Profile

Michael Avidon is a partner at New York City law firm Moses & Singer LLP. He Co-Chairs the firm’s Banking and Finance practice and has been listed in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® as well as Law & Politics’ 2007 “New York Super Lawyers.” His practice areas are Banking and Finance.

Overview

Mike Avidon is a partner in Moses & Singer LLP, where he co-chairs the Banking and Finance Group and the International Trade Group. 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. Mike’s clients include money center banks (often acting as administrative agent for a syndicate of lenders) as well as other financial institutions.

Mike is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) Consultative Group that is working towards the preparation of ICC Uniform Rules for BPOs. He 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 served on the American Bar Association/U.S.C.I.B. Task Force whose 1990 report led to the UCC Article 5 revision. He also participated in drafting Rules of Arbitration for the International Center for Letter of Credit Arbitration, Inc. and 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.

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.

Honours Achieved

• The Best Lawyers in America®, -
• New York Super Lawyers, -
• AV Preeminent, Martindale - Hubbell, -

Professional Memberships

• New York State Bar Association (Past-Chair, Subcommittee on Letters of Credit; Member, Banking Law Committee, Business Law Section) , -

Publications & Presentations

• "Abstract of EOP-Colonnade of Dallas v. Faulkner (In re Stonebridge Technologies, Inc.)" , Documentary Credit World, 03/2006
• "Drafting the Reimbursement Agreement to Protect the Issuer" , What Lawyers Need to Know About UCC Article 5, PLI, 2003, 03/2003
• "Forms Under Revised Article 9" , (Contributor) American Bar Association, 01/2002
• "New Opportunities in Trade Finance: Understanding the URDG 758" , BAFT-IFSA Global Voice Volume 1, Issue 1, 09/2010
• "A US Perspective on the New URDG758 Compared to ISP98, UCP600 and the NY UCC" , Documentary Credit World, 09/2010
• "Subscription-Secured Credit Facilities: Basic Credit-Related Issues for Secured Lenders" , Moses & Singer Article, 11/2010
• "ISP98 Rule 3.12(a): Is it a Trap, or a Warning to an Unwary Beneficiary of a Letter of Credit" , 2 George Mason Journal of International Commercial Law 1, 12/2010

Colleges Attended

• Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1980
• Brooklyn College, B.A., summa cum laude , 1977

Languages Spoken

• English