It is with great sadness that we wish to advise our clients and friends that after a battle against cancer for more than ten years, Ray Tiernan died peacefully on Sunday afternoon, June 28th. He was instrumental in establishing and guiding the firm and served as a mentor and friend to all of us. To those of us who had the privilege of working with and learning from him, we are richer for knowing Ray.
Ray brought his drive to everything he did including coaching sports and assisting charities in whose missions he believed.
Shortly after graduation from law school in 1976, Ray joined the legal staff of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal regulatory agency for the savings and loan industry. After three years serving as senior attorney in the Securities Division of the Bank Board, he joined the Washington D.C. law firm of Gailor, Elias and Matz. He became a name partner of what then became Elias, Matz, Tiernan & Herrick in 1981. As a senior and later managing partner, Ray was instrumental in building the firm into one of the leading banking law firms in the United States. The firm specialized in assisting community banks in merger and acquisition transactions, capital raises, bank and thrift holding company reorganizations, mutual to stock conversions, and corporate governance. Throughout Ray’s career, the firm was consistently ranked as one of the top law firms in the country in its specialty areas of practice. As a leader in the field, he was invited to speak at numerous state and national banking conferences. Under his direction, in late 2013 the firm consolidated with Silver, Freedman and Taff to become Silver, Freedman, Taff and Tiernan. Ray served as a senior partner of the combined firm until his death.
Ray is a graduate of Brown University and the Catholic University of America School of Law. Ray is survived by his wife, Linda, four children and one grandchild.