James Cochran Published in The State Bar of California's Business Law News
"Complex Collateral for Workouts and Deals: Security Interests in Deposit Accounts, Securities Accounts and Equity Interests"

James (Jim) Cochran's article, "Complex Collateral for Workouts and Deals: Security Interests in Deposit Accounts, Securities Accounts and Equity Interests," was published in the second issue for 2009 of The State Bar of California's Business Law News. In his article, Jim outlines the legal rules governing security interests in three types of property that often serve as collateral for commercial loans secured by personal property. According to Jim, "Although commercial loans secured by personal property are down, they are not out. And in today's world of tighter underwriting and more robust collateral packages, lenders are increasingly requiring that borrowers provide security interests in the[se] types of collateral."

Jim notes in his preface to the outline that "Given the heightened risk of a borrower bankruptcy filing once lender enforcement action begins, any failure by the lender to understand its position thoroughly could prove disastrous for the lender and provide a windfall for the borrower and its other creditors. In short, it could well be that an outline of this sort is more relevant now when economic times are tough than previously when asset values were high and financing was more freely available."