Carlton Fields Tampa shareholder Edgel C. (Ed) Lester, Jr. recently moderated a panel discussion at the American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section Spring Meeting. The panel included nationally noted attorneys and addressed the judicial erosion of bankruptcy remoteness protections. Lester was also recently named the incoming Chair of the Real Estate Financing Subcommittee of the Commercial Financial Services Committee of the Business Law Section of the ABA. He will take on the role of Chair in August 2010.

In addition, in May, Lester will speak at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys on the Lawyer’s Role and Responsibility in Finance Fraud.

Lester serves as Chair of the Carlton Fields’ Real Estate and Finance Practice Group. He is a Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Attorneys. Throughout his legal career, he has been involved in numerous commercial and real estate transactions and regularly represents clients in:

- Secured and unsecured loans

- Asset-based loans

- Real estate and equipment sales, leases and acquisitions

- Loan workouts and settlement agreements

- Lease-in/lease-out transactions

- Purchases and sales of stock and other equity interests

- Loan securitizations, synthetic leases, and timeshare receivables financing

Lester received his J.D. from the University of Kentucky in 1982, his M.A. from Middle Tennessee State University in 1975, and his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1972.