J. Kenneth Menges Jr., P.C. is co-head of Akin Gump's firmwide corporate practice. Mr. Menges is also the partner in charge of the Dallas office and a member of the firm's management committee. He is principally engaged in corporate governance matters, and mergers and acquisitions, domestically and internationally. Mr. Menges has extensive experience in the negotiation and preparation of partnership and employment agreements, general corporate counseling, and the restructuring and workout of complex financings.
Mr. Menges’ transactional experience includes serving as counsel to the following—
- numerous companies in corporate governance matters, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and independent investigations
- investment partnerships in the acquisition, financing and sales of telecommunications companies, business products companies, and financial services companies
- broadcast and media companies in acquisitions, financings and dispositions
- European, Asian and Latin American companies in the formation of international joint ventures and acquisitions in the United States, Canada, Asia and the Middle East
- health care and wellness companies, including pharmaceutical benefit and e-health enterprises, in acquisitions, buyouts and subsequent sales, public offerings and mergers
- underwriters in the initial public offerings and secondary offerings of companies in telecommunications, health care, staffing and manufacturing.
Mr. Menges received his B.S.B.A. summa cum laude in 1979 from Boston University and his J.D. in 1982 from Harvard Law School, where he was a winner of the Williston Competition in Contract Negotiation. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Mr. Menges was one of 80 lawyers in the nation named to the BTI National Client All Star Team in 2002. He is a frequent speaker on corporate governance topics. He is involved in a number of civic, charitable and professional organizations, including service on the advisory council of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and on the board of trustees of Boston University, where he formerly served as vice chairman of the board. He is a past chairman of the North Texas Clear Air Coalition, a former member of the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of North Texas, a former member of the board of directors and executive committee of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he chaired the international business advisory council; and a former member of the board of governors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He also chaired the community work group of Project Pegasus, the rebuilding of the downtown Dallas highway system. He is a member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, the Democratic Leadership Council and the Dallas Assembly; a former president of the Dallas Business League and the Dallas Democratic Forum; and a graduate of Leadership Dallas.
In 2010, Mr. Menges was named in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading lawyer in the area of corporate/M&A.