With the benefit of both in-house and law firm experiences, Suzanne brings a unique business perspective to clients and client matters. She was Deputy General Counsel to RBC Bank (USA) from 2006-2009 where she provided primary legal support for Commercial Lending, Corporate Real Estate and Mergers & Acquisitions.
Suzanne first joined Poyner Spruill in 2002 as a partner. Prior to joining the firm, she spent eight years in-house with Continental Grain Company, a privately held, international agri-business company. During her tenure, she supported foreign and domestic operating divisions and subsidiaries in a legal capacity as well as at the Vice-President level as a member of senior management teams.
Representative Experience
- Acquisition of 39 branches having $3.5 billion in loans and deposits from an Alabama financial institution as a regulatory divestiture
- $1.6 billion acquisition of publicly traded bank holding company with ten bank subsidiaries in three states
- Legal representative on cross-functional team charged with integration of 10 separate banks on 2 separate conversion dates
- Negotiate settlement of breach of contract dispute resulting in $7m payment to client
- Represented client in branch expansion throughout the Southeast with 36 de novo leases executed in less than two years
- Represented financial institution in acquiring naming rights to sports arena, home of both professional hockey and college basketball teams
- $37m asset sale of animal feed manufacturing division including 12 manufacturing facilities in nine states
- Represented private company in a transaction involving contribution of cattle feedlots located in four states to a newly-formed entity, jointly owned by the private company and a public company, and independently financed
Firm Management Responsibilities
Suzanne is Co-Chair of Poyner Spruill's Financial Services Practice Area.
Prior Legal Experience
Suzanne began her legal career as an associate with the law firm of Arnstein & Lehr in Chicago, Illinois. Over the course of five years at Arnstein & Lehr, she represented a variety of lenders, closely-held companies and individuals in the areas of real estate, corporate and estate planning.