Colleen H. McDonald has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Finance and Bankruptcy practice group, based in the firm's San Francisco office. McDonald joins from Reed Smith.
“Colleen is a seasoned securitization lawyer with a robust transactional finance practice. Her substantial knowledge and experience makes her a significant addition for the firm and our clients, especially given our strong banking and mortgage finance practice,” said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of Sheppard Mullin.
"I am excited to join Sheppard Mullin, a prestige firm with a storied finance practice. In addition to the strength of the firm’s banking group and financial services team, I was attracted by firm management’s commitment to support and grow a securitization expertise and further expand its national mortgage finance team. I have also been impressed by Sheppard Mullin’s collaborative culture and entrepreneurial spirit, which add to the firm’s outstanding platform as the place to continue to build my practice," McDonald commented.
McDonald’s practice focuses on securitization, structured finance, commercial finance transactions and complex financial products. She advises financial institutions regarding the acquisition and sale of a variety of assets primarily involving newly originated, seasoned and distressed residential mortgage loan pools, including conventional, government insured and jumbo mortgage loans, on both servicing retained and servicing released bases, and pools of mortgage servicing rights relating to residential mortgage loans. McDonald also has experience in sales of loans to agencies and agency securitizations (agency swaps) and with warehouse arrangements for conventional, government insured and jumbo mortgage loans.
McDonald’s securitization experience includes residential mortgage-back securities and she has advised sellers, servicers and investors regarding structuring, servicing and administering private securitizations and securitizations with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae. Her securitization experience covers a variety of different assets classes, including motor vehicle loans and leases (including titling trusts), equipment leases, credit cards receivables, trade receivables and consumer loans in both the United States and Canada.
McDonald has represented underwriters and issuers in public offerings, private placements, asset-backed commercial paper programs, and medium-term note programs. In addition, she has advised a variety of investment banks, private equity funds and hedge funds in utilizing securitization in a number of financing transactions including acquisition financings. In the structured finance area, McDonald has represented both commercial lenders and corporate borrowers in a variety of secured lending transactions, including loans secured by pools of mortgage loans and REO properties. Her experience includes asset-based lending arrangements such as charged-off receivables, copyrights, patents and royalties, film financings, and future-flow transactions. McDonald also advises on collateral dispositions, including stock dispositions.
McDonald received a LL.M. in 1989 from University of Illinois College of Law, and a LL.B. in 1988 and a B.B.A. in 1985 from University of New Brunswick, Canada.
Sheppard Mullin has 100 attorneys based in San Francisco. The firm’s Finance and Bankruptcy practice group includes 70 attorneys firmwide.