ACGSF: The Facts on SPACs

Jeff joined EarlyBirdCapital in 2018 and focuses on SPAC sponsor team introductions, SPAC M&A target introductions and SPAC and PIPE investor introductions.  Prior to joining EarlyBird, Jeff was a founding employee of ApplePie Capital, a fintech startup providing franchise loans over the internet.  Prior to ApplePie, he worked at investment banks JMP Securities and Wasserstein Perella in SF and Cowen, Lehman Brothers and L.F. Rothschild in New York where he focused on mid-market and large cap M&A and financing transactions.

Jeff received his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and his BBA degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts.

Christopher J. Clarkson is a Senior Vice President and a Director of the Wealth Strategies Group, a role he was appointed to in 2005. He has expertise in a variety of complex investment planning issues, including diversification planning for holders of concentrated stock and option portfolios, retirement planning, multigenerational wealth transfer, philanthropy, advanced asset allocation and planning for the sale of a business. He is a frequent lecturer to groups of tax and legal professionals throughout the western United States. He has given educational seminars for the USC Tax Institute, Hawaii Tax Institute, Colorado Society of CPAs, Estate Planning Council of San Diego, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Hawaii Association of Public Accountants, Rocky Mountain Estate Planning Council, Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Chris joined the firm in 1995 and became a member of the Wealth Strategies Group in 1998. He earned a BA with high honors in business/economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.

Drew Goodwin is a business attorney who advises clients across a wide range of industries, with a particular focus on renewable energy, cannabis, and sports.  He has extensive experience representing private equity investors and financial institutions in leveraged buyouts, mezzanine financing, secured lending and complex mergers and acquisitions, including transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). Drew’s practice has continued to broaden to address nearly every facet of business law, including equity investments, acquisitions, corporate governance, and contract negotiations.

As a member of the firm’s Energy Industry group, Drew has advised clients through the process of acquiring, developing and selling renewable energy projects. He has considerable experience drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements and development services agreements, and Drew has served as go to outside counsel for multiple solar energy developers.

Drew has also developed a niche advising companies and investors in the cannabis industry. He has counseled cannabis companies through restructurings, licensing issues, tax matters and a host of other relevant issues. This experience provides Drew with a unique ability to effectively counsel fund managers looking to invest in cannabis companies through early and late stage financings.

Taking advantage of a unique Farella market, Drew has developed a sports practice as well. He has tackled a vast array of issues in sports law, including intellectual property rights and the use of athletes’ likenesses, management agreements, sponsorship and media rights, and player contracts. Drew played a major role advising a client on the formation, development and management of a new international sports league, and has negotiated with athletes, agents, team managers, and club investors.