Skip to Content

Banking & Financial Services

The lawyers in our Banking & Financial Services Practice Group represent a broad range of clients in an equally broad range of transactions. From advising banks and bank holding companies with regard to corporate and regulatory matters to assisting lenders and borrowers with commercial and real estate loan transactions, we offer full-service legal representation based on deep experience in the banking and financial services industries.

At Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, we partner with our clients, working closely with their in-house counsel and senior leaders to identify challenges, assess risks, and leverage opportunities. Whether we are representing a bank, an investment firm or a company that is seeking financing, we take the same approach, and we offer the same level of commitment, client service and strategic advice—all of which are informed by decades of real-world experience.

About Our Banking & Financial Services Practice

Within our Banking & Financial Services Practice Group, we assist our clients in all of their areas of need. Among other matters, our lawyers offer particular experience in the areas of:

  • Acquisition and construction credit facilities
  • Bridge loans
  • Construction loans
  • Debt restructurings and spin offs
  • Equity injections
  • Joint ventures
  • Mezzanine debt financing
  • Permanent credit facilities
  • Real estate development and redevelopment
  • Securing financing with the requisite “owner equity” for new development projects
  • Securities offerings and other equity-raising strategies
  • Securitizations
  • Financings backed by public and private contributions

Our clients include participants in all aspects and all phases of complex and large-scale commercial transactions. We represent lenders, borrowers, borrower affiliates, guarantors, equity providers and numerous other types of entities, and we serve clients in the aviation, transportation, real estate, health care, manufacturing, non-profit, student housing and telecommunications industries, among others. In addition to providing representation in the area of banking and financial services, we offer our services in other areas as well, and this allows us to efficiently and effectively meet all of our clients’ regulatory and transactional legal needs.

The banking and financial services industries are constantly changing, and the laws and regulations that govern these industries also consistently remain in a state of evolution. At HAHS, we are on the leading edge, and we are proud to serve as both partners and trusted advocates for or clients.

Banking and Financial Services Litigation

In today’s challenging environment, the lawyers in our firm’s Banking and Financial Services Litigation Practice Group serve a critical role in helping banks, financial institutions and other clients navigate complex litigation while making informed decisions that simultaneously address their short-term needs and their long-term best interests. Our lawyers provide efficient, strategic and effective representation for disputes involving all banking and financial services-related issues as well as the multitude of other issues that frequently lead to litigation for banks and other entities.

Litigation Counsel for All Types of Disputes in the Banking and Financial Services Sectors

The lawyers in Hand Arendall Harrison Sale’s Banking and Financial Services Litigation Practice Group represent the firm’s clients in a broad spectrum of banking and financial services litigation. Our experience includes achieving favorable results for financial institutions and other clients in matters involving:

  • Class actions
  • Consumer protection
  • Customer contracts
  • Fiduciary duty and related claims
  • Fraud
  • Lender liability
  • Loan recovery
  • Trust litigation

Our clients in the banking and financial services industry include banks, finance companies, mortgage bankers and brokers, asset management and financial services companies, servicers, trusts and trustees, and lease and finance companies. We rely on the insights gained from decades of representing some of the country’s leading banking and financial services entities to help our clients make informed and strategic decisions during discovery and pre-trial practice, during settlement negotiations, at trial, and on appeal.

Representative Matters

With decades of experience in banking and financial services litigation, our lawyers have won many notable cases at the trial and appellate levels. Some examples of our recent successes include:

  • Successfully defended a national financial services company against claims of improper marketing practices in the sale of variable annuities. Our representation included the defense of regulatory reviews and investigations conducted by multiple state attorneys general and state securities and insurance commissions.
  • Secured a directed verdict in favor of a bank in a lawsuit seeking $13 million in damages for our client’s alleged breach of a commitment letter.
  • Successfully defended against and negotiated a favorable settlement in a nationwide class action attacking bankruptcy proof of claim fees.
  • Successfully defended a national bank in three class action lawsuits alleging fraudulent bankruptcy affidavit practices.

