James N. Zell, Partner

Attorney James N. Zell

Jim is a partner in ZEK’s transactional banking, corporate and real estate group. His practice concentrates on bank financing, including asset-based lending, acquisition and real estate financing, commercial and trade finance (including secured and unsecured facilities) and law firm financing. He has extensive experience in representing creditors in structuring and documenting remedial finance issues involving corporate, commercial and real estate matters. Jim regularly advises the firm’s Middle-Market and Private Bank lenders, hotel and hospitality clients and has been involved with matters involving dealer financing, securities-based lending, intellectual property finance and bank regulatory issues.

During his tenure at the firm he regularly works on real estate financings in the greater New York City area, and in almost all U.S. states and many Caribbean islands. In addition, he has assisted the firm’s clients financing a leading provider of turn-key executive offices and office space services, over thirty retail motor fuel facilities and motor fuel supply agreements; multiple tranche credit facilities to a retail electricity and natural gas utility; loan and letter of credit facilities to an office cleaning company; and working capital loans to a wine merchant secured by wine futures. In the past, Jim was seconded to a bank client where he supervised its consumer compliance department during the bank’s merger.

Jim’s recent experience includes transactions involving:

  • Financing the acquisition of a NYC office building
  • Refinancing multi-family building portfolio
  • $1+ Billion securities-based line of credit loan
  • Working capital loans secured by:
    • Life insurance policies
    • Revenues for a designer and integrator of solar electric systems for residential and commercial customers
    • Contractor accounts receivable (sub-facility for bonding needs)

Jim believes in taking a collaborative approach to every transaction, guiding it from start to successful conclusion while steadfastly protecting his clients’ interests.

When out of the office, Jim enjoys spending time with his wife and sons in Brooklyn and occasional weekends hiking and skiing in the Berkshire Mountains.