Cairncross & Hempelmann Adds Agriculture Industry Group Led by Recognized Industry Leader, John Rizzardi

Cairncross & Hempelmann is announcing the formation of its Agriculture Industry Group, led by John Rizzardi. The Agriculture team represents lender and producer clients involved in a wide range of agricultural areas, including finance, timber, orchards, dairies, row crops, hay, fresh and frozen food processing, fish farms, and seafood products. The industry team includes attorneys with experience in secured financing, real estate, land use, business, and clean tech practices to fully serve this diverse and unique industry.

As leader of the Agriculture team, John Rizzardi’s legal work in agriculture began in the first year of his legal career.   Now, with over 40 years of combined experience with farm business and financing issues, John and his colleagues serve their agricultural lending client’s needs in assisting with financing issues involving land finance, operating lines, and equipment finance.  The group is skilled in loan enforcement actions, forbearance arrangements, state agricultural liens (processor, preparer, and evidencing of liens), U.C.C. perfection and priority issues, PACA trust issues, state receiverships and federal bankruptcy proceedings.

In 2005, the firm expanded its practice to the representation of court appointed receivers who manage farms and agribusinesses. The team also represents producers of food products in their efforts to restructure their financing affairs – counseling companies as to their legal rights and negotiations with creditors, and providing quality assistance in the review, negotiation, and finalization of restructuring documentation.

In addition to providing assistance with financing and loan transactions, the team members are adept at handling real estate, permitting, trademarks and branding, employment and transactional matters for the farming industry throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Read the full press release here.