James Cretella

James Cretella is an attorney and partner at Blank Rome, a national full-service law firm. He has practiced law for more than 21 years, beginning his career after graduating cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2004. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Villanova University in 2001.

He represents banks, private lenders, commercial finance companies, and factors in negotiating and documenting secured finance transactions. He advises lenders of all sizes, offering guidance at every stage of a deal. His work includes representing both lenders and borrowers in matters involving asset-based and cash flow facilities, hybrid structures, receivables finance and factoring, notification and non-notification models, actual sale and participation structures, lender finance from both perspectives, recurring revenue credit lines for SaaS and subscription-based businesses, supply chain and channel finance, purchase order finance, and Article 9 foreclosure sales. He also supports clients with workouts, intercreditor arrangements, warehouse lines, and lending involving unique borrower needs.

Jim Cretella's experience spans industries such as staffing, technology, FinTech, healthcare, real estate, government contracting, transportation, and energy. He works with middle- and upper-middle-market clients on asset-backed lending, larger factoring deals, inventory finance, supply chain finance, and various trade finance structures, including off-balance sheet receivable purchase facilities and purchase order financings.

He serves as outside counsel to smaller private lenders, preparing front-end documentation for factoring, ABL, and recurring revenue deals, while also handling other legal concerns. He additionally represents smaller lenders when negotiating their credit facilities and in portfolio acquisitions or sales.

He has been active in the Secured Finance Network, where he was named to the 40 Under 40 list in 2016. In October, he moderated a lender finance session in Dallas that explored structuring, underwriting, risk considerations, M&A activity, and broader trends in private credit. He is also involved in the International Factoring Association and will attend the 2026 conference, where he will co-present the Factoring Essentials class.

His writing includes co-authored work for The Secured Lender and Financier Worldwide Magazine. He also mentors junior associates, supporting their professional growth.

James Cretella previously served on the board of the Adam J. Lewis Academy and contributes regularly to charities, including his church and educational organizations. He enjoys watching baseball and football and will celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary in 2026.

Website: https://jamesmcretella.com/