Patricia B. Jefferson is a principal in the firm’s Baltimore office, where she is a member of the Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy Group, as well as the Real Estate and Commercial Finance Group.

Patti is a restructuring and corporate lawyer and litigator who has become an established and recognized leader in her practice area over the past 17 years.

Patti represents diverse clients (lenders, unsecured creditors, potential asset purchasers, trustees and other interested parties) in all aspects of bankruptcy cases, including cash collateral, debtor-in-possession financing, asset sales, dischargeability litigation, claims objections, avoidance actions and lease disputes. Additionally, she represents and advises secured lenders in formulating and executing workout strategies outside of bankruptcy.

In addition to her bankruptcy experience, Patti represents creditors in commercial collection matters, and regularly advises clients regarding distressed real estate and commercial foreclosures and receivership actions. Patti’s results-oriented focus combined with her appreciation of practical considerations allows her to craft innovative solutions to meet her client’s unique business needs. She has extensive experience with asset acquisitions both in and outside of bankruptcy.

Patti has served on the panel of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland since 2019, and has been appointed as a receiver under Maryland’s Uniform Commercial Receivership Act. Patti is a regular speaker at legal education seminars and has been recognized as a leading bankruptcy lawyer in Baltimore by Chambers USA since 2015. She was included in the Maryland Daily Record’s “VIP List: Successful before 40” in 2018, and was recognized as an emerging leader by The M&A Advisor in 2019.

Yesim Sayin Taylor is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center.

With over ten years of public policy experience in the District, Yesim is recognized by policymakers and advocates as a source of reliable, balanced analyses on the District’s economy and demography.

Before joining the D.C. Policy Center, Yesim lead the team within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer that scored the fiscal impact of all legislation the District considered. She frequently testified on high profile legislation and worked closely with the executive and Council staff to ensure that policymakers fully understand the fiscal implications of their proposed legislation. She co-founded and blogged at District Measured and her work was highlighted in Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, City Paper, and the Governing Magazine, among others. Yesim also has worked in the private sector, and consulted with international organization on a large portfolio of public finance topics.

Yesim holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Bogazici University, located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ryan Riel has worked in Commercial Real Estate with EagleBank for more than 20

years and currently oversees the Bank’s $5 billion CRE lending portfolio. Throughout

his tenure, he has worn multiple hats and participated in originating more than $6

billion in real estate transactions of various types across the DC region. Since

February 2025, in addition to CRE Lending, Mr. Riel oversees more than 200

employees across retail banking, small business lending, loan and deposit

operations, and information technology.

Mr. Riel sits on the Board of Directors of the EagleBank Foundation, and on the Board

for George Mason University’s Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship. He is a

current Trustee for The Children’s Inn at NIH and previously served on the Board of

Directors at the Inn for ten years. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from

West Virginia University.

John Strosser is a Director of Transactions at Invesco Real Estate. John is responsible for

originating senior and mezzanine loans for the commercial real estate credit lines of business

across all property types.

John began his real estate career in 2009 and joined Invesco Real Estate in 2021. Prior to

joining Invesco, John was with MetLife Investment Management’s Debt Strategies Group where

he originated commercial real estate mortgages, and PNC Bank’s Real Estate Banking Group

where he helped underwrite and close commercial lending opportunities, while also helping

manage an active loan portfolio.

John earned a BBA in Finance from Duquesne University and both an MBA and master’s

degree in Real Estate from the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.

Chris routinely represents clients on both the debt and equity side of transactions, including the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and financing of real estate located across the country. Chris has represented clients in a wide array of real estate matters across asset phases and classes, including retail, office (general and medical), mixed use, multifamily residential, industrial, and special uses such as data centers and seniors housing. More recently, Chris has advised clients in the structuring and closing of workouts and repositionings of existing investments, including distressed assets encumbered by multi-layered debt finance.