
Ms. Michael holds a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law and is admitted to practice law in Illinois.

Scott Nelson

President & Chief Technology Officer, Board Member
Tamarack Technology, Inc.

A well-recognized expert in technology strategy and development including Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, Scott Nelson leads the company’s efforts to expand its impact on the industry through innovation with new products, system level thinking, and the application of new technologies with a design thinking methodology.

In his dual role at Tamarack, Nelson is responsible for the company’s vision and strategic planning as well as business operations. Since joining Tamarack in 2020, Nelson has led efforts to refocus the business strategy around investment in digital technologies in order to provide greater value across the equipment finance industry.

Nelson joined Tamarack with more than 30 years of experience leading product development, product management, and entrepreneurial business growth as a technology and business leader. After beginning his career at Honeywell in the Corporate R&D center, Nelson spent the next 15 years at Logic PD as CTO and EVP. More recently, Nelson served as the Chief Product Officer and Vice President of Product at Digi International, a leading global provider of business and mission-critical IoT products and services and the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at SkyWater Technology Foundry, where he led strategy, growth, and new-offering development.

Bradley Nielsen

Partner
Kutak Rock LLP

Brad Nielsen is an attorney in Kutak Rock LLP’s Omaha office practicing in the Finance and Restructuring Group. He has practiced in the finance area for 33 years.

Brad represents financial institutions in many types of complex financing transactions in a wide array of industries, ranging from middle market transactions to large multi-lender syndicated deals. His practice includes: equipment leasing and financing transactions; asset-based lending; revolving and term loan credit facilities; public finance; lease and loan portfolio purchase and sale transactions; participations; vendor program agreements; real estate finance; and restructurings and workouts.

Kutak Rock LLP is a national law firm of more than 500 lawyers with offices from coast to coast in 17 cities. Founded in finance, the firm's primary practice concentrations are business and corporate law, public finance, commercial finance, litigation and real estate law.

Brittany Ogden

Attorney, Partner
Quarles & Brady LLP

Lisa Peters

Attorney
Kutak Rock LLP

Greg Poole

Senior Counsel
BMO Bank N.A.

J. Gregory Poole is the Senior Counsel of BMO Bank N.A. Mr. Poole serves as the lead legal counsel for BMO Bank’s Equipment Finance Division, overseeing and providing legal, operational, and documentation advice, strategy and expertise on all aspects of the business, including structuring, drafting, negotiating and closing both direct and indirect transactions. In addition, he oversees and provides legal support and expertise to the Capital Markets function of BMO Bank's Transportation Finance and Vendor Finance business units, including structuring, drafting, negotiating and closing syndication transactions. Mr. Poole has deep domain expertise in negotiating and implementing complex commercial finance legal documentation in a wide variety of industries and asset classes including aircraft, transportation, marine, rail, general business equipment, healthcare, vendor, office imaging, fleet vehicles and inventory.

Prior to joining BMO Bank in 2016, Mr. Poole served as Senior Counsel Syndications at GE Capital for almost 10 years. Prior to that, he served as the General Counsel and Secretary of Volvo Aero Leasing, LLC and as the Associate General Counsel and Director of Volvo Financial Services North America. Mr. Poole began his legal career at Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company, where his practice focused on equipment leasing and financing, private placements, commercial mortgage lending and real estate, general corporate law, and commercial transactions.

Mr. Poole holds Bachelor of Arts degrees (with distinction) in Economics and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Mr. Poole serves on the ELFA Capital Markets Subcommittee.

Carla Potter

Lawyer
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Carla Potter is a partner in our Financial Services Group. Her practice focuses on corporate financing and equipment finance matters, representing both lenders and borrowers involved in domestic and cross-border lending and leasing transactions and corporate reorganizations. Carla regularly acts for equipment lessors, including U.S. companies looking to establish themselves in Canada. Carla co-authored the authoritative book in Canada on the equipment finance and leasing market in Canada.

Katie Riggs

Corporates Counsel
Dext Capital

Jared Roach Esq

Partner
Reed Smith LLP

Diona Rogers

Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP

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Andrew Romshek Esq

Attorney
Kutak Rock LLP

Mr. Romshek is a partner in Kutak Rock LLP's Omaha office practicing in the Finance and Restructuring Group. He focuses his practice on representing financial institutions and borrowers in a wide array of complex financing transactions, including equipment lease facilities, syndicate credit facilities, revolving credit facilities and term loan facilities. A significant portion of Mr. Romshek's practice includes representing major financial institutions in tax-exempt financings in the hospital, nonprofit, affordable housing and state and local government areas.

