Banking and Finance
International Trade
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mavidon@mosessinger.com
T: (212) 554-7854 F: (917) 206-4354
Mike Avidon is a partner and co-chair of the Banking and Finance and the International Trade groups at Moses & Singer LLP. He is widely recognized for his knowledge of letters of credit and secured transactions and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® as well as Law & Politics' "New York Super Lawyers." Mike’s practice emphasizes secured and unsecured lending transactions, letter of credit transactions, letter of credit litigation, supply chain finance, and workouts. His letter of credit work involves standby, direct pay and commercial letters of credit as well as demand guarantees. His clients include money center banks (often acting as administrative agent for a syndicate of lenders) as well as other financial institutions.
Mike was a leading participant in the revision of UCC Article 5 on Letters of Credit and the preparation of the International Standby Practices (ISP98). He is a charter member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Documentary Credit World (and, previously, of Letter of Credit Update) and a member of the Council on International Standby Practices. He also participated in drafting Rules of Arbitration for the International Center for Letter of Credit Arbitration, Inc. Mike served on the American Bar Association/U.S.C.I.B. Task Force whose 1990 report led to the UCC Article 5 revision.
Mike writes and speaks frequently on finance and letter of credit-related topics, and actively participates in bar associations and trade groups. He is a past Chair of the Subcommittee on Letters of Credit of the New York State Bar Association's Banking Law Committee.
EDUCATION
- Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1980
- Brooklyn College, B.A., summa cum laude, 1977
LAW SCHOOL ACTIVITIES/HONORS
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Columbia University School of Law
ARTICLES
- "Abstract of EOP-Colonnade of Dallas v. Faulkner (In re Stonebridge Technologies, Inc.)," Documentary Credit World, March 2006.
- "Drafting the Reimbursement Agreement to Protect the Issuer," What Lawyers Need to Know About UCC Article 5, PLI, 2003, March 2003.
- "Forms Under Revised Article 9," (Contributor) American Bar Association, January 2002.
- "UCC Revised Articles 5 and 9 Assignment of Proceeds of Letter of Credit and Request for Issuer Consent," Documentary Credit World, March 2000.
- "Getting Ready for ISP98-The New International Standby Practices," American Lawyer Corporate Counsel Magazine, December 1998.
- "Getting Ready for ISP98-The International Standby Practices," Documentary Credit World, October 1998.
- "Evergreen Clauses: An Analysis of 3Com Corporation v. Banco de Brasil, S.A.," Documentary Credit World, September 1998.
- "Notice of Nonrenewal of an 'Evergreen' Letter of Credit Must be 'Clear and Unequivocal'," New York Business Law, September 1998.
- "New Letter of Credit Law Nears Completion," N.Y. State Banking Journal, October 1995.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- New York State Bar Association (Past-Chair, Subcommittee on Letters of Credit; Member, Banking Law Committee, Business Law Section)
- American Bar Association (Member, Subcommittees on Letters of Credit, Secured Transactions, and Loan Documentation, Committees on Banking Law, Uniform Commercial Code, Commercial Financial Services, and Trust Indentures and Indenture Trustees; Business Law Section; Task Force on the Study of U.C.C. Article 5, 1986-1990)
BAR/COURT ADMISSIONS
- New York, 1981
- U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, 1981
PRESENTATIONS
- Frequent speaker and panelist, including for the International Financial Services Association, ALI-ABA, the City Bar Center for CLE, the Practising Law Institute, the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, bar associations and others regarding: letters of credit, secured transactions, UCC Articles 9, 8 and 5, UCP 600, and ISP98
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