Jonathan M. Petrakis

Partner

  • Jonathan M. Petrakis
  • Phone: +1 215 979 1115

    Jonathan M. Petrakis - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    30 South 17th Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
    USA
  • Duane Morris LLP
    625 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1000
    Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3112
    USA

Jon Petrakis is a partner and a Team Lead for the firm's Banking and Finance industry group, which is an inter-disciplinary group dedicated to management and expansion of the legal services that Duane Morris provides to banks and other financial institutions. Mr. Petrakis brings almost four decades' worth of litigation and transactional experience to his clients. He has established long term relationships with a diverse range of clients, including banks, non-bank lenders, retailers, and a variety of privately owned businesses.  His clients repeatedly turn to him for guidance with respect to their legal needs because of his blend of experience and dedication to their service. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Mr. Petrakis was the President of the firm of Deeb Petrakis, which he co-founded in 1989.

 Mr. Petrakis provides a broad range of services to financial institutions. He represents banks in enforcement of remedies under loan documents in asset recovery and creditors' rights matters, litigation involving breach of contract and fraud, lender liability claims and other commercial litigation in state and federal courts, including bankruptcy venues. A second concentration of his financial institution representation is assisting lenders in documentation of commercial loans, including syndicated loan transactions, structured finance, asset based loans, and loans secured by real estate.

Further, Mr. Petrakis routinely represents a variety of other business clients in matters involving employment law issues, negotiation of employment and other agreements, litigation, and other issues that businesses and entrepreneurs regularly encounter. In doing so, Mr. Petrakis has handled work as varied as the sale of a subsidiary of a national eyewear manufacturer and retailer, resolution of claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other anti-discrimination laws, enforcement of restrictive covenants, the preparation and revision of clients' employee handbooks and policies, and the financing of businesses from golf courses to fast food franchises. Mr. Petrakis ensures that the varied needs of his clients are well served by the talented members of the firm’s various practice groups.

Areas of Practice

  • Creditors' Rights
  • Commercial Lending Services
  • Financial Institution Litigation
  • Commercial Litigation

Representative Matters

  • Represented KeyBank National Association in the amendment and restructuring of a $34 million secured credit facility provided to a Florida sawmill operator.

  • Represented a U.S. bank in connection with its $19 million term loan to the owner of a Florida senior living community leased by a taxable REIT subsidiary holding a third party management agreement for operation.

  • Represented BankUnited in its purchase of participations totaling $350 million in large syndicated revolving credit facilities agented by one of the largest banks in the world.

  • Represented a national bank in negotiating a work-out of a defaulted $25 million credit facility that resulted in collection of the full principal amount, plus interest and accrued attorneys’ fees.

  • Represented BankUnited, N.A. in preparing Main Street Loan Program form loan documents and successfully closed six MSLP loans in two weeks in order to meet the deadline imposed by the Federal Reserve.

  • Represented BankUnited in connection with negotiation of modifications of a sponsorship agreement with a National Football League team.

  • Represented a national bank in voidable transfer litigation with a bankruptcy trustee.

  • Represented BankUnited, N.A. in connection with its $20 million commercial real estate loan to Federal Realty Limited Partnership, an affiliate in the LeFrak organization, for a 13-story office building located in Queens; the loan includes $4.1 million in new financing, with the remainder as refinancing of pre-existing debt at the property.

  • Represented the Refac Optical Group, a leading provider of vision care products and services, in the sale of one of its subsidiaries, Nationwide Optical Group, Inc., to Clarkson EyeCare Partners, Inc.

  • Represented a bank holding company in documenting a multi-million dollar joinder to a multi-million dollar syndicated subscription secured credit facility extended to an owner of a renewable energy related assets portfolio.

  • In Re: Calypso St. Barth, Inc. (Bankr. D.N.J) - Representing a national bank as the senior secured creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings of a national clothing store chain.

  • Represented a regional bank in closing a $16.8 million refinance of a mortgage loan on an office building.

  • Representing a national retailer in reference to several employment discrimination claims throughout the United States.

  • Negotiated resolution on behalf of an equipment lender of a dispute with a national trucking company regarding repayment obligations under a nine figure credit agreement.

  • Represented a national bank as administrative agent, collateral agent and lender in restructuring of an $80 million syndicated secured credit facility.

  • Represented an equipment lender in its $110 million sale of large portfolios of finance leases relating to Class 8 tractors.

  • Represented an equipment lender in closing a $30 million credit facility to a large mid-Atlantic construction equipment re-seller.

  • Represented a national bank lender as Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, and Lead Arranger in an $85 million syndicated lending facility to one of the mid-Atlantic’s largest contracting and construction companies and its affiliates.

  • Obtained an arbitration award of $3.6 million, the full amount requested, in a case before a former California Superior Court Judge in San Francisco concerning valuation of the client's 50% interest in a company that provides network and data management services.

  • Successfully defeated three Motions for Temporary Restraining Order and a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction for enforcement of restrictive covenants in an employment agreement, as sought by a former employer against a senior sales manager who had resigned from the company and joined a competitor.

  • Representing multiple banks in Pennsylvania in defense of putative class action claims brought against them for alleged failure to comply with ADA Standards for access to ATMs.

  • Represented a national retailer in defense and resolution of potential class action regarding alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically that the company failed to reasonably accommodate disabled persons by failing to provide readily achievable means of access to eye examinations in their stores nationwide.

  • In re TH Properties, Inc., et al. (Bankr. E.D. Pa.) – Represented a pre-petition secured lender and debtor-in-possession lender in the bankruptcy of a large regional construction company.
  • In re Oskar Huber Furniture and Design, et al. (Bankr. D.N.J.) – Represented senior secured lender in bankruptcy proceedings of a furniture company.
  • In re Solomon Dwek, et al. (Bankr. D.N.J.) – Represented a lender in defense of an action brought by the U.S. trustee for fraudulent conveyance and deepening insolvency.

  • Obtained on behalf of a New Jersey bank the dismissal of class action counterclaims for breach of good faith and fair dealing, fraudulent misrepresentation and violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, as asserted by a defaulted commercial borrower.

  • Represented lender in purchase and restructure of $56 million debt on high-rise condominium in Philadelphia.

  • Represented lender in documentation and closing of $24 million term loan/revolving credit facility.

  • Assisted in representation of borrower in documentation and closing of a $55 million acquisition-financing transaction.

  • Represented employer in defense of wage-and-hour class action litigation in California.

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

  • University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., 1983
  • University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1980

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2011-present
  • Deeb Petrakis
    - Founder and President, 1989-2011
  • Saul Ewing
    - Associate, 1986-1989
  • Harvey Pennington
    - Associate, 1983-1985

Board Memberships

  • Director, Pinnacle Public Finance, Inc. Board of Directors

Professional Activities

  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Turnaround Management Association

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2018-2021

  • Listed as a 2014 Philadelphia's Top Rated Lawyer, Martindale Hubbell, 2014 Edition
  • Recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as one of the "Top Ten Lateral Hires in Pennsylvania in 2011"
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

No aspect of these rankings has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links.

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Board of Directors

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Moderator, Duane Morris Banking and Finance General Counsel Roundtable, November 17, 2022
  • Speaker, "ADA Awareness for Retail Employees," Client's National Meeting, February 2013