Kelli Roussos-Smith

Assistant General Counsel
M&T Bank Corporation

Kelli Roussos-Smith serves as Assistant General Counsel for M&T Bank. She provides legal counsel and support to the Commercial Equipment Finance division, a specialty lending business unit of M&T’s Commercial Bank. She has 15 years of experience in the equipment finance and leasing industry, serving as vice president of operations and legal counsel for Bridge Funding Group, vice president of operations for MB Equipment Finance, and legal counsel for SunTrust Equipment Finance and Leasing. Kelli received her B.A. in English Literature and Political Science from Loyola University Maryland and Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore.

Bradley Salyer

Associate General Counsel
U.S. Bank

Brad Salyer is Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at U.S. Bank National Association, where he is Chief Counsel for the team that provides legal support for U.S. Bank Equipment Finance. Prior to joining the Bank in 2020 he was a shareholder at Morgan Pottinger McGarvey in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was chair of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group with a practice focused on commercial litigation, business bankruptcy and reorganization, and commercial workouts. Brad was also a chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee in the Western District of Kentucky until 2020.

Joseph Sebik

Director of Tax
Siemens Financial Services, Inc.

Joe Sebik is a Director of Tax Reporting in Siemens Corporation, covering Siemens Financial Services, Siemens’ US captive financing subsidiary. Joe supports the tax aspects of Siemens Financial Services’ leasing and structured financing transactions, including alternative energy financings.

Joe has over 30-years of experience in the leasing industry including experience in accounting, financial reporting, transaction structuring and taxation. He has been a member of the ELFA’s Accounting Committee for over 20-years where he has actively assisted the Accounting Committee in many ways, including regularly presenting at the ELFA Accounting Conferences and writing numerous articles for the Equipment Leasing Today magazine. Joe is also the Chairman of the Federal Tax Committee of the ELFA and has introduced two recurring tax-oriented training sessions into the Accounting Conference.

Joe has written six reference portfolios on lease accounting and lessor economics for Bloomberg/BNA, as well as co-authoring 2 portfolios on accounting for Variable Interest Entities and assisting on other accounting-related portfolios. Joe has regularly written about the leasing industry and has previously provided comment letters to the FASB on lease-related topics.

Prior to joining Siemens Corporation, Joe worked for Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, JPMorgan’s Tax Oriented Investments group, Chase Equipment Leasing, IBM Credit Corporation and Price Waterhouse.

Joe holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Queens College of the City University of NY and is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York State.

Moorari Shah

Partner
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLC

Moorari K. Shah is Partner in the Orange County and San Francisco offices of Sheppard Mullin. He represents banks, equipment finance companies, fintechs, mortgage companies, auto lenders, and other non-bank financial institutions in transactional, licensing, regulatory compliance, and government enforcement matters covering mergers and acquisitions, consumer and commercial lending and leasing, and supervisory examinations and enforcement actions involving state and federal agencies.

Mr. Shah received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law (cum laude) and his B.A. from Duke University. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Molly Simon CLFP

Senior Legal Counsel
DLL

Molly Simon is Senior Legal Counsel for De Lage Landen Financial Services, Inc ("DLL"). Ms. Simon provides legal support to DLL, including providing advice on legal issues related to lease and loan transactions, maintaining and updating standard documentation, developing documentation for new products, reviewing third party documentation and drafting language for customized and negotiated transactions.

Mary Ann Stathopoulos Esq

Managing Attorney
Cisco Systems Capital Corporation

Mary Ann Stathopoulos is a highly experienced Managing Attorney at Cisco Systems Capital Corporation (Cisco Capital), where she provides extensive legal support for the company's Strategy, Product Development, and Global Compliance programs. Throughout her career, Mary Ann has held numerous high-ranking in-house legal roles with major organizations, including CIT, CitiCapital, and HP Financial Services. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University. Additionally, Mary Ann is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP-E).

Mark Stout

Partner
Padfield & Stout, LLP

Richard Tannenbaum

Partner
Reed Smith LLP

Ryan Thompson Esq

Of Counsel
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP

Ryan C. Thompson is Of Counsel with Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP in the firm's Finance, Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group.

Michael Tobak III

Partner
Kutak Rock LLP

Mike Tobak is an attorney in the firm's Chicago office practicing in the Finance and Restructuring Group. He joined the firm after serving for more than 10 years as the general counsel of the health care equipment finance business of one of the largest finance companies in the United States.

Mr. Tobak represents financial institutions and borrowers in many types of complex financing transactions in a wide array of industries, ranging from smaller and middle market transactions to large multi-lender syndicated deals. The focus areas of Mr. Tobak's practice include equipment leasing and financing transactions, asset-based lending, working capital financings, revolving and term loan credit facilities, vendor program agreements, lease and loan portfolio purchase and sale transactions, securitizations, real estate and construction lending, acquisition financing, and bank regulatory matters.

Mr. Tobak is actively involved in the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), serving as Chair of its Financial Services Regulations Subcommittee, and was the recipient of ELFA's Legal Committee Edward A. Groobert Excellence in Leasing Award in 2014. Mr. Tobak also is a frequent speaker at national leasing, lending and health care trade association conferences and events.

Jill Walters

Shareholder
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC

Jill offers clients more than 15 years of versatile experience in representing and counseling clients in corporate insolvency, distressed lending, restructuring and bankruptcy, and complex Chapter 11 cases. Her clients include secured and unsecured creditors and creditors’ committees in reorganizations and liquidations nationwide, as well as purchasers and sellers of debt and assets in foreclosure sales, Article 9 sales, and Chapter 11 363 sales. She has extensive experience in bankruptcy litigation centered on the defense of preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as dischargeability contests, including significant student loan litigation activity. Her practice spans multiple sectors, including health care, banking and finance, equipment finance, real estate, agriculture, education, transportation, hospitality, retail, construction, and manufacturing.

She has represented national and regional bank lenders, equipment finance lenders and servicers, specialty ag lenders, and farm credit lenders on distressed loans with a mix of collateral types, including real estate, equipment, overall farm production, crops, and live animals. Her primary focus has been working with clients in Chapters 11 and 12 bankruptcy issues, and litigation for perfection and marshaling issues. Additionally, her work focuses on transactions, including forbearances and workouts, and preparing loan modifications and renewals post-default and post-bankruptcy.

Ms. Walters holds leadership positions in the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and North Carolina Bar Association. She is also active in the Raleigh community, serving on the board of directors of Note in the Pocket and volunteering with Legal Aid of North Carolina and Haven House Services.

Stephen Whelan

Partner
Blank Rome LLP

As a partner in three different law firms for 44 years, Steve Whelan practices law in the New York office of Blank Rome LLP, where he concentrates his practice on lease financings, securitization, energy finance and secured lending. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, has been a member of the ELFA Board of Directors and Legal Committee, Chair of the American Bar Association Subcommittee on Leasing, and a Visiting Lecturer on constitutional law at Princeton University.

Steve is co-author of the ABA Annual Survey on Developments in the Law of Leases. He has authored four books on U.C.C. Article 2A and the “Securitization” chapters in the Matthew Bender & Co. treatises on Commercial Finance and Equipment Leasing. From 2019 to 2022, he was an appointed observer to the ALI-ULC Subcommittee on Bundled Transactions.

William Wilson

Associate General Counsel & Vice President
BMO Transportation Finance

Bill is an Associate General Counsel for BMO Harris Bank N.A., Transportation Finance, US P&C, managing the legal team for Navistar Capital, a private label program with Navistar Financial Corporation, and the traditional core transportation finance business headquartered in Irving, Texas. The BMO Transportation Finance business provides commercial loans and leases to manufacturers, dealers and end users (owner/operators) in the over-the-road trucking industry throughout the United States. Bill is a member of the BMOTF senior leadership team, counseling his clients on Program/Operating Agreement matters, deal structures, transaction negotiations, business policies, enterprise risk management and day-to-day operational issues and strategic business planning.

Bill joined BMO Financial Group in January 2016, as part of BMO's acquisition of the Transportation Finance business from GE Capital. He started with GE Capital in 2004 as Associate General Counsel of Office Imaging for the Equipment Finance business of GE Capital Americas, responsible for legal oversight of the Ricoh Business Systems vendor program (formerly IKON Office Solutions, and world's largest independent distributor for office copiers and business solutions), and core finance business located in Moberly, Missouri, providing private label and lease and loan financing to manufacturers, dealers and end-users in office imaging industry across the United States.

Bill is a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) Motor Vehicle Sub-Committee and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida.