Michael Peck is a retired partner in the Global Finance Group of Sidley Austin LLP and was resident in the firm’s New York office. He practiced in the area of asset-backed finance, including aircraft financing for regional airlines, since graduating from law school in 1981. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and is a member of the Bar in both New York and Georgia.
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Peck earned a graduate degree in anthropology and served on active duty in the U.S. Army Infantry Branch in Asia and Europe. He continued his military service in the Army Reserve until retiring in 1998. After completing his active duty service, he earned J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University. Following a 36-year legal career, he earned an LL.M. in Air and Space Law from the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal.
His educational background includes a B.A. in Sociology from Washington & Lee University, an M.A. in Anthropology from Duke University and J.D./M.B.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University. In 2020, he completed an LL.M. in Air and Space Law at McGill University’s Institute of Air & Space Law in Montreal, Canada, reflecting his continued interest in aviation and aerospace-related legal studies.
Mr. Peck learned to fly while attending law school and has remained actively involved in general aviation throughout his career. His aviation interests include general aviation operations, aviation law and aircraft finance. He holds commercial pilot privileges in both single-engine land and single-engine sea aircraft, along with instrument, certified flight instructor and certified flight instructor-instrument ratings. He has accumulated approximately 4,200 flight hours and also holds a Remote Pilot Certificate with a Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems rating.
He is pleased to be a part of the Embry-Riddle community.
LL.M. - Master of Laws in Air and Space Law, McGill University
J.D. - Juris Doctor (Doctor of Jurisprudence) in Law, Vanderbilt University
M.B.A. - Master of Business Administration, Vanderbilt University
M.A. - Master of Arts in Anthropology, Duke University
Graduate Certificate in Air and Space Law, McGill University
B.A. - Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Washington and Lee University
Sidley Austin LLP (formerly Brown & Wood LLP); specializing in structured lending, asset securitization and leveraged finance (including aircraft financing for regional airlines); representation of broker-dealers in derivatives-related transactions as well as other financial transactions and trading arrangements; extensive experience representing lenders and borrowers in warehouse and gestation repurchase transactions and securities lending arrangements for a variety of types of assets, including single-family mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, auto loans and securities backed by these and other types of cash flow assets; developed programs for the financing of certain cash-flow assets including servicing fee income, excess servicing interests and rights to reimbursement for servicing advances; representation of underwriters and issuers in publicly registered and privately placed mortgage and asset backed securities transactions.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.). Overseas service in Korea and Italy (1974-1977). Attached to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (1986-1998).
Admitted to practice in the following jurisdictions:
U.S. Supreme Court, 1998
U.S. District Court, S.D. of New York, 1982
U.S. District Court, N.D. of Georgia, 1981
State of New York, 1982
State of Georgia, 1981
Instrument Rated Commercial Pilot
Certificated Flight Instructor
Certificated Instrument Instructor
Certificated Advanced Ground Instructor
Certificated Instrument Ground Instructor
Named in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers
Named in Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Structured Finance Lawyers
Managing Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (1979-80)
Staff Award, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (1980)
Designated by the Department of the Army as a Distinguished Military Student and a Distinguished Military Graduate (1971)
Four-Year ROTC Scholarship, Washington & Lee University