The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) has awarded Andrew K. Alper, Vice President and Shareholder with Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C., and Marjorie Krumholz, Partner with Thompson Coburn LLP, the Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence.

ELFA Legal Committee Chair Mirna Cardona, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, presented the award to Alper and Krumholz on April 29 at the ELFA Legal Forum in San Diego, in recognition of their significant contributions to the association and the equipment finance industry.

Andrew K. Alper
Alper has been representing banks, equipment lessors, funding sources and other financial institutions since 1979, and is recognized as an expert within ELFA and the equipment finance industry. He has been an active member of ELFA since the mid-1980s. He recently completed his second term on the association’s Legal Committee, which serves as a member and staff resource on a wide range of national and international legal issues impacting the equipment finance industry. He has also served on ELFA Legal Subcommittees for automatic renewal legislation, amicus curiae briefs and California financing law.

Alper has contributed to the ELFA’s state government relations program, providing legal expertise on behalf of the industry to inform state officials of the association’s position on various legislative matters of concern to ELFA members.  Most recently, he has advised ELFA and the industry on various California licensing issues and contributed to the association’s working group regarding newly enacted California loan disclosure requirements.

In addition, Alper has served as an information resource for ELFA members regarding legal issues impacting the equipment finance industry. He is a frequent speaker at ELFA conferences, including the Legal Forum and Credit and Collections Conference. He has also contributed to ELFA’s Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine as well as the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Journal of Equipment Lease Financing. In addition, he has served as an instructor for ELFA’s Principles of Leasing & Finance Workshop.

Alper is a member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Commercial and Bankruptcy Sections), the Financial Lawyers Conference, the International Factoring Association and the National Equipment Finance Association. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of California at Santa Barbara and received his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. 

Marjorie Krumholz
Krumholz is Managing Partner of Thompson Coburn’s Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Federal Practice Group. Her practice spans more than 30 years representing borrowers, lenders, lessors and lessees in structuring, negotiating and closing financing transactions, including leases, leveraged leases and cross-border transactions. Nationally recognized for her equipment finance experience, particularly in the maritime industry, Krumholz is widely viewed as a thought leader and subject matter expert within ELFA and the equipment finance industry.

Krumholz has been an active member of ELFA for 20 years. She is a former member of the ELFA Legal Committee and currently serves as Co-Chair of the ELFA Air, Rail and Marine Legal Subcommittee. Through her leadership, the entire ELFA membership benefits from her expertise in maritime equipment finance law. Krumholz is also a regular contributor to ELFA’s federal government relations program as an active participant in the association’s annual Capitol Connections event, which brings members to Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of the industry.

Krumholz has contributed her expertise to educate ELFA members regarding legal issues impacting the industry, making numerous presentations at the ELFA Legal Forum and authoring articles in association publications. Krumholz also gives back to the association and the industry by serving as a current member of ELFA’s Board of Directors and Women’s Council.

Krumholz is a past Chair of the Marine Financing Committee of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and a Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers.  She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Rochester and received her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School.

The Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence is named for ELFA’s long-time Secretary and General Counsel Edward A. Groobert, who was active in the legal affairs of the association from the mid-1960s until his retirement in 2010.