Michael E. Taten

Biography

Michael E. Taten represents a wide range of clients in business law transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, joint ventures, executive employment and compensation arrangements, equity financing transactions, and corporate governance. His clients represent a diversity of industry sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing and distribution, technology and service providers.

Mike serves as the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Dallas office, and serves on the Firm’s Management and Compensation Committees.

Mike is routinely called upon by publicly-traded and privately owned companies, family-owned businesses, family offices, and entrepreneurs seeking assistance with corporate transactions that are transformational for their businesses. He also advises executives and employers in structuring executive employment and compensation arrangements.

Mike is hired in situations requiring the management of complex and sensitive issues, guiding clients through transactions by approaching difficult legal situations with practical, value-oriented solutions and an overlay of good business judgment.

Mike’s transactional practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, equity financing transactions and corporate governance. He represents investors, buyers and sellers of businesses, achieving their objectives and protecting their interests through transaction structure, due diligence, and strategic crafting of representations and warranties, deal protections, and indemnification provisions.

Mike’s practice relating to executive employment arrangements focuses on issues facing high-level executives and the organizations employing them, including:

• Negotiation of executive employment agreements in a manner that reflects positively on the client;
• Protection against liability through indemnification, exculpation, and insurance;
• Equity compensation structures, including profits interests, restricted stock, stock options, restricted stock units, phantom stock arrangements, change in control agreements;
• Related shareholder, investor and buy-sell agreements;
• Liaising with tax advisors regarding tax planning, including deferred compensation issues under Section 409A and parachute compensation issues under Section 280G for optimum tax efficiency; and
• Issues unique to constituency directors, such as conflicts between their fiduciary duties to the portfolio company and the investor.

Education

A.B., Stanford University
J.D., Duke University School of Law

Bar Admissions

Texas, 1994