Our Team
Dave “DJ” Johnson—Managing Member
Dave “DJ” Johnson is an experienced capital markets and corporate restructuring lawyer with extensive global expertise. He has held significant leadership roles prior to his retirement as a partner at international law firm, O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Throughout his career, DJ has advised issuers, investors, companies, and creditors in complex structured financings, across a variety of asset classes, and often involving novel or first of its kind structures, and corporate restructurings, including out of court and formal restructurings both in the US and internationally.
As a partner at O’Melveny, he served in a number of management and firm-wide roles, including as a member of O'Melveny's Policy Committee (the equivalent of its board of directors), Managing Partner of the Hong Kong office and Co-Head of the Asia Practice (ex-Korea), Chair of the Transactions Department, and Co-Head of the Capital Markets Group. Additionally, he has been involved in major firm expansions and mergers, contributing to the firm’s growth.
DJ holds a JD/MBA from the University of Virginia and has been recognized as one of the leading U.S. capital markets lawyers by Chambers Global Directory and Who’s Who Legal.
Patrick Lawler—Consultant
Patrick Lawler is a senior attorney with an exceptional breadth of transactional and advisory experience, with a particular focus on debt and structured finance. Patrick is widely recognized as a leading practitioner in banking and finance for large, middle-market, domestic, and international clients. Patrick advises banks, direct lenders, funds, and operating companies on a comprehensive range of corporate finance transactions, including domestic and cross-border acquisition financings, asset-based lending facilities, project and equipment financings, structured financings, operating and capital leases, real estate financings (including securitizations) and restructurings. In particular, he has worked on structured transactions including the securitization of loans, tax credits for affordable housing projects, music royalties, and virtual print fees for motion pictures. Patrick has worked at several large international law firms including O’Melveny & Myers and White & Case, and has been a partner at Pillsbury, Kirkland & Ellis and VLP Law Group. Patrick earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, graduating with honors, distinction, and Phi Beta Kappa.
Ralph Flick—Consultant
Ralph Flick has over thirty years of legal and management experience in corporate law including in-house general counsel, in private practice with large and small firms, as of counsel, and solo practice. Ralph has worked with large, publicly traded clients, large private companies, and small, start-up, and mid-market firms in industries including finance, technology, international services, manufacturers, and other industries. Ralph has extensive legal experience advising clients in financial asset securitization, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, corporate governance, and general commercial business transactions. He also served in non-legal management roles in the commercial and multi-family industry and for several non-profit organizations. Ralph is also a tenured professor at an AACSB-accredited business school where he teaches business law, global business, and business management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the California State University, Long Beach, a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
Dan Passage—Managing Member
Dan Passage has assisted clients with hundreds of securitizations, structured financings and forward flow transactions involving many “standard” and “esoteric” asset classes as counsel to asset originators, investment banks, fund managers and institutional investors. A number of his deals have been “first of kind” and have garnered “deal of the year” type awards, in sectors including insurance products, residential and commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy assets, copyright and patent royalty receivables and digital cinema receivables. Dan has received numerous “Super Lawyer”, “Legal 500”, “Who’s Who Legal” and “Best in Southern California” recognitions. Dan has served as a board member of a manufacturing company with operations in the US and Russia, as an advisory board member for a commercial PACE originator, and as an independent director and independent manager for numerous special purpose vehicles used as issuers, depositors and fund managers across a number of complex financings and securitizations. He has also served on boards of not-for-profit organizations and on the “Citizens Advisory Committee” reviewing policies and procedures for a large metropolitan police department.
David Neier—Consultant
David Neier is an attorney with over 35 years of experience in restructuring and bankruptcy matters representing debtors, creditors, examiners and trustees. David has expertise in both in and out of court restructurings and refinancings in the United States and abroad. David has extensive experience advising and representing lenders to, and independent managers and board members of, special purpose vehicles (“SPVs”) in the structuring, capitalization and financing of such entities. In addition, David has been involved in hundreds of securitizations for virtually every kind of asset class. David recently retired as a partner of Winston & Strawn having served in senior leadership of Winston’s restructuring practice for many years. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has been recognized by numerous publications as a leader in his field. David is a frequent speaker on restructuring topics, has authored numerous articles on industry topics and is the co-author of the treatise “Creditors Rights in Bankruptcy” published by Thompson Reuters Westlaw.
Linda Iannone—Consultant
As a public company independent director, Linda Iannone brings over 30 years of global business, legal, compliance and governance experience leading mergers & acquisitions, IPOs, international capital raising, financing transactions and other strategic initiatives. She was named a 2023 Director to Watch by Directors & Boards Magazine. She currently serves on the Board of CW Bancorp Inc. and has been a member of the Audit, Finance and Credit Committees. She previously served on the Board of CBB Bancorp Inc. where she was Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation, Asset Liability and Directors Loan Committees.
During her legal career, Ms. Iannone led securitization transactions primarily in the mortgage and auto receivables asset classes. As Chief Compliance Officer of Toyota Financial Services, she oversaw the compliance activities of the securitization servicer. Ms. Iannone’s expertise in mortgage securitizations derives from her role as an attorney for Aames Financial and GinnieMae. She also served as General Counsel of Greater Bay Bancorp and a partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Ms. Iannone received a J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.