Yvan-Claude Pierre is a partner in Cooley's business department and a member of the capital markets and public companies practice groups. He joined the firm in 2015 and is resident in the New York office. Mr. Pierre has been recognized as a leading national dealmaker for his work on IPOs and M&A transactions over the years. Among his many accolades, Mr. Pierre has been named to Super Lawyers for Securities & Corporate Finance Law by Thomson Reuters, which recognizes the top attorneys in the New York metro area.
Mr. Pierre advises clients on a wide range of public offerings, M&A and other significant corporate transactions across the US and throughout Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Over his nearly 20 years in practice, he has counseled US and global publicly traded and privately held life science, health care, technology and other innovative companies, as well as investment banking firms, private equity sponsors and venture capital firms.
He is recognized as a leading counselor in the area of public offerings. His securities and corporate finance practice includes extensive experience with both public and private offerings, including IPOs, follow-on offerings, At-The-Market offerings, spin-offs, PIPEs, 144A equity, private placements and other securities transactions and compliance matters. He has been involved in more than 250 capital markets offerings and 150 public and private M&A transactions.
Mr. Pierre is a frequent public speaker on matters relating to public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital transactions and other topics relevant to private and public companies. He is often quoted by news sources and industry journals as a leading authority on IPOs, including The American Lawyer, Law360, Reuters, Investor's Business Daily, BBC News, BusinessDesk, The Deal, Financial Times, Directorship, Social Cloudcast, Zimbio, Technology Spectator and Business Spectator.
Before entering law school, Mr. Pierre worked in the financial investments groups at TIAA-CREF and Morgan Stanley, and as an accountant on the financial audit staff of Ernst & Young LLP. While attending law school, he worked in the private client group at Merrill Lynch & Co.
Prior to joining Cooley, Mr. Pierre served as head of the Corporate & Securities and chair of the US capital markets group at Reed Smith.
Mr. Pierre was most recently named to the Global M&A Network's "Top 50: Global M&A Lawyers" list of the world's top M&A lawyers in 2015. He has also been "recommended" by The Legal 500 for Capital Markets: Equity Offerings - both for advice to Issuers and Managers, 2013, 2014 and 2015; as well as M&A middle-market and technology transactions in 2015. He was profiled by Law360 in 2013. In 2007, The Network Journal named Mr. Pierre to its "40-Under-Forty" list of rising African-American stars in the United States.
Mr. Pierre earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1996. While there, he also served as the senior editor of the Buffalo Journal of International Law. He also holds a Certification in Taxation Law, and completed the University of Buffalo Law Graduate Tax Program. Mr. Pierre holds a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany.
