Overview
Doneene Damon’s extraordinary leadership includes her roles as the immediate past president of Richards Layton and chair of the Corporate Trust and Agency Services Group.
Doneene focuses her practice on formation and operational issues relating to Delaware statutory trusts and Delaware and New York common law trusts in all types of commercial and business transactions, representing issuers, underwriters, investors, and trustees. Doneene advises clients on the use of common law trusts, statutory trusts, owner trusts, master trusts, series trusts, and titling trusts in connection with capital markets transactions.
Considered “terrific” and praised as “experienced, careful, smart and very personable” (Chambers USA), in 2021 alone Doneene was named among the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Diversity Leaders in Business, the News Journal’s Most Influential Delawareans, Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers, and a Women, Influence & Power in Law Managing Partner of the Year.
Her practice includes representing banks and trust companies in connection with their trust and agency services under Delaware and New York law in various commercial transactions, including their roles as trustee, collateral agent, verification agent, custodian, master servicer, depository agent, securities intermediary, paying agent, registrar and transfer agent, and exchange agent.
She also served as primary Delaware counsel in a series of first-to-market structured finance transactions employing the use of blockchain distributed ledger technology.
Doneene’s varied corporate trust transactional practice includes
- asset-backed securities, including auto loans and leases, credit cards, student loans, consumer loans, residential mortgages, home equity loans, equipment leases, litigation settlements, insurance policies, and intellectual property;
- collateralized loan obligations;
- cross-border leasing transactions;
- mutual funds and exchange traded funds;
- health care receivables;
- liquidation trusts;
- voting trusts;
- independent director and independent manager;
- private equity funds;
- defeasance transactions;
- capital securities and hybrid capital securities; and
- royalty trusts
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PRACTICES
Corporate Trust & Agency Services
Structured Finance
Leadership
In addition to firm leadership roles, Doneene holds leadership positions in many organizations, including:
- Structured Finance Association, Board Member and Executive Committee Member
- Trustee Committee
- Outside Counsel Committee
- Women in Securitization Initiative
- American Law Institute
- The Forum of Executive Women, Board of Directors, Chair
- Christiana Care Health System, Inc. and Health Services, Inc., Former Chair of the Board of Directors
- Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Board Member
- Delaware Business Roundtable, Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- St. Joseph’s University, Board of Trustees
- St. Joseph’s University HAUB School of Business, Board of Visitors
- Temple University Beasley School of Law, Board of Visitors
- Mayor-Elect Carney Transition Committee, Co-Chair
Doneene also serves on the boards of directors for two profit companies.
