Partners Robert (Bob) Lewis and Elizabeth (Liz) Tabas Carson have been inducted into the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers (ACCFL). Their induction was announced at the ACCFL’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, on April 5, 2024. This election requires that an individual must have attained a distinguished position in the field and repeatedly demonstrated significant contributions to commercial finance law through teaching, lecturing, published writings, or continuing legal education seminars and programs. The nomination is also subject to multiple qualification requirements, including an invitation-only membership and approval by the ACCFL’s Board of Regents.
The ACCFL is a group of recognized lawyers, jurists, and academics who promote and celebrate achievements and innovations in the field of commercial finance law, as well as the ethics of the profession. The College’s mission is to bring together those highly qualified members of the legal profession who, by reason of their character, skills, and ability, will contribute to the goals, accomplishments, and good fellowship of the College.
Bob has been practicing in Sidley’s Global Finance Group in Chicago for over 29 years, advising a cross-section of businesses from commercial and investment banks, to investment funds and multinational corporations on structuring, negotiating, and administering syndicated financings, structured finance transactions, and corporate restructurings and workouts, across a variety of industries. His broad leveraged finance and structured finance background has enabled him to assist clients in a variety of complex financing structures, including several first-of-their-kind green and sustainability-linked financings, leveraged ESOPs, DIP financings, leveraged recapitalizations, spinoffs, LBOs and MBOs, and across an array of diverse asset types, among them corporate service contracts, motor vehicle leases, structured settlement and lottery cash flows, and payment streams. Bob has also participated in the negotiation and structuring of cross-border financing and other international corporate transactions, involving institutions in the United States, Canada, China, Europe, South America, Australia, and Japan.
Bob is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Strong leadership in advising clients has earned him acknowledgement in a number of industry publications, including The Legal 500 US, Chambers USA, The America Lawyer, and Who’s Who Legal. Sources told The Legal 500: “The ‘direct and to the point’ Robert Lewis is also commended for his ‘very sound legal advice.’”
Liz has been practicing for 18 years, advising alternative lenders, investors, asset managers, hedge funds, traditional banks, and investment banks, as well as corporate borrowers, financial sponsors, and their portfolio companies in structuring and negotiating deals of all sizes, from bilateral domestic financings and “club” deals to more broadly syndicated credit facilities. This includes private financings, secured and unsecured lending transactions, cash flow and asset-based leverage facilities, merger and acquisition financing, mezzanine and second lien financings, debt restructurings and workouts, recapitalizations, SPAC and de-SPAC support transactions, fund financings, private debt, and financings of alternative assets, including structuring financings and liquidity solutions.
Liz has been recognized by several industry publications, including IFLR 1000 (2020–2021) and Chambers USA (2021–2023). She currently serves as chair and previously as vice chair of the American Bar Association sub-committee on fund finance and as a volunteer and board member of Compass Pro Bono Consulting, which provides strategic consulting to other non-profits. Liz is active in publishing articles and often speaks at commercial finance events with an emphasis on the credit market and fund finance.
Through client praise, publication rankings, authored articles, and speaking roles, both partners demonstrate their contributions to commercial finance law.
