Mike Avidon is widely recognized for his extensive knowledge of letters of credit and secured transactions. His practice emphasizes secured and unsecured lending transactions, letter of credit transactions, letter of credit litigation, and workouts. Mr. Avidon’s letter of credit work involves standby, direct pay and commercial letters of credit, transactional work, the preparation of forms, and the litigation and resolution of letter of credit disputes. His clients include money center banks (often acting as administrative agent for a syndicate of lenders) as well as other financial institutions.

Mr. Avidon was a leading participant in the revision of UCC Article 5 on Letters of Credit and the preparation of the International Standby Practices (ISP98). He is a member of the Council on Standby Practices and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Documentary Credit World. He also participated in drafting Rules of Arbitration for the International Center for Letter of Credit Arbitration, Inc. ("ICLOCA") and has been trained as an ICLOCA arbitrator. He writes and speaks frequently on finance and letter of credit-related topics, and in this regard actively participates in bar associations and trade groups.

In addition, Mr. Avidon Co-Chairs the firm’s Banking and Finance practice and has been listed in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® as well as Law & Politics’ 2007 “New York Super Lawyers.”

• Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1980
• Brooklyn College, B.A., summa cum laude, 1977

• Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Columbia University School of Law

• "Abstract of EOP-Colonnade of Dallas v. Faulkner (In re Stonebridge Technologies, Inc.)," Documentary Credit World, March 2006.
• "Drafting the Reimbursement Agreement to Protect the Issuer," What Lawyers Need to Know About UCC Article 5, PLI, 2003, March 2003.
• "Forms Under Revised Article 9," (Contributor) American Bar Association, January 2002.
• "UCC Revised Articles 5 and 9 Assignment of Proceeds of Letter of Credit and Request for Issuer Consent," Documentary Credit World, March 2000.
• "Getting Ready for ISP98-The New International Standby Practices," American Lawyer Corporate Counsel Magazine, December 1998.
• "Getting Ready for ISP98-The International Standby Practices," Documentary Credit World, October 1998.
• "Evergreen Clauses: An Analysis of 3Com Corporation v. Banco de Brasil, S.A.," Documentary Credit World, September 1998.
• "Notice of Nonrenewal of an 'Evergreen' Letter of Credit Must be 'Clear and Unequivocal'," New York Business Law, September 1998.
• "New Letter of Credit Law Nears Completion," N.Y. State Banking Journal, October 1995.

• New York State Bar Association (Past-Chair, Subcommittee on Letters of Credit; Member, Banking Law Committee, Business Law Section)
• American Bar Association (Member, Subcommittees on Letters of Credit, Secured Transactions, and Loan Documentation, Committees on Banking Law, Uniform Commercial Code, Commercial Financial Services, and Trust Indentures and Indenture Trustees; Business Law Section; Task Force on the Study of U.C.C. Article 5, 1986-1990)

• New York, 1981
• U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, 1981

• Frequent speaker and panelist, including for the International Financial Services Association, ALI-ABA, the City Bar Center for CLE, the Practising Law Institute, the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, bar associations and others regarding: letters of credit, secured transactions, UCC Articles 9, 8 and 5, UCP 600, and ISP98