“I am a former public company general counsel who offers practical, pragmatic advice to corporate clients.”
Jude is the co-leader of our financial services practice, spending a substantial portion of his time advising banks and bank holding companies on merger and acquisition and capital market transactions. He also represents a number of non-financial services clients on public and private securities, M&A, and general corporate matters.
Jude has spent more than 25 years providing public and private securities, M&A, and general corporate advice to clients ranging from technology startups to multibillion-dollar brick and mortar public companies.
As a former director of corporate development for a publicly traded technology holding company and a former general counsel of a publicly traded software and professional services company, Jude offers both pragmatic and practical advice, and the proven ability to manage complex transactions in both the law firm and in-house settings.
Services
Business & Corporate
Our business is business–your business. We offer vast experience in a full array of corporate legal services.
Credentials
Education
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Law, 1990
- J.D., magna cum laude
- Order of the Coif
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1986
- B.S.
Admissions
- Illinois, 1990
Professional Achievements
- Illinois Leading Lawyers, 2014-2019
Experience
Representative Matters
Counsel to a publicly traded bank holding company in connection with a stock-for-stock merger with large regional financial services company. We were responsible for negotiating the merger agreement, preparing the proxy statement, counseling board and shareholders regarding the transaction, and preparing the employment and incentive arrangements for certain continuing employees.
Counsel to an Illinois based bank holding company regarding their restructuring and initial public offering, which was followed by a sale, in a stock-for-stock merger, to a large regional financial services company. We were responsible for drafting the restructuring documents, drafting and filing Form S-1 for the IPO, drafting the Nasdaq listing application, 1934 Act filings after the IPO, and counseling board and executives through the public sale process.
- Represented Republic of Ireland domiciled Croatian sports betting kiosk company in their sale to a San Francisco based private equity firm. We were responsible for working with European counsel on local licensing and formation issues, negotiating the purchase agreement with the buying entity and negotiating exit packages for the selling executives.
As general counsel for a publicly traded Chicago based multi-national technology and services company, we were responsible for negotiating and documenting transactions providing $350MM in venture capital financing to more than 30 entities between June 2000 and July 2001. We lead the acquisition of more than 25 entities between October 2000 and August 2002, including the stock-for-stock acquisitions of seven public companies and the acquisition of assets from the bankruptcy estates of two public companies. We were also responsible for SEC compliance, board counseling, and managing an approximately $3MM annual legal budget.
Presentations
- Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, “Should You Buy a Credit Union?” January 31, 2017, Phoenix, AZ.
- Illinois Bankers Association, Annual Conference, "The New World of Bank M&A: How Deals Are Done Now," June 17, 2015, Peoria, IL.
- Association of Corporate Counsel, "Managing the Relationship with Your International Corporate Parent," January 23, 2014, Chicago, IL.
- Community Bankers Association of Illinois, Annual Convention, "The Evolving Role of Bank Directors," September 28, 2013, Springfield, IL.
Community
Community“I support the Odyssey Golf Foundation Veterans Program and The Bunker incubator program for veteran-owned businesses.”
My oldest son was a U.S. Army officer who was permanently disabled in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. As a result of his experiences, veteran and disabled veteran issues have become very personal for me and we are fortunate to have a number of highly professional and successful veteran and disabled veteran organizations based in Chicago.
