Business & Finance

Our business and finance group offers clients experienced, responsive counsel and unique approaches to resolving many types of business and financial transactions.  We possess a combination of legal knowledge and business acumen that enables us to provide insights that empower clients to make more informed business and legal decisions.  We have served as primary outside counsel and special counsel to an industry diverse group of clients both public and private.

Teamwork

Upon accepting a new engagement, our first task is to learn and understand our clients business in order to assist us in developing the best strategies for maximizing value for our clients in transactions, and to provide legal guidance in meeting the clients overall business needs and objectives.  We strive to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with our clients’ management team, accountants, and bankers.  This collaborative approach also includes maintaining strong and respectful relationships with the lawyers and principles on the other side of a matter or transaction in order to facilitate our clients’ goals.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Our attorneys in this practice specialize in structuring, negotiating and closing transactions for buyers, sellers and related parties including financial institutions in the partial or full acquisition or disposition of a company.  In such instances we have also acted as special counsel to special committees of the board of directors of companies involved in these types of transactions to assist them in the tricky and very visible function of determining the price and reasonableness of the terms of the transaction and advising the overall board.  We have the experience to represent clients in all sizes of public and private M&A transactions.  Our attorneys have handled the whole spectrum of acquisitions and dispositions, including tender offers, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, restructurings and going private transactions.  This includes experience in defending shareholder litigation challenging such transactions.

Transactional Finance

Our business and finance lawyers have substantial experience in representing clients in substantial financing transactions involving major financial institutions.  Our hands-on approach and experience should be useful to clients needing to close a transaction expeditiously.

Sale of Family Businesses

We have experience in assisting founders of family businesses and other small businesses in transition to other family members or management teams to facilitate their retirement or change of control transactions.  This experience includes utilizing ESOPs and determining other tax advantaged methods for these types of transactions wherever possible.

Other Types of Transactions

In addition to the types of transactions discussed above, we have experience with and will be happy to discuss with you all of the following types of transactions:

• leveraged recapitalizations
• investor issues
• management employment agreements
• roll-ups of two or more companies into a single entity
• Sarbanes-Oxley compliance issues
• anti-takeover structures
• utilization of shell companies and blank check companies in going public transactions
• establishing joint ventures and other strategic transactions
• workout transactions for troubled companies