Edward Christian is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.
Ed has over 25 years of experience advising clients across various sectors, including transportation, finance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and investment funds. His practice spans domestic and international jurisdictions, with a focus on complex financial transactions, restructurings, and regulatory compliance.
Ed has represented a broad array of clients including lenders, borrowers, lessors, lessees, investment funds, portfolio companies, and other stakeholders in multifaceted financing arrangements. His work covers syndicated and structured financings, alternative and unitranche facilities, debtor-in-possession financings, and Shariah-compliant financial products like Mudarabah and Ijara.
In the Global Transportation sector, Ed is a trusted advisor to aviation, rail, and intermodal clients. He assists with structuring, formation, financing, and operational strategies, and provides counsel throughout the entire life-cycle of mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions. His deep understanding of the industry’s commercial and regulatory framework allows him to support clients through intricate finance and M&A transactions.
Ed also provides strategic and transaction guidance to investment fund managers and private equity firms on fund formation, finance, governance, registration (including Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registration), M&A, and operational issues. His expertise in this area includes advising on investment and portfolio company transactions, management, and compliance within both domestic and international regulatory regimes.
Additionally, Ed assists with M&A transactions, where he oversees everything from initial negotiations to deal execution for clients across industries. He is also experienced in bankruptcy and insolvency matters, advising creditors, debtors, and other stakeholders in distressed transactions and in-court and out-of-court restructuring scenarios.
Although a lesser part of his practice, Ed’s work in government procurement includes advising clients on US and international government contracts, particularly in compliance with the United States’ International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and defense-related transactions involving US allies.
Prior to his legal career, Ed served as a lieutenant and naval aviator in the US Navy. He is admitted to practice in California, the District of Columbia, and New York.
Past Member, California Bar Uniform Commercial Code Drafting Committee.
Treatment of Make-Whole Premiums in Bankruptcy: A Bondholder Perspective (September 25, 2017), New York Law Journal.
Adding Collateral Realization Financing to Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (March 2005), Airfinance Journal, A Supplement: 2005 Guide to Aviation Lawyers.