Schulte Roth & Zabel Announces Addition of Tax Partner Andi Mandell and Finance Partner Polly O’Brien

New York, July 13, 2020 — Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) announces the addition of Andrea “Andi” Mandell as a partner in the Tax Group and Paula-Marie “Polly” O’Brien as a partner in the Finance & Derivatives Group. Ms. Mandell is resident in the New York office and Ms. O’Brien is in the firm’s London office. Ms. Mandell joins the firm from Dentons, where she was a partner in the capital markets and tax practices. Ms. O’Brien was previously a finance partner at Jones Day.

Ms. Mandell advises on the tax aspects relating to structured finance, securitization and fund formation. Her practice focuses on residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured finance, including the structuring of REO-to-rental financings, servicer advance facilities, debt repackagings, securitization of nonperforming and re-performing mortgage loans, resecuritizations, distressed asset funds and MSR purchases and sales. She also has extensive experience advising tax-exempt entities, REITs, hedge funds and private equity firms.

“We are delighted to have Andi join the firm. Her experience handling complex transactions will further strengthen our robust tax practice,” said David Efron, SRZ co-managing partner and co-head of the Investment Management Group. “Andi is a market-leading lawyer and her qualifications expand our capabilities. We are very excited to have her join us,” said Alan Waldenberg, co-head of the Tax Group.

“SRZ’s tax lawyers are well known for their leading-edge knowledge and business acumen. I am thrilled to join this stellar group,” commented Ms. Mandell, who holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, an LL.M. in taxation from NYU School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. O’Brien focuses her practice on specialty finance, including structured products, trading of distressed debt, loan portfolio acquisitions, forward flow transactions and direct lending. She has significant experience acting for borrowers, sponsors, and multi-strategy funds on domestic and international cross-border financings, acquisitions and restructurings. Ms. O’Brien also has expertise in private equity financings and M&A projects, including in a broad range of bespoke opportunistic financing transactions spanning the spectrum of debt and equity.  

“Polly is a highly skilled lawyer with fluency in a broad range of asset classes. Her arrival brings even greater depth to our offerings,” said Marc Elovitz, SRZ co-managing partner and chair of the Investment Management Regulatory & Compliance Group. “We are so pleased to have Polly as part of our team. She is an outstanding lawyer with specialist capabilities as well as substantial experience handling sophisticated matters,” said Boris Ziser, co-head of the Finance & Derivatives Group.

“This firm has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a long tradition of providing clients with innovative counsel. I am proud to be a part of such a forward-thinking firm and to continue the SRZ tradition,” said Ms. O’Brien, who received her M.A. from Cambridge University and completed her legal studies (GDL and LPC) at Nottingham Law School.

SRZ’s tax lawyers advise on high-stakes deals and provide counsel to prominent financial services firms. In the finance area, representing both capital providers and capital users, the Tax Group has significant experience designing conventional and complex structured finance transactions. As part of the firm’s transactional practice, the Tax Group is integrally involved in tax-free reorganizations, acquisitions and dispositions of companies, leveraged buyouts, carve-outs and other forms of strategic acquisitions and dispositions. Working closely with SRZ’s investment management lawyers, the Tax Group provides essential advice on establishing funds, as part of their ongoing investment program and in relation to acquisitions and dispositions involving fund managers.

SRZ’s finance and derivatives lawyers represent a wide range of market participants, including private investment funds, managers, issuers, purchasers and sellers of assets, underwriters, placement agents, borrowers and investors. They structure and negotiate a variety of complex structured finance and securitization transactions, advising on a diverse breadth of matters, including specialty finance transactions, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and asset-backed securitizations, as well as regulatory capital offerings.