The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association has awarded Mark Kohler, general counsel for syndications at GE Capital Americas, the Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence. Kohler received the award at the ELFA Legal Forum on May 6 in Charleston, SC.

ELFA Legal Committee chair Lynn Stenback, executive vice president and general counsel for Macquarie Equipment Finance, presented the award to Kohler in recognition of his significant contributions to the equipment leasing and finance industry and the Legal Committee.

Kohler has been an active member of ELFA for more than a decade. He served on the Legal Committee from 2006 to 2009. In 2007, he joined the Legislative and Regulatory Subcommittee of the Legal Committee, which monitors and examines relevant proposals emerging from legislative and regulatory bodies at the local, state and federal levels of government.
He assumed the chairmanship of the subcommittee in 2008. In this capacity, Kohler leads the subcommittee in analyzing and developing positions on policy matters impacting the equipment finance industry in general and ELFA members’ businesses in particular.

Kohler also has participated in the activities of other legal subcommittees, made numerous presentations at the annual ELFA Legal Forum, and authored articles in the association’s Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine.

The award 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.