WOMEN IN SECURED FINANCE 2025
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE
J JEANNE SIEGEL Thompson Coburn LLP
eanne Siegel represents financial institutions in myriad complex business finance transactions, including commercial finance, factoring and structured finance. As counsel representing financial institutions before entering private practice, she served for two decades as an in-house attorney with national and regional banks, including the legal department of a major investment bank. Today, Jeanne represents diverse financial institutions in highly complex transactions. Her thorough knowledge of transactions such as factoring, middle market asset-based lending, accounts receivable purchase transactions, letter of credit facilities and participations is second to none. Often working with non-bank lenders such as commercial finance firms and factors, Jeanne always uses her depth and breadth of experience to find creative solutions and get the deal done. Jeanne’s clients appreciate that she speaks their language and is able to negotiate agreements even when working with challenging borrowers. She meets parties on all sides of a deal where they are and amicably works out the issues. Jeanne’s practice, she says, is “people oriented,” with clients she has worked with for many years and who become her close friends. While she takes serving her clients quite seriously, she never wants to take herself too seriously.
What advice would you offer to women just starting out in the industry? I would offer women the same advice that I would offer men. It’s extremely important to learn the fundamentals of being a lawyer, but it’s critical to be able to put the tasks you are asked to do in the context of the transaction you are working on. It is not enough to learn how to do something if you don’t learn why you are doing it. Studies have shown women are more reluctant to tout their accomplishments in the workplace. What advice would you give to help women be more comfortable with speaking up? Lawyers advising financial institutions increase their value to their clients if they are able to come up with practical solutions to roadblocks in the transaction process. Work hard to understand your client – how the business operates and what its values are. Don’t be afraid to come up with creative solutions to make both the lender and the borrower comfortable with the terms of their agreements and in that way your accomplishments will speak for themselves. What skills or experiences have been most critical in helping you succeed?
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THE SECURED LENDER MARCH 2025
I am a people person, so I’m naturally drawn to interacting with people. Networking is a skill that has served me well. When I meet someone in the industry, one of our first conversations is finding out who we know in common. If you connect with someone through other people who they like and respect, they tend to like and respect you. Another skill is mentoring younger lawyers in both industry knowledge and legal concepts. Helping to create a team that works well together and adds value to the legal advice we provide to our clients has helped me be a more successful lawyer.
What do you think work will look like in the next few years? That’s the question of this decade. The shift to a hybrid work model is something people of my generation only dreamed about. It feels like the perfect solution to the problem of work/life balance. I was lucky because while I was raising my children I was working as inhouse counsel with long but regular hours. In addition, my husband was a stay-at-home dad, and I had the comfort of knowing that everything was taken care of at home. Even with those advantages there were many moments and occasions during work hours that I wish I could have shared with my family and there were many industry functions after work that I wish I could have participated in. Now that working from home and flexible hours are acceptable, we are able to more naturally balance our lives. That being said, I believe there is real value in spending time with our colleagues in the office. Young lawyers benefit from watching experienced lawyers engage with clients and adversaries. Body language is important, and nuance is hard to teach. So, although work from home and virtual meetings are here to stay, I hope that along with embracing the benefits that come with hybrid work arrangements, the industry will meet the challenge of getting people to participate in the work in person as well. How have you handled a particularly challenging problem at work? The key to solving challenges is to listen to other people. During a negotiation, when faced with an impasse, I try to reach across to the other side of the table and try to understand what their concern is. Usually, it’s based on a previous negative experience and my challenge is to find a way to make the borrower comfortable while protecting my client, the lender. Once I understand the borrower’s concern, I turn to my client to look at the business practices already in place and the options for addressing the issue.