Ruthanne Hammett represents parties in complex commercial transactions, providing responsive advice on a variety of finance and sales matters.
Ruthanne serves as co-chair of the firm’s Banking and Commercial Finance practice. She represents lenders, banks, leasing companies, captive finance subsidiaries, borrowers, lessees, buyers and sellers in loans, structured financing, leases and sales and purchases of equipment. Her commercial finance experience encompasses varied types of commercial finance transactions, including secured, unsecured, syndicated, asset-based, maritime, acquisition, equipment and lease financing transactions.
She frequently counsels the firm’s corporate clients on creditor and borrower issues. She is also active with the UCC Article 2A Leasing and Article 9 Secured Transactions subcommittees of the American Bar Association Business Law Section.
experience
- Represented manufacturer-lessor in $100 million non-recourse credit facility from a bank in connection with the funding of multiple pools of equipment leases.
- Represented lessee in $65 million lease by bank trustee of mining equipment.
- Represented agent bank in $50 million secured revolving credit and multiple term loan facility in connection with a private equity fund acquisition of a data management company.
- Represented agent bank in $25 million secured revolving credit and multiple term loan facility in connection with a private equity fund acquisition of a developer of technological learning tools for the medical field.
- Represented agent bank in restructuring $250 million revolving credit and term loan facility to an international agricultural chemical company.
- Represented public company in the sale of $100 million lease portfolio.
- Represented purchaser of $100 million portfolio of student loans.
Professional
- Equipment Leasing and Finance Association – Legal Committee, 2014-2016
- American Bar Association
- UCC Leasing Subcommittee – Chair, 2012-2014
- Commercial Finance Committee
- Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Illinois State Bar Association
- The Missouri Bar
- The Loan Syndication and Trading Association
Community
- Kirkwood Junior Basketball League
- Girls Coach, 2005-2010
- St. Paul’s Lutheran School of Des Peres
- PTL Board Member, 1999-2001
- Lutheran Family & Children’s Services
- Congregational Delegate, 1996-1998
- American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, Member
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, (by BL Rankings) 2009-2025
- Named Lawyer of the Year for Equipment Finance in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, (by BL Rankings) 2013, 2015
- Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, (by Thomson Reuters) 2012-2013
- Named Lawyer of the Year for Banking & Finance Law in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, (by BL Rankings) 2025