Jon D. Van Gorp

Jon Van Gorp is chair of Mayer Brown. He has served on the firm’s Management Committee since 2017 and previously served as a co-leader of the Banking & Finance, Capital Markets and Structured Finance practices. He has practiced continuously at Mayer Brown since joining the Chicago office more than 27 years ago.

Called by a client “the godfather in mortgage-backed securities” and “the most creative problem solver I ever found,” Jon helps clients analyze their current situations and propose unique yet practical solutions. His reputation for innovation, recognized by the Financial Times, is demonstrated by his integral role in many first-of-their-kind transactions, including:

• The first Non-Performing Loan re-REMIC securitization
• The first offshore public company established to own mortgage-servicing rights
• The first publicly offered CDO of mezzanine MBS debt
• The first issuance of bank debt guaranteed by Farmer Mac
• The first securitization of Mexican mortgage loans funded in the US capital markets
• The first auto receivables shelf registration statement to go effective under Regulation AB
• The first synthetic transfer of risk related to a portfolio of consumer auto leases
• The first synthetic captive auto finance company funded and administered by an independent commercial bank
• The first auto-leveraged lease transaction funded with asset-backed debt

Structured, negotiated and documented:

• The purchase or sale of several large mortgage-loan origination, servicing and asset management platforms; including two purchases from bankrupt sellers.
• Multiple mortgage loan securitization transactions and structured warehouse facilities issuing both public and private securities, including REMIC and non-REMIC structures for commercial and residential mortgage loans, home-equity lines of credit, fix-and-flip loans, home equity loans and nonperforming loans.
• Multiple financing facilities for owners of residential homes.
• Multiple one-off and flow asset purchase arrangements for mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights, auto loans, insurance policies, and consumer finance origination and servicing platforms, ranging in size up to $55 billion.

• Consistently named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s list of “Who’s Who in Chicago Business”
• "Jon Van Gorp is a really smart guy who is very business-minded and good to work with."- Chambers USA
• "Jon is the person you go to for a novel issue, the really complex esoteric stuff." - Chambers USA
• "His key quality is the combination of deep expertise, responsiveness and problem solving." - Chambers USA
• "Jon Van Gorp is 'an encyclopedia of securitization knowledge'" and comes up with "creative ways to accomplish the objectives." - Chambers USA
• Consistently ranked as an outstanding lawyer by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 and IFLR1000 each year since becoming a partner.
• Ranked as Eminent Practitioner in Chambers USA for Capital Markets: ABS and RMBS (Nationwide)
• One of only 12 lawyers in Legal 500’s inaugural list of Hall of Fame lawyers for Structured Finance in the US.

• Calvin College, BA
• Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, JD, cum laude
  Staff Editor, The International Lawyer

• Illinois
• New York
• Texas
• Utah

• Member and former chair of the Chicago Regional Board of Bottom Line, which provides college access and success programs for low-income and first-generation college students
• Member of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization comprising CEOs and leaders from New York’s top corporate, investment and entrepreneurial firms
• Member of the Carrington Charitable Foundation Advisory Board, which provides support to America’s wounded servicemen and women
• Member of the Leadership Circle of the Honor Foundation, which provides career transition services to elite fighters such as US Navy SEALs retiring from military service
• Member of the SMU Dedman School of Law Executive Board
• Leadership Greater Chicago fellow, Class of 2005
• Former treasurer and trustee of the Kenilworth Union Church
• Taught a course in real estate finance as an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School