Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. announced the firm has added additional services for its Cyber-Lending Practice.
Jeff Wurst, a partner and the chair of RMF’s Financial Services, Banking and Bankruptcy Department said: “The world of lending has changed significantly. Where traditional lenders have long used a directed marketing approach together with gladhanding in identifying and securing new lending clients, there has been a remarkable growth in online Cyber-Lending, where lenders often never meet their borrowers face-to-face nor visit their business to see operations first hand. Although, much of this type of lending started with private lenders providing consumer loans, the commercial P2P lending market has grown exponentially into a significant industry of its own.”
RMF has long been one of the nations’ leading law firms servicing the financial services industry. As far back as 1972, RMF served as outside general counsel to a major bank-owned factor and asset-based lender and over the years that practice has grown to providing a full line of services to traditional banks, commercial lenders, factors, private lenders and online Cyber-Lenders. RMF has successfully represented lenders in large syndicated transactions as well as in small factoring facilities. Besides the decades of experience in the financial services arena, Mr. Wurst also noted that RMF has a fully integrated multi-disciplinary Cybersecurity Practice Group in order to keep its financial services clients ahead of cyber risks and the issues that invite regulatory scrutiny.
Recently, Wurst was approached by several private-equity sponsored Cyber-Lenders, that had encountered collection issues with some of their borrowers. Although represented by able M&A counsel, they realized that their M&A counsel often lacked the requisite savvy with the day-to-day business of lending and collection and turned to RMF for assistance. In a recent meeting with the founder and general counsel of a Cyber-Lender, the president noted some experiences where they learned that recovering their loan was not as easy as employing their funds. In addition to setting up a strategy to recover on those specific loans, Mr. Wurst worked with the Cyber-Lender on modifying some of its lending approaches to better assure a recovery on its investments.
As a result, and understanding that Cyber-Lenders often have limited budgets for professional fees, RMF has structured a cost-effective package of services directed at the Cyber-Lender and intended to supplement (and not replace) the services already being provided by the Cyber-Lender’s regular counsel, whether in-house or an outside firm. Charging a modest fixed monthly retainer that may be adjusted quarterly based on usage, RMF’s attorneys provide counseling to Cyber-Lenders on deal structuring and securitization, including general lending methodologies, as well as with workout and recovery strategies. Although the fixed fee does not include preparation and negotiation of loan documents or litigation, those services remain available on a fee-based arrangement. The monthly retainer services do include access to and advice from RMF’s Cybersecurity Practice Group in order to keep its financial services clients apprised of the latest threats targeting the financial services industry, effective steps to mitigate the myriad of cyber risks and cybersecurity regulatory expectations.
For more than 48 years, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek P.C., headquartered in Uniondale, has built a reputation as one of the region’s leading providers of innovative legal services.