Overview
John J. Hanley is a Member in McDonald Hopkins' Business Department and is a part of the Litigation Finance Practice Group. John specializes in litigation finance and complex financial transactions. He has over two decades of extensive experience, from highly esteemed law firms, in first and second lien financings, private debt and equity placements, the acquisition and sale of loans, securities, trade claims, and other illiquid assets. His clientele includes a diverse array of financial entities, such as litigation funders, business development companies, specialty lenders, investment banks, hedge funds, actively managed CLOs, special purpose vehicles, and other financial institutions.
John is skilled in structuring, negotiating, and drafting a wide range of financial agreements. These include litigation funding agreements, term and revolving credit facilities, commitment letters, consents, waivers, assignments, “big boy” letters, proceeds letters, and various other contracts such as guarantee, inter-creditor, subscription, purchase and sale, participation, and confidentiality agreements.
John is passionate about pro bono work. He often collaborates with the Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office, offering legal counsel to low-income New Yorkers on consumer debt issues through the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program and Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. For the past four years he has served as an adjunct professor at DeSales University. He is actively involved in establishing market practice and developing standards by serving on committees and working groups for the Loan Syndications & Trading Association, including the Trade Practices and Forms Committee and the Primary Market Committee.
He received his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and graduated, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Representative Cases & Matters
- Represented a litigation funder in connection with an IRS whistleblower case.
- Represented a law firm specializing in toxic torts in connection with litigation funding secured by a portfolio of cases.
- Represented a litigation funder in connection with a revolving credit facility secured by receivables with Autobahn Funding Company LLC, as the lender and DZ Bank AG, as the administrative agent and as the liquidity agent.
- Represented a law firm specializing in clients with legal claims in consumer and class actions in connection with litigation funding secured by a portfolio of cases.
- Represented the owner of a portfolio of patents in connection with litigation funding to support prosecution of patent infringement cases.
- Represented a full-service intellectual property and technology law firm in connection with litigation funding secured by a portfolio of cases.
- Represented the claimant in connection with a litigation funding agreement to finance claimant’s prosecution of a shareholder oppression lawsuit.
- Wells Fargo Bank, National Association in connection with the Auction/Offer to buy all of the outstanding senior secured loans ($230 million) issued by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P).
- CM Finance (Nasdaq: CMFN) in connection with a second lien loan for a buyout of an oil and gas equipment leasing company.
- Highbridge Principal Strategies, LLC in connection with the $195 million first lien credit facility for TouchTunes Interactive Networks, Inc.
- Fortis Capital Management LLC in connection with the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding common stock of Parity Energy, Inc.
- Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. in connection with the private placement of $100 million of debt securities and $100 million of equity of a broker/dealer and $50 million of equity of a regional bank.
- Represented a hedge fund in connection with the purchase and sale of in excess of $1 billion aggregate notional amount of bankruptcy claims (Lehman).
- Represented a top tier bank, based in Europe, in connection with the sale of a $175 million portfolio of non-performing Brazilian pre-export loans.
- Advised The Berkshire Bank in connection with Volcker Rule compliance.
- Represented various hedge funds, trading desks, and special purpose vehicles in connection with par and near par loans, distressed debt, trade claims and related transactions with a market value of in excess of $3 billion.
- J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. as the underwriter for the initial public offering of Seattle Genetics, Inc.
- Represented the underwriter in connection with the public offering by Pepsico Inc. of $300 million of Debt Securities.
- Represented the administrative agent and lead arrangers in connection with a $1.1 billion credit facility for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.
- J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. as initial purchaser in connection with the offering of $200 million of Senior Notes by Constellation Brands, Inc.
- Represented the initial purchasers in connection with the offering of $1.75 billion Notes and $1.25 billion of Debentures by Devon Financing Corporation, U.L.C.
- General Electric Company in connection with a corporate restructuring to create a holding company for Canadian assets.
- Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as initial purchaser in connection with the offering of $250 million of Senior Notes by Vertis, Inc.
- Represented the administrative agent and lead arrangers in connection with a $325 million credit facility for Express Scripts, Inc.
Credentials
Education
Fordham University
City University of New York-John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Admissions – Court
- U.S. Supreme Court
Admissions – State
- New York
Professional & Civic
Professional Activities
New York City Bar Association