Lisa A. Peterson provides counsel to business entities and high net worth individuals in all facets of their business. Ms. Peterson’s practice involves a wide array of corporate and transactional matters, including corporate governance and other general corporate matters, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and the formation of complex joint ventures, partnerships, limited liability companies and strategic alliances as well as numerous types of commercial matters, including licensing and other complex technology transactions. Ms. Peterson also provides legal advice in connection with investments in private equity, venture capital, hedge and real estate funds, direct investments in corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, co-investments, secondary transactions and other similar matters. She also provides advice to private investment funds in the full range of their fundraising and investment activity.

Ms. Peterson’s representations include—

• serving as a key legal advisor to a multi-billion dollar private investment firm, including representations in connection with seed, venture capital, private equity, hedge and direct investments
• serving as lead outside counsel to a wealth management/investment firm with over $12 billion under management
• serving in an outside general counsel role for a leading healthcare communications company
• representing a private equity group in its acquisition of interests in numerous technology companies
• representing a well-known investment group in the organization and operation of private equity investment funds, including review of documents and provision of advice with regard to numerous acquisitions and investments
• representing a foreign entity in the acquisition of a major Hollywood film studio for $1.3 billion
• representing a mortgage company in its effective sale and related placement of $703,490,559 of shares of common stock
• representing a strategic buyer in the acquisition of a health publication company for $15.5 million plus a related $7 million declining balance revolving credit facility
• representing an automotive dealership chain in its $15 million sale
• representing a foreign entity in the acquisition of a $40 million interest in a Hollywood television production studio
• representing a private equity seller in connection with its $180 million sale of several television and radio stations (part stock/part asset transaction)
• representing a private equity group in the $300 million acquisition, through merger, of a now publicly held energy company
• representing a private equity group in the $30 million acquisition of a building products manufacturing company, including related public notes offering, credit agreement and arrangements with management
• representing a mortgage holding company in the sale of $160 million of its stock
• representing a private equity group in the $40 million purchase of privately placed securities in a public Canadian corporation
• representing a foreign entity in the placement of $100 million of Senior Notes
• representing an alarm system company in the $12 million sale of its assets
• representing a subsidiary of a publicly held corporation in its purchase of $40 million of partnership interests from limited partners in a partnership
• representing a large investment fund in the $25 million sale of control of a privately held company (through a merger transaction) and in the new bank financing for the resulting entity ($29 million revolving credit, letter of credit and term loan agreement)
• representing several start-up entities (corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships) in their formation
• representing a corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of food products in the sale of $7 million of stock
• representing a computer software company in the merger of two computer software companies.

Before joining Akin Gump, Ms. Peterson practiced law for 15 years at another firm in Fort Worth.

Ms. Peterson is currently a member of the Dallas office’s diversity committee.

Ms. Peterson received her B.S. cum laude from Louisiana Tech University in 1981 and her J.D. from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1984. She is a member of the Business Law and Computer and Technology sections of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association (Business Law Section) and the Tarrant County Bar Association (Business and Estate, International and Women Attorneys Sections); and a fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation. She has been recognized by Fort Worth, Texas magazine as one of Tarrant County’s top corporate/mergers & acquisitions attorneys and has been named one of the “Great Women of Texas” by the Fort Worth Business Press.

Ms. Peterson serves on the Grants Review committee of the Dallas Women’s Foundation and is involved in other charitable and civic activities.