The New M&A World: Spearheading Strategic Growth & Protecting Against Emerging Risk

Ryan McLennan is the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer at Amount, overseeing the company's legal, oversight and other administrative functions. Previously, Ryan had been the General Counsel at Avant (a digital consumer lending platform) and RecSolu (n/k/a Yello, a cloud-based recruiting software company), overseeing the legal and regulatory functions at both companies. Before moving in-house, Ryan spent a decade at the large international law firms of Greenberg Traurig and Paul Hastings, focusing on mergers, acquisitions, private equity and other sophisticated transitions.

Ryan received a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a JD from Northwestern University School of Law.

Erin is a founding partner of Cooley’s Chicago office. She routinely represents strategic acquirers, founders and private equity investors in public and private acquisitions, mergers and disposition transactions, joint ventures, public and private financing activities and corporate venture investments and partnerships. She has extensive experience in cross-border transactions and regularly leads multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary teams to execute on clients’ strategic goals and objectives. Erin’s practice also includes advising clients on corporate governance matters and securities offerings in relation to complex corporate transactions.

Patricia L. Bradley is Vice President, & Senior Associate General Counsel for Adtalem Global Education, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. She has global responsibility for Litigation, Real Estate, Transactions & Employment. Patricia has more than 20 years’ business and legal experience in multi-national Fortune 500 and 1000 corporate environments.

Patricia completed her undergraduate education at Rutgers University where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in History. She received her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law following which she served as the Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Robert A. Longhi, A.J.S.C. in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Since 1996, Patricia has held law firm, in-house and business roles in senior management, litigation and corporate law. She was the Vice President, IT Procurement for a multi-national Investment Bank and for 12 years she worked at Ingredion Incorporated, a Fortune 500 ingredient manufacturer, most recently as Counsel, U.S./Canada & Global Commercial Law Center of Excellence. Patricia is an advocate for the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) as well an Advisory Council Member.

Kelly is a senior legal leader and legal tech investor, experienced in managing a wide range of business and legal topics, including governance and securities matters, ESG and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs, M&A, complex transactions, litigation and investigations, ethics and compliance, C-suite succession, global entity management, enterprise strategic planning and legal department operations.

Previously, Kelly served as Deputy General Counsel & Assistant Secretary at Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) and Assistant General Counsel & Secretary at Power Solutions International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSIX).

Kelly received her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.