Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced today that Brian S. Korn has joined the firm’s Corporate and Finance practice as a partner in its New York office. He joins the firm from Pepper Hamilton LLP, where he founded and co-led the firm’s crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending practice.
Korn focuses his practice on executing corporate finance transactions, including early stage and start-up venture financings, initial public offerings and mature corporate and high yield debt finance. He advises clients on broker-dealer compliance and corporate swap transactions. Korn is also a leading voice in the peer-to-peer lending industry, and has counseled more than 30 peer-to-peer and crowdfunding clients, including major platforms, investors and service providers.
Chair of Manatt’s business, finance and tax division Ben D. Orlanski stated, “Brian is a talented and well regarded securities lawyer and business advisor who brings significant securities capabilities to our strong national team. Clients look to Manatt for the highest-level counsel and, with Brian’s deep experience advising clients on some of the most complex securities matters and his forward thinking work on next generation and alternative financial services offerings, he will be a valued resource.”
Korn has counseled issuers and underwriters in investment banking and capital markets transactions, including transactions involving equity, debt, hybrid/convertible and preferred securities, derivatives and foreign exchange. In addition to IPOs, he has executed several other equity value monetization transactions, such as spinoffs, split-offs and carve-out transactions. He also has extensive experience in sponsor leveraged buy-outs and bank/bond acquisition financing.
Earlier in his career, Korn was director and head of equity capital markets and equity syndicate compliance at Barclays. There he was responsible for monitoring and reviewing equity, equity-linked, derivative/hybrid and private placement transactions and applicable policies for consistent application and management of regulatory, operational and reputational risk. Prior to that role, Korn was senior vice president and assistant general counsel for Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Korn noted, “This move to Manatt is invigorating for me. Expanding the reach of my practice is a top priority for me, and Manatt’s strong industry platforms, particularly in the real estate, digital media and financial services sectors, and its skilled, entrepreneurial team of lawyers, allows me to do so. Also, being part of a firm with California roots is extremely complementary to my work with the national online direct lending industry. I look forward to collaborating with my distinguished Manatt colleagues across the country to deliver the excellent client service the firm is known for.”
Korn is a go-to legal source for broadcast media looking for commentary and insight on IPOs, market trading dynamics, crowdfinance and peer-to-peer lending. He has secured multiple appearances on FOX Business Television, Bloomberg and NPR, among others, and has been published or quoted in outlets such as Forbes, CNBC, MSNBC, New York Law Journal, The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation, Law360, Lend Academy, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Korn is a frequent speaker at securities and peer-to-peer lending conferences, including AltFi and LendIt, and chairs Practising Law Institute’s “Crowdfunding and Online Direct (Peer-to-Peer) Lending” conference.
Manatt’s Corporate and Finance practice advises public and private, domestic and international corporations, combing the strength of insightful legal counsel with practical, hands-on industry experience. Partners have served as executives and in-house counsel with financial institutions, major insurers, large venture capital funds, global infrastructure developers and a variety of technology companies. Manatt provides clients with sound business judgment on issues from capital markets to corporate governance. The practice has been included by U.S. News & World Report in its 2015 ranking of the country’s “Best Law Firms.”