Our community banks practice group concentrates on community banks and representing existing community banks in California. We have a tradition of successful representation of community banks, including advising banks through their entire life cycle from initial formation to sale, where applicable. We work closely with bank management and offer practical advice based on many years of hands-on experience.

We form new state and national banks. We assist organizers and investor groups throughout the new bank formation process, from beginning to end. This includes designing the new bank legal structure and assisting and representing the bank, while in formation, with regulatory and capital raising aspects.

We assist community banks with capital raising and bank holding company reorganization transactions. We advise our clients with deal structure, and assist with the preparation of offering material and subscription documents. We also advise with respect to regulatory requirements as well as state and federal securities law compliance.

LPS also serves as outside general counsel for community banks. Community banks regularly rely on us for outsourcing legal needs that arise from time to time, in both corporate and litigation matters.

Typical transactions in which we assist our community bank clients on the corporate side include:

• Operational matters (i.e. establishing agencies and new branches, employment matters, executive compensation, stock incentive plans, negotiate and document loans, participations, leases, and other credit transactions and operations issues, trust and fiduciary matters and personnel and employment issues.);

• Corporate governance matters (i.e. Board of directors and shareholders meetings; annual reports and proxies; FDIC and Comptroller policy statements compliance for new banks);

• Securities and capital raising transactions (i.e. stock offerings; rights offerings; stock resales and stock repurchase transactions);

• Mergers and reorganizations (i.e. bank holding company reorganizations; bank mergers and acquisitions); and

• Regulatory matters (i.e. representing clients before the California Department of Financial Institutions, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC and other federal regulators).

Our litigation attorneys have broad experience in loan work-outs, secured transactions, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and litigation of all types by and against our clients in federal, state, and bankruptcy courts. We also have extensive experience in pre-judgment remedies such as receiverships, injunctions, temporary protective orders and writs of attachment and possession.