King & Spalding has recruited prominent finance and banking lawyers Chris D. Molen and J. Craig Lee as partners in its financial institutions practice in Atlanta. They join King & Spalding from Paul Hastings.

"Chris and Craig make our strong complex finance practice even stronger and will help us expand our asset-based lending work," said Richard T. Marooney, co-leader of King & Spalding's financial institutions practice. "Their expertise complements ours and deepens our roster of finance partners who handle highly sophisticated work. We are fortunate to have them join us and welcome them to the firm."

Molen focuses on complex commercial and banking transactions, debt restructuring and workouts, with particular experience in the financing of merger and acquisition deals, asset-based financing, leveraged finance and healthcare and communications industry lending practices. He has represented a range of large international financial institutions, national banks, finance companies and hedge funds. He is ranked as a leading banking and finance lawyer by Chambers USA.

Lee focuses on debt financing transactions, representing creditors, investors and borrowers. His clients include large U.S. and non-U.S. banks, finance companies, hedge funds and public and private companies. He has experience in secured and unsecured credit facilities, bankruptcies, reorganizations and workouts, cross-border transactions, acquisitions, recapitalizations and other leveraged financings.

King & Spalding's financial institutions practice is comprised of more than 100 lawyers worldwide with expertise in complex financings, private equity, fund formation, litigation, investigations, Islamic finance, real estate capital markets, tax and regulatory matters. King & Spalding was ranked 6th in the United States for lender representations in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters.