ATLANTA – Experienced banking attorney John M. Willis has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP as of counsel in its Atlanta office. He joins the firm’s Financial Services Corporate and Regulatory (FinCorpReg) practice group from Cadence Bank, N.A., where he was senior vice president and senior corporate counsel.

Willis has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, corporate governance, third party risk management, loan portfolio sales, securities, and regulatory relations. He served as senior vice president and senior counsel for State Bank and Trust Company as it successfully expanded over several years from a $2.6 billion asset institution to a $5 billion asset institution, culminating in its merger with Cadence Bank, N.A.

“We welcome John to the firm and look forward to him bringing his considerable banking knowledge to further enhance our services to our financial institutions clients,” said Neil Grayson, who heads the Nelson Mullins FinCorpReg practice group.

Willis earned his JD, cum laude, from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law in 2006 and a BS in Business Administration, Finance, magna cum laude, from Auburn University in 2003.

Nelson Mullins’ FinCorpReg practice group is an interdisciplinary group of corporate and regulatory attorneys who  provide business-oriented solutions for banks and financial services clients on corporate, regulatory, and compliance matters. Clients range from community banks and global, national, and regional banks to alternative lenders, card managers and processors, and money services businesses and transmitters.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 800 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in 11 states and Washington, DC. For more information on the firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.