Greg Yates Featured in Bankruptcy and Real Estate Law360
"Steptoe & Johnson LLP Partner Joins Seyfarth Shaw"

Greg Yates was featured in the Bankruptcy and Real Estate Law360 article, "Steptoe & Johnson LLP Partner Joins Seyfarth Shaw,” published February 9, 2010. The article reported that Greg joined the bankruptcy practice at the firm, where he'll continue a national practice specializing in distressed commercial real estate transactions. According to the article, Greg was attracted to the depth and breadth of Seyfarth's practitioners and the ability to use the firm's attorneys in various jurisdictions rather than local counsel. Greg told Law360 that the firm “has a very large real estate practice throughout the country as well as an expanding bankruptcy practice, which at all levels from associates to partners can help support my clients, and hopefully, with geographic locations across the country, can support my practice nationwide.”

Greg explained that “For the past 25 years, my focus has been distressed real estate. Certainly up until the last year or two there were a few lean years, but even in that market half of what I did was bad loans, typically representing secured lenders but also investors in distressed mortgages as well as distressed properties.” According to Greg, he is aggressive in enforcing lender rights, not necessarily because he intends to recover the property at issue, but because it forces the parties to resolve their dispute. And, typically, “time does not help a secured lender." He further noted that “Although I typically represent lenders, I also represent borrowers, and for both sides it's better to recognize and deal with the problem as soon as the problem manifests itself.”