 

Biographical Information

Roger Bates has served as the firm’s Managing Lawyer for more than 10 years, and guided the firm through its geographic expansion into Florida.  Mr. Bates has extensive experience in complex business and commercial litigation, including business and contract disputes, labor and employment and healthcare-related litigation. He also represents clients before state and federal regulatory agencies and assists them with governmental relations issues. Mr. Bates regularly represents postsecondary educational institutions in litigation, compliance and regulatory matters. He serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the body for accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.  Mr. Bates has served as a specially appointed Deputy Attorney General in Alabama since 1995 and has represented the State of Alabama and various agencies in state and federal courts. Mr. Bates was also appointed to serve a term as the City Attorney for the City of Hoover, Alabama and he currently serves as the County Attorney for Chilton County, Alabama. 

Mr. Bates has served on numerous committees of the Birmingham Bar Association and has lectured on a variety of topics for continuing legal education seminars. As General Counsel for the Alabama Pharmacy Association, Mr. Bates publishes a quarterly journal article on law and ethics. Mr. Bates is active in the Birmingham area community. Mr. Bates is a member of the American Bar Association, and of its State and Local Government Law and Litigation Sections. He is also a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the Alabama Association of Municipal Attorneys. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation in recognition of his service to the community.

Mr. Bates was born in Clanton, Alabama. After being admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1982, he was a law clerk to Senior U.S. District Judge C. W. Allgood until 1983. In 1979, Mr. Bates received a B.S. degree from Auburn University, and in 1982, he obtained his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law. While attending law school he was awarded the Donald E. Corley Best Advocate Award, served on the National Mock Trial Team, and was an associate member of the American Journal of Trial Advocacy.

Admissions

  • Alabama State Bar, 1982
  • United States Supreme Court
  • Alabama Supreme Court
  • Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States Tax Court
  • United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama

Education

  • J.D., Cumberland School of Law, 1982
  • B.S., Auburn University, 1979

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, Member, Trustee and Deacon, Former Chairman of Deacons
  • Lifetime Member Alabama Sheriffs Boys and Girls Ranches Builders Club
  • Former Member, Allocation Committee, Birmingham Area United Way

Awards

  • Martindale-Hubbell® AV Rated
  • Best Lawyers In America©, Commercial Litigation, 2011—2023 
  • Alabama Super Lawyers© Business Litigation, 2008—2015

Biographical Information

Franklin R. Harrison was a Founding Partner of the Firm of Harrison Sale McCloy Attorneys at Law and now serves as the Managing Lawyer of Hand Arendall Harrison Sale’s Florida offices. His primary areas of practice are real estate, business and education law. Mr. Harrison heads the Firm’s Florida real estate section and is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as an Education Law attorney.

Mr. Harrison earned both his J.D. and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida, where he was elected President of Florida Blue Key and the University of Florida Hall of Fame.

Mr. Harrison has served as Chairman of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, Chairman of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee, President of the Florida School Board Attorneys Association, President of the Bay County Bar Association, and as a member of the 14th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission.

Mr. Harrison is a member of the Council of School Attorneys of the National School Boards Association; the Education Law Section of the Florida Bar; and the Education Law Association. In addition to his real estate work Mr. Harrison serves as the Board Attorney for the School Board of Bay County, a position he has held since 1979. Mr. Harrison received the Florida School Boards Association’s Richard “Spike” Fitzpatrick Award in 2010, was voted one of Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend in 2010, was awarded the Lauren Merriam Memorial Award by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce in 2011, and received the C. Graham Carothers Award of Excellence from the Florida School Board Attorneys Association in 2013.

Admissions

  • Florida Bar
  • Fifth and Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
  • U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida

Education

  • J.D., University of Florida, 1972
  • B.S., Business Administration, University of Florida, 1969

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Former Chair of the Multi-State Bar Exam Policy Committee of the National Conference of Bar Examiners
  • Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners
  • Emeritus Member and former Chairman of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, FBBE
  • Selected by the Florida Supreme Court to Chair the FBBE Testing Commission
  • Florida Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism
  • The Inaugural Florida Bar Education Law Certification Committee
  • Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
  • Council of School Attorneys of National School Boards Association
  • Education Law Association
  • The Florida Bar’s Vision 2016 Commission
  • American Bar Association
  • St. Andrews Bay American Inn of Court

Biographical Information

Mr. McCloy is a Founding Partner at the Firm whose primary areas of practice are general civil litigation and mediation. As such, Mr. McCloy has handled a wide range of cases, including commercial business litigation, education litigation, contract disputes, construction litigation, employment litigation, professional negligence claims, personal injury and wrongful death claims. His litigation experience includes both state and federal court proceedings and claims.

