Spencer T. Moats is senior counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the firm’s Transactional & Securities Practice and Food & Beverage Industry Team.
Mr. Moats practices general corporate and business law, with an emphasis in mergers and acquisitions, securities law and corporate governance. Mr. Moats represents public and private acquirers and targets in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions transactions. Mr. Moats’ mergers and acquisitions experience includes transactions in a wide array of industries, including a significant number of transactions in the manufacturing and food & beverage industries.
Mr. Moats regularly advises clients regarding state and federal securities law compliance, and assists clients with the preparation and review of Securities Exchange Act filings. Mr. Moats also represents issuers in securities transactions, including public offerings of equity securities and public placements of debt securities. Mr. Moats’ securities law and corporate governance experience also includes counseling clients in connection with hostile takeover attempts and proxy contests.
In addition to his representation of large public and private companies, Mr. Moats also has significant experience counseling mid-sized and closely held companies, including a number of family-owned businesses, and has helped mid-sized companies transition ownership and management to the next family generation, to employees and to strategic or financial buyers.
Mr. Moats is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law (J.D., with high distinction), where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Mr. Moats served as a member and an associate editor for The Journal of Corporation Law. Mr. Moats obtained his bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Northern Iowa (B.A., summa cum laude), where he was awarded the "Purple and Old Gold Award" as the most outstanding graduate in public administration.
Mr. Moats is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. Mr. Moats has also been active in the Milwaukee area Junior Achievement program, including volunteering his time as a classroom instructor.