TYSONS, VA.—Womble Bond Dickinson’s Northern Virginia office hosted the Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region Global Issues Forum on April 25. The theme of the event was “Fundamental Blocking & Tackling of International M&A: Expanding by Cross-Border Acquisition.”

Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys John Gambaccini, Todd Harris and Simon Watts joined Matthew Bester, Director of Competition Law and Senior Director of Government Procurement Compliance at Accenture, and Marc Lim, Managing Director with Anderson Tax, in presenting the program. The event tackled such questions as:
•    How do you successfully navigate international M&A transactions?
•    What are best practices before and after you sign the deal?
•    What are your primary legal considerations?
•    What are the key messages to stakeholders?
•    What kind of legal team do you need to assemble? And
•    How do you work with international counsel most efficiently and cost-effectively.

Panelists addressed these questions from multiple perspectives, including intellectual property, employment, regulatory compliance, and tax. Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Ian Holden joined Bester, Gambaccini, Harris and Lim in the panel discussion.

Attendees included new ACC NCR Executive Director Sharon Givens. 

John Gambaccini advises companies on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity financings, securities regulation, joint ventures, corporate governance and general corporate matters.  His experience crosses a variety of industries, including software services, healthcare services, healthcare information technology, financial services, and industrial manufacturing.  

Todd Harris advises technology companies around the globe in connection with creation, commercialization, and disposition of information technology, proprietary software and data assets, including licensing and related regulatory compliance. He also regularly provides intellectual property counsel in connection with tech-centric mergers and acquisitions.

Ian Holden focuses on corporate finance work in the UK advising a wide range of public and private companies in connection with a broad spectrum of corporate work including M&A, private equity, shareholder and joint venture agreements and corporate reorganizations.

Simon Watts has more than 25 years of experience in corporate transactions and advisory work. His areas of practice include mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, IPOs and other capital markets work and corporate regulatory matters. Watts is the US Desk Head for Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) and a member of the global board of Womble Bond Dickinson.