Mr. McCloy has 45 years of trial experience. He is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in both Civil Trial and Business Litigation designations since 1990 and 1997 respectively. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2010 and has been a Florida Certified Civil Circuit Court Mediator since 1992.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Davidson College, Mr. McCloy went on to graduate from law school at the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University where he was a Board member of the Law Review. He has since served as a member and Chairman of the 14th Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission, as a member of the Board of Governors for the Florida Bar and as a member of the Florida Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases.

Admissions

  • Florida State Bar
  • United States Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Education

  • J.D., Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, 1978
  • B.A., English, Davidson College, 1975

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Florida Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Member
  • Board Certified in Civil Trial and Business Litigation Law areas by the Florida Bar
  • Past Board of Directors, Southern Legal Counsel
  • Inducted into American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Florida Certified Civil Circuit Court Mediator
  • Past Member of Florida Committee on Standard Jury Instructions
  • Former Member and Chair of 14th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission
  • Former Member of Board of Governors of the Florida Bar

Biographical Information

Julia K. Maddalena is an Associate in the Panama City office. Her practice is focused on Civil Litigation, including life, health, and disability insurance defense, ERISA, automobile insurance defense, real property, employment law and commercial business litigation. She also represents a number of Homeowner and Condominium Community Associations as general counsel and assists City Attorneys in the Firm with municipal law.

Mrs. Maddalena earned her Juris Doctorate from the Florida State University College of Law in Tallahassee, Florida, where she graduated Cum Laude. She specialized in International Law, achieving the highest possible honors. She also received Book Awards in International & Foreign Legal Research, Asylum and Refugee Law, Immigration Law, Law of the Sea, and Professional Responsibility. She served as Article Selection Editor for the FSU Journal of Transnational Law and Policy, received the International Bar Association Certificate for International Human Rights, and was a competitor in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition in Vienna, Austria. In her second year, she clerked for the Honorable Ronald W. Flurry of the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida.

After graduating, Mrs. Maddalena was hired as a Staff Attorney for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, where she assisted the circuit judges with legal research and writing. She worked for the judiciary for three years, focusing primarily on civil litigation. She left the court in 2017 to pursue a career in private practice with Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, LLC.

Admissions

  • Florida State Bar
  • Northern District of Florida 

Education

  • J.D., Florida State University College of Law, cum laude, 2014
  • B.A., University of Central Florida, cum laude, 2010

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Bay County Bar Association, Former Board Member
  • Bay County Women Lawyers, Former Board Member
  • St. Andrews Bay Inn of Courts, Bencher 
  • Young Lawyers Division of the Bay County Bar Association, Board Member
  • 14th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee

Awards

  • Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award, 2018—2019

Biographical Information

William Q. Platt IV (Will) is an Associate at the Firm. His practice is focused in Insurance Defense, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Business Formation and General Representation of Businesses, Contract Formation and Disputes, and Real Estate Closings.

Will earned his Juris Doctorate from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University where he graduated magna cum laude. During law school, Will was a member of the Law Review and Mock Trial team, served as an “Academic Success” mentor, earned Dean’s List honors every semester, and received “CALI” Awards for receiving the highest grade in Evidence, Business Associations, and Secured Transactions. In his third year, Will served as the local chapter President of the International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi and was also inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Upon graduation, Will was inducted into Mercer Law’s honor society, the Brainerd Currie Honor Society, which is limited to the students in the top 10% of the graduating class, upon faculty approval, who have made substantial contributions to the law school and legal community.

Prior to law school, Will spent several years working at Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC assisting staff in many areas. Joining the Firm where he has history and growing his practice serving his home community is something he has been looking forward to doing.

When not at the office, Will enjoys spending time around Bay County with his wife, Daniela, and their son, William Q. Platt V.

Admissions

  • Florida State Bar
  • U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida

Education

  • J.D., Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, magna cum laude, 2018
  • B.A., Florida State University, 2014
  • A.A., Gulf Coast State College, 2012

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Bay County Bar Association
  • Bay Young Professionals
  • Leadership Bay, 2018—19
  • St. Andrews Bay Inn of Court
  • Young Lawyers Division of the Bay County Bar Association

 

A LAW FIRM SINCE 1941
© 2023 Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC. All rights reserved.
Alabama: 
Athens Birmingham Fairhope Mobile
Florida: 
Destin Panama City Panama City Beach Santa Rosa Beach