Overview
BFKN is proud to announce Joseph T. Ceithaml as co-chair of the Financial Institutions Group. Joseph has more than 15 years of experience advising financial institutions on corporate, securities, and regulatory matters. Joseph has successfully completed over 100 M&A and capital market transactions and has served as the Capital Markets and M&A leader in BFKN's Financial Institutions Group since 2018. He will share responsibility for managing the group with continuing co-chair Rob Fleetwood.
“I’ve worked closely with Joseph for many years on transactions and client matters, as well as on firm and Financial Institutions Group issues. He is thoughtful, impressive, and a pleasure to work alongside. He’s one of the important reasons that our group has maintained our national standing as a top provider of legal services to the financial services industry." – Robert M. Fleetwood, Co-Chair, BFKN Financial Institutions Group
Joseph focuses his practice on the financial services industry and actively serves as outside corporate counsel for more than 25 banks. He regularly represents public and private banks and bank holding companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, and other strategic corporate actions. He is a frequent speaker on corporate and regulatory matters affecting financial institutions at industry conferences and trade association meetings.
“Joseph established and heads the firm’s Minneapolis office and has been one of the leaders of our Financial Institutions Group for the past 10 years. This acknowledgment is long overdue. Joseph is one of the most impressive and well-respected banking attorneys I’ve encountered throughout my career.” – John E. Freechack
John Freechack, the longtime chairman and founder of the Financial Institutions Group, will continue his work with the firm’s banking clients and remains on the firm’s Compensation Committee.
Financial Institutions Group
BFKN's Financial Institutions Group has represented over 300 financial institutions in recent years, ranging from community banks to larger, publicly traded regional and super-regional banks. We have one of the largest practice groups in the country focused on servicing financial institutions, with many of our partners and associates devoting their full attention to the representation of financial institutions in corporate transactions, securities, regulatory, litigation, executive compensation and employee benefits, and other related matters.