Hire strengthens the firm’s middle‑market and sponsor‑driven finance capabilities.
Thompson Hine LLP, a national law firm recognized for its innovative approach to client service, announced that Phillip Brown has joined the firm’s Atlanta office as a partner in its Commercial & Public Finance practice. Joining from Jones Day, Brown brings broad experience in commercial finance transactions, including secured and unsecured debt facilities, cross-border and multicurrency transactions, asset‑based and cash‑flow facilities, acquisition financings, debt restructurings, mezzanine and subordinated debt facilities, and secured bond offerings. He represents both lenders and borrowers across syndicated, club, and single‑lender transactions.
Brown’s industry experience spans technology, financial services, health care, fintech, manufacturing, agriculture, energy and utilities, and retail, further strengthening the firm’s ability to support middle‑market and sponsor‑driven transactions nationwide.
“Phil brings the borrower‑side depth, private credit know-how, and technical drafting skills our clients are asking for in this market,” said J.A. Schneider, partner in charge of the Atlanta office. “He immediately fills a critical need for our team, enhances our capacity to execute across the full credit stack for both borrowers and lenders, and strengthens our focus on the middle market with flexible, right-sized solutions that reflect how our clients want to work.”
Brown’s recent matters reflect the depth and complexity of his practice. He has advised on multiple significant credit facilities for a large, regulated utility, including a $2 billion sustainability‑linked revolver, a $650 million senior unsecured delayed‑draw term loan, and a series of multi‑draw and delayed‑draw term loans supporting strategic transactions. He has represented arrangers and agents in numerous sponsor‑backed financings, including a $400 million syndicated senior secured facility for a public defense and security company and a $330 million credit facility for a public company providing infrastructure and fintech services. He has also represented private credit institutions as lenders and agents in connection with numerous facilities, including a $125 million senior secured term loan to a subscription-based online retailer and an $84 million financing for a health care company. Other borrower‑side engagements include a $350 million revolving credit facility for a national infrastructure company and several secured revolving facilities for a nonprofit museum.
His portfolio also includes representing the seller of an $8 billion portfolio of financial assets and equity positions and advising lenders on LIBOR transition updates, spin-offs and corporate restructurings, securities transactions, and de‑SPAC matters and complex distressed transactions, underscoring a versatile finance execution capability across the capital stack. In the near term, he will concentrate on borrower‑side mandates while adding depth and bandwidth to support lender‑side clients.
“I was drawn to Thompson Hine’s focus on innovation and its ability to work seamlessly with both borrowers and lenders,” said Brown. “It’s a great national firm where I’ll have the flexibility to collaborate with clients on right‑sized rates and the opportunity to bring some of the cutting-edge technologies transforming the business world to my practice. The platform offers strong cross‑practice synergies and the opportunity to grow my practice at a firm that is firmly in growth mode and focused on innovation.”
In discussing his passion for working with middle‑market companies, Brown shared that he enjoys the strategic element of finance and partnering with clients when a “market‑standard” provision does not fit the business, crafting solutions that work for all sides. “I’m a true believer in contract law,” Brown said. “A well-negotiated contract strengthens business relationships and allows for everyone to win. But for a company to make sure that their contractual relationships are working for them, they need lawyers who care – who can see both the forest and the trees. I’m proud to be one of those lawyers and help my clients protect and enhance their businesses.”
Brown earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and previously practiced at another international law firm in Washington, D.C. before joining Jones Day.