Peter D. Cripps has joined the Firm as the Chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Law practice groups. Prior to joining the Philadelphia office, Mr. Cripps practiced for 16 years in the Philadelphia office of Dechert LLP. While at Dechert, he was a partner in the Corporate & Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. Mr. Cripps has represented strategic and financial buyers and sellers, as well as closely-held or family-owned businesses, in varied merger, acquisition, disposition and other business transactions involving both publicly held and privately held companies. His experience advising clients spans a broad range of industries including companies in the manufacturing, chemicals, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, retail and distribution and telecommunications sectors. He has successfully represented US businesses engaged in M&A activity overseas and foreign investors making in-bound investments and acquisitions in the US, including buyers, sellers and operations located in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Mexico and Argentina. Mr. Cripps has represented companies engaged in capital raising and financing transactions, including public and private offerings of debt and equity securities for seasoned and new issuers. He has advised issuers and investors on all aspects of the federal securities laws and corporate governance matters. He has represented companies, investors, boards of directors, special committees and financial advisors in going private transactions. He has also advised corporations, investors and boards of directors regarding anti-takeover defenses, poison pill rights plans, standstill agreements, and other similar matters. Mr. Cripps has also assisted clients with negotiating and implementing various commercial agreements, including joint venture, shareholder, supply and distribution, services, licensing, leasing, partnership, limited liability, restructuring and reorganization and other agreements. He is a member of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations and the Association for Corporate Growth. Mr. Cripps has authored or co-authored a number of articles including Doing Public M&A Deals in Pennsylvania: Minesweeper Required (The Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation); Unfinished Business (The Daily Deal); Dealmaking Remedies To Cushion the Jolt of Regulatory Rejection (Mergers & Acquisitions); New SEC Rules for Pitching Your Deal (Mergers & Acquisitions); How Crown Put Its Seal on a Complex Deal (Acquisitions Monthly). Mr. Cripps is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School (J.D., with high honors, 1990), where he served on the University of Chicago Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif, and Lehigh University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1986).