James Cretella

He represents banks, private lenders, commercial finance companies, and factors in negotiating and documenting secured finance transactions. He works closely with lenders of different sizes, supporting them through every stage of a deal. His experience includes asset-based and cash flow facilities, hybrid financing structures, receivables finance and factoring, both notification and non-notification models, actual sale and participation arrangements, lender finance transactions from the perspectives of both lender and borrower, recurring revenue credit lines for SaaS and subscription-based companies, as well as supply chain, channel, and purchase order finance. His work also covers Article 9 foreclosure sales, workouts, intercreditor agreements, warehouse lines, and borrower needs that require tailored solutions.

His background includes work across industries such as staffing, technology, FinTech, healthcare, real estate, government contracting, transportation, and energy. He supports middle- and upper-middle-market clients with asset-backed lending, larger factoring transactions, inventory and supply chain finance, and trade finance structures, including off-balance-sheet receivable purchase facilities and purchase order financings.

Jim Cretella serves as outside counsel to smaller private lenders, preparing front-end documentation for factoring, ABL, and recurring-revenue transactions, and advising on additional legal matters. He represents smaller lenders in negotiating their own credit facilities and in the acquisition and sale of portfolios.

He has been active in the Secured Finance Network and was recognized in 2016 as part of its 40 Under 40 group. In October, he moderated a lender finance session in Dallas that explored structuring, underwriting, risk considerations, M&A developments, and broader movements in private credit. He also participates in the International Factoring Association and will attend its 2026 conference, where he will co-present the Factoring Essentials class.

James Cretella has co-authored articles in The Secured Lender and Financier Worldwide Magazine, and he mentors junior associates. He previously served on the board of the Adam J. Lewis Academy and donates regularly to charities, including his church and educational institutions. He enjoys watching baseball and football and will celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary in 2026.