Karen Fries practices primarily in the areas of lender and borrower representation in connection with finance transactions. She represents a number of public and private corporations in finance transactions. Her experience includes negotiation and documentation of secured and unsecured, syndicated and single-lender revolving credit and term loan facilities. She has also represented borrowers in private placements. Ms. Fries also has broad restructuring experience including negotiation and documentation of large, syndicated debtor in possession financing transactions, representation of secured and unsecured creditors in various aspects of chapter 11 cases and negotiation and documentation of out-of-court restructuring transactions.

Select Representations

Following is a sample of significant engagements:

• Counsel for administrative agent in connection with $200 million revolving credit agreement for debtor in possession financing
• Counsel for multi-national borrowers in connection with $605 million secured revolving credit and term loan agreement
• Counsel for multi-national borrowers in connection with $550 million revolving unsecured revolving credit agreement
• Counsel for borrower in connection with $100 million secured revolving credit agreement.
• Counsel for borrowers in connection with $225 million secured revolving credit and inventory floorplan financing agreement
• Counsel for administrative agent in connection with $52 million secured revolving credit, equipment line of credit and term loan agreement (including negotiation of intercreditor and subordination agreements with subordinated debt holders)
• Counsel for major supplier to distressed manufacturing company in connection with pre-bankruptcy restructuring, negotiation of creditor protections in connection with debtor in possession financing provided by new investor and in connection with negotiation of plan of reorganization and related exit financing

Bar and Court Admissions

Missouri, 1989

Illinois, 1990

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Education

Vanderbilt University, J.D., Order of the Coif, 1989

Miami University, B.S., cum laude, 1986