Patrick J. Kennedy Jr.

Mr. Kennedy is the managing partner of the firm and over the past 34 years he has represented private and publicly held corporations in general corporate, securities, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and transactional matters.  His practice has included preparation of securities offerings under federal and state securities laws as well as public company periodic reporting. His practice has been particularly concentrated in the representation of banks and bank holding companies and other financial intermediaries. In addition to this general corporate and securities work, he has represented these entities and their shareholders, directors and officers in a broad range of matters, including regulatory enforcement, special corporate investigations, directors and officers and fidelity bond claims, Bank Secrecy Act and currency transactions compliance, Community Reinvestment Act strategy, mergers, acquisition and strategic planning, corporate governance and restructuring and state and federal banking law compliance.

Throughout his career Mr. Kennedy has been involved in a number of initiatives, both legislative and regulatory, which have resulted in the creation of important opportunities for his clients. One of the more significant initiatives was the passage of legislation permitting banks and thrifts and their holding companies to elect Subchapter S tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code which has resulted in over 2300 US depository institutions operating as Sub S Banks. To assure his clients and the industry have the best information available regarding the unique opportunities and issues these companies face, he founded the Subchapter S Bank Association in 1997 which sponsors among other things an Annual Conference and periodic professional reports. Through the Association and his firm, Mr. Kennedy advocates for the community banking industry and most recently was instrumental in assuring that small bank holding companies were exempt from Section 171 of Dodd Frank restricting the use of Trust Preferred Securities as well as protecting community banks from certain provisions under the Basel III Final Rule.

Mr. Kennedy’s broad based corporate and financial services practice also utilizes creative financing structures and other local, state and federal incentives such as the New Markets Tax Credit Program in the representation of:

• Banks
• Project Sponsors
• Borrowers
• Economic Development Corporations
• Community Development Entities

His firm structures and documents these complex financings which encourage private investment in rural and urban low income communities. In addition, Mr. Kennedy and his firm represent Community Development Financial Institutions in their corporate, financial, loan syndication and other financing initiatives, including partnerships with community banks.