San Francisco—Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Teveia Barnes has joined the firm’s San Francisco office, bringing more than 20 years of banking and finance experience. Barnes is a partner in the firm’s Business Law Department, Finance Practice Group and Business Reorganizations Practice Group. She is known nationally for her work in promoting diversity and pro bono efforts in the legal industry as the president and executive director of Lawyers for One America.
“Teveia’s legal expertise in financial institutions and commercial lending is a natural fit with the Firm’s national finance and financial institutions practices and the creditor’s rights and business reorganization practices presently in San Francisco,” said Ralf Boer, CEO of Foley & Larder.
Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, Barnes was on the national stage as president and executive director for Lawyers For One America, a non-profit organization responsible for the advancement of diversity and pro bono services in the legal profession. During her tenure, she was a key player in the diversity initiatives promulgated by the legal departments of the Fortune 500 and the American Bar Association. At the local level, she was also the executive director and general counsel to the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Barnes also spent more than a dozen years in the Legal Department of Bank of America, including many years as the associate general counsel and senior vice president, at which time 50 attorneys reported to her. As a member of the Policy Committee for the Legal Department, she advised numerous units of the financial institution, including the Commercial Banking Division, Private Lending Division, and Problem Loans and Bankruptcy Groups. Barnes was also the primary attorney for the vice chairman of the Investment Management and Commercial Divisions and worked with the independent boards of directors of the Bank’s proprietary mutual funds.
As a member of Foley & Lardner’s Business Law Department, Finance Practice Group and Business Reorganizations Practice Group, Barnes will focus her practice on commercial lending, banking finance and commercial transactions, including syndications and participations, project financing, asset based lending, equipment finance, workouts and debtor in possession financing.
Barnes received her bachelor’s degree from Rice University, where she graduated as a Cohn Scholar, and she received her law degree from the New York University School of Law. She is licensed to practice in both California and New York.
Foley & Lardner LLP is a provider of legal counsel to global companies. The firm’s experience encompasses a full range of corporate legal services. Foley & Lardner’s nearly 1,000 attorneys understand today’s most complex business issues including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and IP litigation, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, e-business and information technology, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries. The firm’s Web site can be found at www.foley.com.
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Note: For a photo of Teveia Barnes please contact Jocelyn Brumbaugh at 312.832.4506 or jbrumbaugh@foley.com.
