Jo Anne Schwendinger concentrates her practice on corporate, M&A, and securities matters, and represents financial institutions in international trade finance matters and transactions as well as corporate clients in general corporate and commercial matters. Ms. Schwendinger also has significant experience advising clients on cybersecurity and data governance matters.
Prior to joining Blank Rome, Ms. Schwendinger served as John Deere’s regional general counsel for Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. She advised on commercial law matters in China, India, and Australia, including acquisitions and JV due diligence, agreements, integration, and dissolution; cross-border reorganizations; dealer termination claims; multi-jurisdictional dealer and supplier disputes; and complex business agreements. She also conducted compliance investigations in Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Prior to this role, she served as the company’s credit division deputy chief counsel & managing attorney, where she formed strategic alliances with banks in Central America, South Africa, and India, and negotiated international trade finance, structured finance, and corporate funding transactions. Additionally, she served as the head of John Deere’s Global Information Management Practice Group, focusing on matters involving cybersecurity, data incident preparedness and response, data governance and privacy, IT, and tech businesses.
Prior to John Deere, Ms. Schwendinger was the founding partner of Rizza & Schwendinger in Pittsburgh, PA, and represented financial institutions in international trade finance, large corporate and middle market lending and leasing transactions, as well as small corporate clients in general corporate and commercial matters.
She is a frequent speaker on corporate matters and financial transactions and is routinely published in leading legal publications, such as the International In-House Counsel Journal and ACC Docket. During law school, Ms. Schwendinger was the managing editor of the Law Review.
Ms. Schwendinger is fluent in French, highly proficient in Spanish, and has reading fluency in Italian and Portuguese.
