Jeffrey Dunlop

Principal, Goldberg Kohn Ltd.

40 Under 40 Category: Legal Services

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Biography:

Jeffrey Dunlop is a principal in the Commercial Finance Group of Goldberg Kohn Ltd.  Jeff’s practice focuses on the representation of banks and other commercial lenders in structuring, negotiating and documenting a variety of commercial finance transactions.  His experience includes secured asset-based and cash-flow loans, leveraged buy-outs, mezzanine financings, second lien financings and unitranche loan transactions.  In addition, Jeff has extensive experience in cross-border lending transactions involving North and South America, Europe and Asia. 

Jeff is admitted to practice in Illinois.  He received his law degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University in 2007 and his B.B.A., with highest honors, from the University of Michigan in 2002. Prior to law school, Jeff worked as a consultant for an international consulting firm providing economic and financial valuation for complex commercial disputes.  He served as an editor of the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business while in law school.

How do you define a good leader?

A good leader is someone who leads by example while also developing those whom they are leading.  In order to do that successfully, a good leader needs to build a relationship of trust with colleagues, built on honesty and the belief that you are all working together to achieve a common goal.  In addition, a good leader needs to take initiative and demonstrate the ability to take on the difficult tasks, while also motivating subordinates to work as hard as they do.  As I work to develop my own leadership skills, I have looked to the senior leadership of our firm to emulate these traits.  Our firm, through the leadership of many of our partners, thrives on developing attorneys internally though an environment where questions and dialogue are core values.  Though each of these individuals, who have built our firm and made it successful, may have their own leadership styles, the common theme is to lead and develop the firm through trust, support and respect.

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor?

Be patient and work hard.  Practicing law in commercial finance is intellectually stimulating and rewarding, but it comes with a very steep learning curve.  The only way to become a proficient attorney in this area is, like so many other things in life, through repetition and practice.  Junior attorneys need to appreciate that it takes time — and a lot of hard work – where you are encountering issues and solving problems in order to develop.  The most important requirement of this development is to ask questions and build upon each experience.  I often get asked by junior attorneys where they should be in what year of their career in terms of capabilities and skills.  The answer is not a black-and-white objective standard, but rather a curve.  Everyone develops differently and so it’s important to focus more on your own development and not get caught up looking too much at your peers.  Put in the effort and, when the light goes on in terms of understanding a new concept or solving a novel problem, apply that to the next challenge.

When interviewing newcomers to the industry, what do you say to pique their interest about why they should accept a position in this industry?

My favorite part of practicing law in commercial finance is the ability to see a broad cross-section of business and industry.  In some respects, every secured lending transaction seems like it should be the same.  When I talk to friends and family outside of our industry, they certainly think this is the case.  But, in practice, the nuances of company industries (from manufacturing, to retail, to hospitality and everything in between), structures and types of facilities, acquisition and growth strategies and risk-to-reward profiles of clients, among others, allow practitioners in this industry to interact with an incredibly wide range of commerce.  Add in cross-border transactions and you have the further overlap with how other countries create legal frameworks to address many of the same ideas, and it is a fascinating window into cultures and problem-solving around the world.  In other words, you get to see many of the same problems or issues facing companies today and find ways to solve them.