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J. Brennan Ryan
Partner
201 17th Street NW
Suite 1700
Atlanta, GA 30363
Brennan practices with the Financial Regulatory and Corporate team where he focuses in the areas of banking law and corporate and securities law, with an emphasis in corporate finance-related activities. He provides strategic counseling to a broad range of clients ranging from "inflatable" charter and de novo banks to start-up technology services companies and multibillion-dollar...
Brennan practices with the Financial Regulatory and Corporate team where he focuses in the areas of banking law and corporate and securities law, with an emphasis in corporate finance-related activities. He provides strategic counseling to a broad range of clients ranging from "inflatable" charter and de novo banks to start-up technology services companies and multibillion-dollar public entities. During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the period following the crisis, Brennan represented numerous banks in pursuing distressed banking transactions, including failed bank acquisitions, bankruptcy sales, and recapitalizations. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer of a $20+ billion publicly-traded Midwestern Regional Bank, where he supervised risk management, including regulatory relations, credit, compliance, legal and related corporate development functions, including integration activities and vendor programs. He is a frequent speaker regarding financing and strategic transactions in the financial services area and is often quoted in national and local publications.
public entities. During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the period following the crisis, Brennan represented numerous banks in pursuing distressed banking transactions, including failed bank acquisitions, bankruptcy sales, and recapitalizations. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer of a $20+ billion publicly-traded Midwestern Regional Bank, where he supervised risk management, including regulatory relations, credit, compliance, legal and related corporate development functions, including integration activities and vendor programs. He is a frequent speaker regarding financing and strategic transactions in the financial services area and is often quoted in national and local publications.
Experience
Experience
Services relate primarily to:
- bank regulations; enforcement actions
- financial institution capital activities
- mergers and acquisitions
- private capital financings (equity and debt)
- public capital financings (equity and debt)
- multi-company acquisition strategies for large corporate entities
Representative Transactions
- Private/Public Capital Financings:
- Represented issuers and investment bankers in more than 50 separate financial institution capital transactions (public and private) between 1999 and 2023 (including experience in failed bank acquisitions and financings)
- Represented issuers in multiple bankruptcy recapitalization financing transactions
- Numerous start-up bank financings, including de novo and platform bank acquisitions
- M&A Transactions:
- Public and private purchases and sales of numerous bank holding companies with post-merger equity values ranging from $100 million to $8 billion
- $1.6 billion take private acquisition of regulated public bank technology company
- Purchases of multiple banks in bankruptcy 363 sale transactions and failed bank acquisitions
- Represented a publicly traded company in acquisitions of chemical and coatings companies located in the United States
- Represented publicly traded U.K. company in acquisitions of five separate transaction processing software companies located throughout the world
Previous Professional Experience
- Chief Operating Officer, Co-Head Integration Team, Chemical Bank and TCF Bank (2018-2020)
- Partner, Nelson Mullins (1999-2018)
- Previous affiliation with a Florida law firm
Education
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, JD
- University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration, MBA
- University of Florida, BA
Admissions
- Georgia
- Florida
- Michigan
Practice Areas
Industries
Experience
Services relate primarily to:
- bank regulations; enforcement actions
- financial institution capital activities
- mergers and acquisitions
- private capital financings (equity and debt)
- public capital financings (equity and debt)
- multi-company acquisition strategies for large corporate entities
Representative Transactions
- Private/Public Capital Financings:
- Represented issuers and investment bankers in more than 50 separate financial institution capital transactions (public and private) between 1999 and 2023 (including experience in failed bank acquisitions and financings)
- Represented issuers in multiple bankruptcy recapitalization financing transactions
- Numerous start-up bank financings, including de novo and platform bank acquisitions
- M&A Transactions:
- Public and private purchases and sales of numerous bank holding companies with post-merger equity values ranging from $100 million to $8 billion
