Bruce S. Mendelsohn focuses on securities matters, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and counseling boards of directors and board committees. Mr. Mendelsohn has held various management positions in the firm, including head of the firm's securities and corporate finance practice, member of the management committee and head of the Washington, D.C., corporate practice.
Mr. Mendelsohn has extensive experience in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, representing both issuers and underwriters. His practice also involves mergers and acquisitions of both public and private companies, as well as related regulatory issues. He also represents boards of directors, audit committees and special committees on sensitive corporate governance and disclosure issues and has conducted a number of internal investigations for major corporations concerning issues related to accounting, related party transactions, disclosure and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He has also represented corporations and individuals in investigations and inquiries by the SEC, NASD, NYSE and Nasdaq and with respect to internal investigations.
Prior to joining Akin Gump in 1983, Mr. Mendelsohn held various positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission, including chief of the Office of Regulatory Policy in the Division of Investment Management (1982-1983), counsel to Commissioner John R. Evans (1980-1982), and attorney-advisor and special counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance (1977-1980).
Mr. Mendelsohn received his B.A. with honors in 1974 and his J.D. with honors in 1977 from the University of Maryland, and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business honor society. He is a member of the New York, District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. He serves on the board of visitors of the University of Maryland School of Law.
Mr. Mendelsohn has spoken on securities law issues and served as a panelist at professional conferences, including, most recently, IIR's Annual Private Equity Markets Summit; the NYSE Corporate Directors Institute at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law; the Annual Conference of the Association of Corporate Counsel; the Texas General Counsel Forum; and the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Section of Public Utility, Communications & Transportation Law. He has appeared on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News and has been quoted by major publications and news sources on securities and corporate governance matters. He serves on the board of contributing editors and advisors of the Securities Regulation Law Journal.
Mr. Mendelsohn is listed in the 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and in the 2007 editions of The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers and The International Who's Who of Capital Markets Lawyers.