Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced Theodore Wern has joined the firm, bringing 20 years of vast experience advising investor groups and businesses in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, sell-side mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and investment management. In his new role at Akerman, Wern will lead Corporate Practice Group efforts in Chicago. He joins the firm from Perkins Coie LLP where he served as firmwide vice-chair of the Private Equity Practice. Wern’s skillset builds upon Akerman’s core strengths in corporate, private equity, and middle-market mergers and acquisitions.
“Our corporate lawyers are among the most experienced and respected in the country and Ted is no exception” said Carl Roston, Co-Chair of Akerman’s Corporate Practice Group. “His work in private equity will enable our team to further deliver exceptional strategic advice to clients in complex corporate transactional matters.”
“Our Chicago office has experienced consistent growth in recent years, becoming a key market for Akerman’s clients,” said Meg George, Akerman Chicago Office Managing Partner. “Ted’s 20-year experience in an array of business transactions brings new breadth to our corporate capabilities in Chicago and to our private equity clients nationally.”
Wern focuses his practice on representing public and private companies, private equity funds, family offices, and other investor groups in a variety of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth equity financings, private placements, joint ventures, and fund formation. In addition, he acts as outside counsel to a variety of private company clients with respect to general corporate and strategic matters and has represented family business owners in sell-side M&A transactions with enterprise values from $10 million to $1 billion.
Several lateral partners have joined Akerman in the last year, further strengthening the Corporate Practice Group nationally. Otavio Carneiro, dual-licensed in Brazil and the U.S., expanded Akerman’s cross-border transactional experience with significant experience in Latin America. Bill Ide and Amanda Leech joined Akerman’s Atlanta office with robust transactional and governance experience, having represented numerous large corporations, Fortune 100 companies, and boards of directors in M&A transactions, general corporate governance and compliance, and board risk management reviews. Paul Foley, now serving as chair of the Investment Management Practice, joined Akerman in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with substantial experience in investment fund formation and fund offerings. Extensively experienced in institutional investments and fund formation, Ricardo Hollingsworth joined Akerman in New York.
About Akerman
Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth. Akerman is known for its results in middle market M&A and complex disputes, and for helping clients achieve their most important business objectives in the financial services, real estate and other dynamic sectors across the United States and Latin America.
The Akerman Corporate Practice Group advises public and private companies, including private equity funds, on M&A, capital markets transactions, financings, and other transactional matters, with a strong focus on the middle market. Akerman is top-ranked nationally for mergers, acquisitions and buyouts: middle market by The Legal 500, is recognized as a leading U.S. law firm by U.S. News – Best Lawyers for corporate, M&A, private equity, securities/capital markets, securities regulation and banking and finance law, and is listed in PitchBook league tables as among the most active law firms in the United States for M&A deals.