- $1.6 billion take private acquisition of regulated public bank technology company
- Purchases of multiple banks in bankruptcy 363 sale transactions and failed bank acquisitions
- Represented a publicly traded company in acquisitions of chemical and coatings companies located in the United States
- Represented publicly traded U.K. company in acquisitions of five separate transaction processing software companies located throughout the world
Previous Professional Experience
- Chief Operating Officer, Co-Head Integration Team, Chemical Bank and TCF Bank (2018-2020)
- Partner, Nelson Mullins (1999-2018)
- Previous affiliation with a Florida law firm
Media
Insights
| Build Or Buy: Assessing Options for Starting a New Bank, Author (Nov. 7, 2023) |
| Effective Oversight of FinTech Partnerships, BankDirector.com, Co-Author (June 23, 2022) |
Events / Speaking Engagements
| Digital Financial Service Strategies, FinTech University Series, Co-Presenter (Aug. 9, 2022) |
| 2022 Nelson Mullins Financial Services Conference (May 18, 2022) |
| FinTech Panel Discussion and Happy Hour, Nelson Mullins, Assureg, and the University of South Carolina School of Law, Co-Speaker (March 16, 2022) |
| Emergency Capital Investment Program, Supporting the Efforts of Low and Moderate Income Community Financial Institutions, Speaker (Feb. 22, 2022) |
| FinTech and Non-Bank Investments and Acquisitions, 2022 Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, Bank Director, Co-Presenter (January 30, 2022) |
News
Alerts
Blogs
Recognitions
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Banking & Finance: Mainly Regulatory – Georgia (2021–2025)
Thomson Reuters, Stand-Out Lawyer (2025)
Military
U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy Reserves (1987–1995)
Brennan practices with the Financial Regulatory and Corporate team where he focuses in the areas of banking law and corporate and securities law, with an emphasis in corporate finance-related activities. He provides strategic counseling to a broad range of clients ranging from "inflatable" charter and de novo banks to start-up technology services companies and multibillion-dollar... public entities. During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the period following the crisis, Brennan represented numerous banks in pursuing distressed banking transactions, including failed bank acquisitions, bankruptcy sales, and recapitalizations. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer of a $20+ billion publicly-traded Midwestern Regional Bank, where he supervised risk management, including regulatory relations, credit, compliance, legal and related corporate development functions, including integration activities and vendor programs. He is a frequent speaker regarding financing and strategic transactions in the financial services area and is often quoted in national and local publications.
Experience
The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.Experience
Services relate primarily to:
- bank regulations; enforcement actions
- financial institution capital activities
- mergers and acquisitions
- private capital financings (equity and debt)
- public capital financings (equity and debt)
- multi-company acquisition strategies for large corporate entities
Representative Transactions
- Private/Public Capital Financings:
- Represented issuers and investment bankers in more than 50 separate financial institution capital transactions (public and private) between 1999 and 2023 (including experience in failed bank acquisitions and financings)
- Represented issuers in multiple bankruptcy recapitalization financing transactions
- Numerous start-up bank financings, including de novo and platform bank acquisitions
- M&A Transactions:
- Public and private purchases and sales of numerous bank holding companies with post-merger equity values ranging from $100 million to $8 billion
- $1.6 billion take private acquisition of regulated public bank technology company
- Purchases of multiple banks in bankruptcy 363 sale transactions and failed bank acquisitions
- Represented a publicly traded company in acquisitions of chemical and coatings companies located in the United States
- Represented publicly traded U.K. company in acquisitions of five separate transaction processing software companies located throughout the world
Previous Professional Experience
- Chief Operating Officer, Co-Head Integration Team, Chemical Bank and TCF Bank (2018-2020)
- Partner, Nelson Mullins (1999-2018)
- Previous affiliation with a Florida law firm
Education
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, JD
- University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration, MBA
- University of Florida, BA
Admissions
- Georgia
- Florida
- Michigan
Practice Areas
- Corporate & Securities
- Financial Institutions Corporate & Regulatory
- General Counsel Services
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Securities Offerings
Industries
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Banking & Finance: Mainly Regulatory – Georgia (2021–2025)
Thomson Reuters, Stand-Out Lawyer (2025)
U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy Reserves (1987–1995)
