Haynes Boone is pleased to welcome Charlie Harris, Ben Baucom, MacKenzie Henry, Isaac Neill and Ben Owens as Charlotte-based partners in the firm’s Finance Practice. The five-lawyer team has significant experience representing lenders and borrowers in complex financing transactions including leveraged finance, acquisition finance, asset-based lending and investment grade loan transactions. The team worked previously at Moore & Van Allen PLLC.
With their active syndicated lending practice, the team expects to boost Haynes Boone’s top-10 ranking in syndicated loan transaction representations of lead arrangers and administrative agents, as tracked by Refinitiv Loan Pricing Corporation’s 2022 U.S. law firm league table. In addition, the team has significant experience in bilateral loans, private credit transactions and special situations spanning a range of industries, including healthcare, financial services, consumer goods, franchise, transportation, aerospace, media and energy.
“Our clients will benefit enormously from the decades of combined experience and industry knowledge possessed by this incredible team of lawyers,” said Haynes Boone Managing Partner Taylor Wilson. “As Charlotte continues to become an even more important financial hub, we will continue to invest in growing our presence in the market.”
“We are thrilled to join Haynes Boone’s large Finance Practice, which is supported by complementary practices and deep resources in the U.S. and abroad,” said Charlie Harris. “Haynes Boone’s footprint matches that of our banking clients and provides us with a platform that will allow us to better support and grow with our clients.”
Charlie Harris represents agent banks and lenders in syndicated, club and single-lender credit facilities involving strategic and sponsor-backed companies in a broad range of industries. He is ranked among the top North Carolina lawyers in Banking & Finance in Chambers USA 2022 (Chambers & Partners).
Ben Baucom represents banks and other financial institutions in a wide variety of senior syndicated and bilateral lending transactions. Ben’s representations frequently involve borrowers with complex capital structures entailing multiple tranches of third-party debt, as well as borrowers with a global presence that necessitate cross-border financing solutions.
MacKenzie Henry primarily represents banks and other financial institutions as lead arrangers and administrative agents in syndicated credit facilities in connection with leveraged buyout transactions. Mac’s practice covers public companies, sponsor-backed companies and privately held companies in acquisition and working capital facilities, including first lien and second lien financings and SPAC financings.
Isaac Neill represents bank and direct lenders, arrangers, underwriters and agents in structuring and documenting senior lending and other finance transactions. Isaac’s debt finance practice spans across a wide variety of industries, with an emphasis on leveraged cash flow and asset based, club and syndicated middle market financings.
Ben Owens represents financial institutions and other institutional investors (including private credit funds) on a wide variety of financing transactions, including both syndicated and bilateral credit facilities, financings for sponsor-backed companies, investment grade credit facilities and cross-border transactions. Ben’s private credit fund practice consists primarily of the structuring and negotiation of non-dilutive capital investments, with a focus on the healthcare industry. Ben has been recognized among “Ones to Watch” in the Banking and Finance Law category by Best Lawyers in America from 2021-2023.
“We could not be more excited to add such deeply experienced finance lawyers who are well regarded in the banking community at a national level,” said Haynes Boone Finance Partner Justin Riess, who serves as the administrative partner of the firm’s Charlotte office. “These lawyers also fit in perfectly with our collaborative culture and will help us build on the impressive growth we have enjoyed in Charlotte and nationwide.”
Justin helped open the Charlotte office when he joined Haynes Boone from King & Spalding, LLP in 2019. Since then, the office has been infused with top lateral talent, including a group of finance lawyers from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, headed by Partner Holly Loftis, who joined in 2021. To accommodate the growth, Haynes Boone moved in 2021 to a new Charlotte office in the Bank of America Tower, and the firm anticipates taking on added office space in the city in the coming year.
Haynes Boone is an international corporate law firm with 19 offices spanning Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Virginia, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services and private equity. With about 650 lawyers, Haynes Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer. It was recognized in the BTI Consulting Group’s 2022 “A-Team” report, which identifies the law firms that in-house counsel commend for providing superior client service.
