Five Potter Anderson Partners Named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers List

John F. Grossbauer, Mark A. Morton, Michael B. Tumas, Scott E. Waxman and Donald J. Wolfe, Jr. have been named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers in America list.  According to Lawdragon, the ranking features the nation’s top mergers and acquisitions, corporate and real estate dealmakers, representing less than one-half of one percent of the legal profession and placing them among the most elite group of legal professionals.

“We are extremely proud that our peers in the legal community have recognized so many of our outstanding attorneys.” said David B. Brown, the firm’s Chairman.  “There is no better gauge of the work and talent of a firm and its attorneys than the recommendations and acknowledgement of peers.”

John F. Grossbauer concentrates his practice in the areas of corporation law and commercial transactions. He regularly advises public and private corporations and their boards of directors with respect to all aspects of the Delaware General Corporation Law, ranging from technical compliance to advice regarding the fiduciary duties of directors. Mr. Grossbauer has advised a number of clients involved in proxy contests, both as dissidents and management, and he has extensive experience representing purchasers and sellers in negotiated acquisitions of assets and businesses, both on a national and an international level. 

Mark A. Morton focuses on corporate counseling, governance and opinion work, both in the context of daily business affairs and with respect to specific corporate transactions.  He advises corporations and boards of directors in connection with mergers, asset sales, dividends, stock repurchases, charter and bylaw amendments, preferred stock designations, and dissolutions.  Mr. Morton frequently serves as counsel to special committees in connection with various conflict transactions, including M&A transactions, and is a frequent speaker on the national level on matters of Delaware corporation law.

Michael B. Tumas chairs the firm’s Corporate Group.  Mr. Tumas concentrates his practice in the area of corporate law, with specific emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, issues of internal governance, and commercial transactions involving Delaware corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.  His practice often involves counseling boards of directors, special committees of boards of directors, general partners, and managers. 

Scott E. Waxman chairs the firm’s Business Group and also leads the Structured Finance and Alternative Entities practice.  Mr. Waxman’s practice focuses on organizational and operational issues related to statutory trusts, partnerships, limited liability companies and special purpose corporations, but also extends into international, federal, state and local taxation, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as most areas of business and commercial law.

Donald J. Wolfe, Jr. is the immediate past chair of the firm’s Corporate Group and concentrates his practice on corporate litigation in the Court of Chancery and on the counseling of boards of directors and special board committees of Delaware corporations with respect to issues of fiduciary duty and internal corporate governance.  He has also been recognized as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America. 

More than 5,000 attorneys were nominated for the Leading Dealmakers list by their peers and by the Lawdragon editorial staff. The Lawdragon 500 was selected from that group, based on a proprietary system that takes into account dozens of qualifications that are scored to determine the best dealmakers nationwide. Among the factors utilized in the list’s selection are extensive research by a staff of award-winning journalists who interview thousands of lawyers nationwide and a survey of lawyers and general counsel who nominate and vote for their peers online. According to Lawdragon, the 500 Leading Dealmakers in America reflects the practices that are the “hottest” during a particular year, as well as those individuals who have had the greatest recent impact on the legal world.  Established in 2005, Lawdragon features thousands of online profiles of the nation’s leading lawyers and a database of nearly 200,000 U.S. attorneys.