John Goebel’s practice is concentrated in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate finance and venture capital. Mr. Goebel has experience providing corporate counsel to a range of clients, both publicly and privately held, and has represented clients in numerous acquisitions and dispositions involving a variety of tax, accounting, environmental, intellectual property, employee benefits and Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure issues. He also has represented a multitude of companies in capital raising transactions, including initial and follow-on public offerings, private placements, venture capital investments and angel financings.

Mr. Goebel regularly counsels entrepreneurs in all phases of the growth cycle and across a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, manufacturing, health care, education, food and real estate.

Select Representations

• Over twenty M&A transactions for a $4 billion private equity fund
• Eight rounds of venture funding and four M&A transactions acquisitions for Chicago-based financial services company
• Acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures for new technology division of Fortune 500 company
• IPOs for companies in the bio-pharmaceutical, insurance and school spirit industries
• Counsel on a wide variety of business arrangements, including stockholders’ agreements, LLC operating agreements, employment agreements, equity incentive arrangements and distribution agreements
• Specific experience relating to closely-held and family-controlled businesses, including those with multiple generations

Bar and Court Admissions

Illinois, 1991

Education

Harvard University, J.D., 1991

Middlebury College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1988

Publications

• "Corporate Compliance Under the New Federal Sentencing Guidelines" with George C. McKann, in 38 The Practical Lawyer 83 (1992) and Corporate Secretary’s Guide (CCH) ¶48,209 (1992)
• "Rules and Standards: A Critique of Two Critical Theorists" in 31 Duquesne Law Review 51 (1992)

Speeches and Seminars

• "Getting the Start-Up Started" presented at National Business Incubators Association Conference, May 2005, Baltimore, Maryland
• "Acquisition Transaction Role-Play," January 2005
• "Financings and Acquisitions: Some Do’s and Don’ts," November 2003