Mark Jones is a seasoned corporate attorney whose past experience as in-house General Counsel gives him an insightful perspective about clients' needs and expectations, making him very effective for his clients. He has a reputation for responsiveness and providing his clients with creative and pragmatic solutions to complex business issues.
Mr. Jones represents public and private companies in the areas of:
- corporate securities/equity and debt offerings
- mergers and acquisitions
- private placements/private equity funds and investments
- technology start-ups/private and venture capital financings
- ethics and compliance programs/enterprise risk management/investigations
- board of directors/special and standing committees
Corporate Securities/Equity and Debt Offerings
He has been involved in over 100 public and private offerings of securities. He has represented numerous issuers with their initial or secondary public offerings, as well as underwriters. Additionally, he assists clients, some of whom are Fortune 500 companies, in maintaining ongoing SEC compliance.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mr. Jones has negotiated and closed over 90 business combination transactions. He has represented both acquirors and targets in a broad range of business combination transactions, including mergers, stock purchases, asset purchases and tender offers. His clients include companies within the banking, energy, healthcare, manufacturing and environmental industries. Additionally, he has counseled companies with respect to their preparation for hostile attempts by potential acquirors and the Board?s duties related thereto, and numerous other corporate governance issues.
Private Placements/Private Equity Funds and Investments
Mr. Jones has represented numerous companies in raising capital in private placements or financings in a broad range of industries. He has assisted clients with the establishment of investment funds and structuring and negotiating investments in portfolio companies.
Technology Start-ups/Private and Venture Capital Financings
Mr. Jones has played a leading role in more than 30 start-ups, in areas including biotechnology, healthcare, medical devices, water, information technology and environmental technology. He was a member of management in two start-ups that grew dramatically in a relatively short period of time and were sold to major industry players.
Ethics and Compliance Programs/Enterprise Risk Management/Investigations
Mr. Jones has worked with corporations in establishing ethics and compliance programs which address the requirements under federal sentencing guidelines, and he has assisted with the management of such programs. He served on the risk management committee of a Fortune 500 company and advised several boards of directors on enterprise risk management. Mr. Jones has led clients through numerous federal investigations of acts of officers, managers and employees including investigations led by The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Office of Inspector General and The Department of Justice.
Board of Directors/Special and Standing Committees
Mr. Jones has counseled Boards of Directors on a broad range of issues, including SEC disclosure obligations, fiduciary duties, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), executive compensation, employment agreements, and preparedness for unsolicited shareholder actions. He has counseled Committees of the Board, including Special Committees, Audit Committees and Compensation Committees, on a broad range of issues.
Other Relevant Experience
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Jones served as General Counsel at Argonne National Laboratory, which is operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Argonne is one of the nation's top national laboratories which now pursues a broad range of science and technology. While at Argonne, Mr. Jones led a team of up to 20 professionals in a complex legal and political environment. Originally, Argonne and Dr. Enrico Fermi participated in the development of the atomic bomb used in World War II.
Prior to Argonne, Mr. Jones was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for a Bechtel Enterprises venture, Managing Senior Counsel for Union Pacific Resources Group, Inc., a large independent E&P company, and an associate at Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P.
