John E. Freechack

John E. Freechack

Banking and Finance Law

3.0 (1 reviews)
Chicago, Illinois
50+ years experience
Barack Ferrazzano
Updated:

Contact Information

200 West Madison Street, Suite 3900, Chicago, IL 60606
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Bio

John has more than 40 years of experience advising hundreds of financial institutions and their boards on mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance, and securities law matters. John is straight-forward, a good sounding board and strategic thinker, meticulous, and personable.John is the founder and former co-chair of Barack Ferrazzano’s Financial Institutions Group and has advised hundreds of financial institutions on strategic, corporate governance and other matters. His extensive experience includes the representation of numerous public companies, as well as regional and community banks. John spends considerable time counseling institutions and their boards with respect to mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance and securities law matters.John is frequently recognized as one of financial institution law's top-ranked practitioners by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and other publications. He is also one of only three recipients to be awarded the Illinois Bankers Association’s Distinguished Bank Counsel Award.John is active in the banking community. He is a well-known speaker at national conferences involving the financial institutions area, addressing bank trade associations, regulators, and industry groups across the country. John is also the Founder and past Chairman of the Community Bank Subcommittee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Banking Law Committee.John has served as an Adjunct Professor of banking law at a number of law schools for the past 25 years, including at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law since 2001. John has more than 40 years of experience advising hundreds of financial institutions and their boards on mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance, and securities law matters. John is straight-forward, a good sounding board and strategic thinker, meticulous, and personable.John is the founder and former co-chair of Barack Ferrazzano’s Financial Institutions Group and has advised hundreds of financial institutions on strategic, corporate governance and other matters. His extensive experience includes the representation of numerous public companies, as well as regional and community banks. John spends considerable time counseling institutions and their boards with respect to mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance and securities law matters.John is frequently recognized as one of financial institution law's top-ranked practitioners by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and other publications. He is also one of only three recipients to be awarded the Illinois Bankers Association’s Distinguished Bank Counsel Award.John is active in the banking community. He is a well-known speaker at national conferences involving the financial institutions area, addressing bank trade associations, regulators, and industry groups across the country. John is also the Founder and past Chairman of the Community Bank Subcommittee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Banking Law Committee.John has served as an Adjunct Professor of banking law at a number of law schools for the past 25 years, including at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law since 2001. John has more than 40 years of experience advising hundreds of financial institutions and their boards on mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance, and securities law matters. John is straight-forward, a good sounding board and strategic thinker, meticulous, and personable. John is the founder and former co-chair of Barack Ferrazzano’s Financial Institutions Group and has advised hundreds of financial institutions on strategic, corporate governance and other matters. His extensive experience includes the representation of numerous public companies, as well as regional and community banks. John spends considerable time counseling institutions and their boards with respect to mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance and securities law matters. John is frequently recognized as one of financial institution law's top-ranked practitioners by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and other publications. He is also one of only three recipients to be awarded the Illinois Bankers Association’s Distinguished Bank Counsel Award. John is active in the banking community. He is a well-known speaker at national conferences involving the financial institutions area, addressing bank trade associations, regulators, and industry groups across the country. John is also the Founder and past Chairman of the Community Bank Subcommittee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Banking Law Committee. John has served as an Adjunct Professor of banking law at a number of law schools for the past 25 years, including at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law since 2001.

Practice Areas

Banking and Finance Law

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognized: Banking and Finance Law
  • Recognized: Financial Services Regulation Law
  • Special Focus: Regulatory
  • Special Focus: Transactions

Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2007

Education

  • Northwestern University, J.D., graduated 1975
  • Northwestern University, B.A., graduated 1972

Reviews

R

Robert Diaz

2 weeks ago

A solid, experienced attorney for regulatory matters

I engaged John Freechack at Barack Ferrazzano to assist my community bank with a regulatory compliance review following a recent merger. His deep background in financial services regulation, underscored by his recognitions in that field, was immediately apparent. With over 40 years in the field, he provided a thorough and technically precise analysis of our obligations. However, the experience felt somewhat transactional. While his written work product was impeccable, direct communication was often filtered through junior associates, and responses to non-urgent emails could take several days. For a complex, high-stakes M&A deal, his decades of experience advising boards would be invaluable. For our more routine, though important, post-merger integration and governance questions, the service felt competent but lacked the personal engagement I expected given his seniority. He is undoubtedly a knowledgeable expert in banking law, but ensure your expectations on accessibility and client management are aligned upfront.

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