Joe Alexander, DLA Piper, Atlanta (Photo: John Disney/ALM)Dealmakers of the Year: Joe Alexander
"While it is important to have a high level understanding of an industry in order to effectively represent our clients, it's more important for me to have access to deeper expertise in the firm."
June 19, 2019 at 02:00 PM
3 minute read
Joe Alexander of DLA Piper advises private equity funds and public and private companies on sophisticated transactional and general corporate matters. His practice spans a wide variety of specialized industries, and his efforts have contributed to the firm's earning the top legal adviser ranking globally for overall M&A deal volume, according to Mergermarket's league tables and the firm's No. 1 ranking by Thomson Reuters for 2018 M&A deal volume.
Alexander's private equity clients include Boston-based Abry Partners, New York-based ICV Partners, Boston-based Great Hill Partners, New York-based Bregal Sagemount, New York-based D Cubed Group, New York-based Wicks Group, Boston-based Pamplona Capital Management and New York-based Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. Corporate clients include Dallas-based SoftLayer Technologies and CyrusOne, New Jersey-based Hudson News and Maryland-based ASB Capital.
He serves on the firm's global board and its U.S. executive and management committees and is global co-chair of the firm's corporate and private equity practices and Southeast U.S. managing partner.
You've managed deals for a host of specialized industries—including technology/media/telecom, health care, food and beverage, franchising and manufacturing. How important is a deal lawyer's understanding of an industry as opposed to general transactional law?
I am a generalist, and I do my best to stick to my lane as a practitioner. While it is important to have a high level understanding of an industry in order to effectively represent our clients, it's more important for me to have access to deeper expertise in the firm. The biggest reason I came to DLA 11 years ago was the access to deeper sector/industry expertise in the U.S. and the geographic breadth and depth the firm provides. It's easy for me to sell what makes us different from our competition.
Who was one of your mentors, and what did you learn from that person?
Katherine Seaborn, the first partner I worked for out of law school back in 1993, had the biggest impact on my career. She taught me the importance of building and how to build relationships at the outset of my career. Not many senior partners take the time to teach much beyond the technical aspects of practicing. I am certain I wouldn't be where I am today without Katherine's advice and counsel early on.
What is a misconception lawyers have about transactional law?
I'm not sure that disputes lawyers appreciate the pace of a normal transaction and the amount of work that goes into getting them closed.
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