Tony Rickert has been a business lawyer with DLA Piper for more than 25 years. Mr. Rickert focuses his practice in the areas of private equity, mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings of securities, commercial transactions, and the general representation of emerging businesses.

Mr. Rickert serves as outside general counsel for public and private corporations and represents private equity investors, as well as corporations and other business entities, in connection with equity and debt investments, commercial credit, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and development projects. In addition, Mr. Rickert has developed numerous innovative corporate equities, mezzanine financings, real estate-based securities, and asset-secured debt instruments to meet the capital needs of emerging businesses and their investors.

The business of many of Mr. Rickert's clients depends upon robust data processing, information, and telecommunication systems. Mr. Rickert has significant experience in structuring and negotiating agreements for acquisition or development of computer and telecommunications hardware and systems, licensing and development of software, and the provision of database, fulfillment, teleservices, back office, and similar services.

Mr. Rickert is also engaged in a diverse transactional and general counsel practice on behalf of nonprofit and for-profit health care organizations, including hospitals, home care companies, elder care organizations, physical therapy providers, and medical equipment companies. He has been actively involved in the planning and implementation of numerous corporate restructurings of health-care providers, joint ventures, and other strategic arrangements between hospitals and physicians, financings, significant contracts, and transactions involving acquisition or disposition of substantial health-care assets.

The respected English research firm lists Mr. Rickert in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, referring to his "solid reputation" and noting that clients praise him because he “does not look at legal work in a vacuum, but has a great understanding of the business judgments that need to be made.”

Mr. Rickert is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2008 Edition in the areas of leveraged buyouts and private equity law. In 2006, Washington SmartCEO magazine named him to its short list of Greater Washington's Legal Elite.

Recent Experience

Some examples of recent transactions and matters in which Mr. Rickert has provided legal counsel include the following:

• During a recent 18-month period, representation of private equity sponsors and other buyers or sellers in 11 public and private merger and acquisition transactions with total consideration in excess of $1.5 billion. 
• Representation of institutional investors nationwide in over 150 complex senior and mezzanine private equity finance transactions coupled with various equity investments and collateral security arrangements. 
• Representation of a leading Wall Street investment firm in a series of innovative non-control private equity investments combining aspects of preferred stock, secured debt, redeemable common stock, and equity options. 
• General counsel of a nonprofit hospital system recently involved in the establishment of public/private joint ventures for development and operation of radiology, cancer treatment and medical office facilities; converting anesthesia, ER, psychiatry, and radiology departments to competitively bid exclusive contracting arrangements; obtaining and deploying state grant funds for the development of a women's health center; a comprehensive IT system upgrade; and a system-wide compliance program.
• General counsel of a public software company in connection with securities matters, acquisitions of complementary businesses, customer agreements and strategic alliances, employee relations, and general business matters.
• General counsel of an Internet-based medical database company in connection with organization and venture capital financing, development agreements for proprietary software platform, and subscriber agreements focusing on data ownership and shared data rights. 
• General counsel of a company operating assisted living and other senior housing and care facilities nationwide in connection with venture capital financings, project finance (including an innovative vehicle combining mezzanine finance with project finance to enhance overall return to project-level investors), mergers and acquisitions, and compliance. 
• Leveraged acquisition of a database services company, followed by general counsel representation related to debt and equity financings, acquisitions of other companies in related fields, comprehensive corporate restructuring to accommodate growth and create additional management opportunities, and development of "user-friendly" client service agreements.
• Development of a joint venture involving several competing companies relating to the development and sharing of proprietary software systems relating to receipt, warehousing, distribution, and control of inventory and related mail, telephonic, and Internet order processing.
• Special engagement by the CEOs of three hospital systems to develop and facilitate discussions regarding a merger or strategic partnership among the systems.

資格

• District of Columbia
• Maryland

執筆・出版

• Co-author, "Structuring Publicly Traded Limited Partnerships: Depository Receipts, Assignee Units, or Limited Partnership Interests," published in the Journal of Partnership Taxation

職位の情報

• Honorable J. Dudley Digges, Maryland Court of Appeals