October 08, 2008

Briggs and Morgan Launches Multi-Disciplinary Market Crisis Response Team

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - The United States’ credit crisis that began in August 2007 now threatens financial systems and economies worldwide. The nation of Iceland is reportedly bankrupt; icons such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Bros. no longer exist as independent institutions. Fannie Mae (or FNMA) and Freddie Mac are missing in action, and consumer confidence is cracking.

To meet this threat, the U.S. government and European governments have responded quickly, enacting massive legislative and policy initiatives. For example, the United States announced a $700-billion rescue plan and since August 2007, created Recovery Refinancing Programs, Bank/Dealer Lending Programs and Securities/Loans Purchaser Programs. Some of these programs to date include: FHA Secure, HUD and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), Term Loan Lending Facility, Term Securities Facility Options Program, a Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF), an ABC/MMMF Liquidity Facility (AMLF), a Commercial Paper Funding Facility, a GSE MBI Purchase Program, a Money Market Insurance Program, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and the FDIC Temporary Liquidity Program.

These programs create a host of both issues and opportunities for financial institutions, consumers and businesses. Indeed, challenges and prospects abound for market participants small and large. To address these needs, Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association has assembled a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team to help entities navigate the tangled landscape created by the market crisis.

Briggs’ Market Crisis Response Team is well-equipped to serve the demands of financial institutions, brokerage firms, corporate directors and officers, public accounting firms, municipalities, public institutions, title companies, publicly traded companies, and other businesses feeling the effects of the turbulent capital markets.

Attorneys with extensive know-how in the following areas will work as a unit to analyze, advise and help clients establish action plans and respond effectively to complex issues and business concerns:  finance, bankruptcy and workouts, mortgages, banking, debt obligations, white collar crime, securities, government investigations, broker-dealer issues, real estate, banking, mortgage-backed securities, tax, employment and labor, corporate restructurings, asset sales, purchasing and managing troubled assets, mutual and hedge funds, insurance, and consumer class action defense.

This proactive effort is spearheaded by Frank Taylor, head of the firm’s Financial Markets Group. Taylor brings over 30 years of experience in complex financial markets litigation, class actions, alternative dispute resolution, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings. 

Briggs’ attorneys believe that successful strategies employed in the savings and loan, agricultural, public finance, insurance, junk bond, and oil and gas crises may be used as guideposts for the current situation. “If past is prologue, the collective experience our attorneys gained during these crises will allow us to provide clients with industry-leading legal services, strategic perspectives and tactical solutions,” says Taylor. “We have assembled a team of professionals with tremendous depth and breadth of skill, knowledge, and experience.”

Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association, is a trusted name in business law and litigation services with a history of serving clients for over 125 years. With offices in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, the firm has more than 175 attorneys committed to providing superior client service and sound legal counsel to clients nationwide. Briggs and Morgan ranks among The NLJ 250 as one of the nation’s largest firms and has received numerous accolades, including recognition by the publishers of Corporate Counsel and top clients as a “Go-To Law Firm®,” since 2005, in the areas of litigation, corporate transactions, corporate governance, and labor and employment. The firm and its attorneys have also been selected for publication in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA. Briggs is a founding member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms, and serves as the exclusive member firm for Minnesota. For more information, visit www.briggs.com.

- ### -