Jonathan L. Awner

Jonathan Awner serves as Co-Chair of Akerman’s Corporate Practice Group. Ranked by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, and The Legal 500 as a preeminent corporate lawyer, Jonathan Awner advises clients in automotive retail, aviation, distribution, hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, services, technology, waste management and other industries. Described by a client quoted in Chambers USA as a “top-notch” lawyer who is “smart, hard-working and practical,” Jonathan focuses on middle-market domestic mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, public and private securities transactions, and corporate governance matters.

Jonathan counsels in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, spin-offs, recapitalizations, joint ventures, private equity investments, and other business transactions. He has extensive experience representing strategic and financial buyers and investors, as well as corporate, individual and family sellers.

Jonathan also represents public companies in public offerings of equity and debt securities, and securities law compliance matters. He has served as lead counsel to issuers in numerous underwritten offerings, including a $1.5 billion IPO. He also advises companies and investor groups in private placements of equity and debt securities, growth equity investments and joint ventures.

Jonathan is a trusted advisor to boards of directors, audit and special board committees, and senior executives of public companies on corporate governance issues, management succession, relations with institutional and activist investors, compensation practices for directors and officers, conflict of interest matters, and change-of-control transactions. His committee representations include leading investigations of alleged management misconduct, whistleblower complaints, stock option backdating, accounting irregularities, auditor resignations, violations of securities laws including insider trading, and responding to shareholder activists alleging poor operating performance or excessive compensation.