Arturo J. Velez
– Of Counsel, Business and Corporate Group –
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
AFFILIATIONS
Buying Legal Council,→ Collaborator and former Director of Operations
Legal Marketing Association, →
New England Chapter – Member of Education Committee, Education Co-Chair 2013
Law Firm Media Professionals Group, →
Member, former Board leader of Boston Chapter
Aria Antonopolous is Martin LLP’s Director of Marketing and Business Development. An industry veteran, she brings experience at several law firms and professional services organizations to her role at the firm.
Aria is both a generalist and a specialist. Her responsibilities extend beyond marketing the firm into several operational and management areas, including coordination and supervision of the administrative team, both internal and external client service, and execution of the firm’s Strategic Plan
As a marketer, her responsibilities include both the public face of the firm, and all the platforms and programs that support it. She is responsible for messaging, marketing strategy, development and maintenance of the web site, social media, public relations and every other aspect of telling the Martin story to the world.
That being said, her primary focus, and professional specialization, is business development, particularly coaching. She brings a bottom-line mentality to her work in this area, and is particularly gifted at translating high-level strategic objectives into concrete, actionable business development activities, including incorporating accountability and metrics into what’s typically an unstructured, but essential part of operating a law firm.
Prior to her arrival at Martin, Aria was a marketer at several Philadelphia and Boston-area firms and businesses. She has worked on the client side, developing marketing programs and strategies for a financial services firm.
Aria works as an integral part of the Martin team. Day-to-day, she operates as the representative of the markets and clients we serve, ensuring that their voice and priorities are front and center in everything we do at Martin, as well as everything we plan to do.
She is a founding member of a group of C-suite women that meets for networking, learning and peer mentoring. She volunteers for several regional charitable and nonprofit organizations including overseeing Martin’s involvement in MyTeam Triumph, as well as running a household with three young children.
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5231
EDUCATION
Boston College School of Law, J.D.
Trinity College, B.A.
AFFILIATIONS
Association for Corporate Growth, Board Member, Connecticut Chapter
Exit Planning Exchange, Board Member of the Tri-State Chapter
Business Council of Fairfield County
Sean Berry is a Partner in Martin’s Business and Corporate practice group, where his practice is focused on the area of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital and corporate governance matters.
Sean regularly advises private equity firms, family offices, “independent sponsors” and portfolio companies in their acquisitions, dispositions, investments and general corporate, governance and business law matters. Sean has significant experience in both buy-side and sell-side M&A, private equity investments, leveraged buyouts and equity and debt financings.
Prior to joining Martin, Sean was an associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, specializing in mergers & acquisitions and private equity.
Sean is the father of two young children, John and Alice, and serves on the boards of the Connecticut Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Tri-State Chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange. He’s also involved in the Carver Foundation, Norwalk’s largest provider of after-school and summer programs for students. He’s an avid skier, golfer and paddle tennis player.
Admissions
Connecticut
New York
Areas of Practice
Corporate
Private Equity and Private Investment Practice
Mergers & Acquisitions
Corporate Finance
Growth Companies
Joint Ventures
Private Securities Offerings
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5225
EDUCATION
University of Connecticut School of Law, J.D., cum laude
Providence College, B.S. in Accounting, magna cum laude
John Capetta is a partner in Martin LLP’s Business and Corporate practice group. Prior to joining Martin, he spent over thirty years at an Amlaw 200 firm, including chairing their Private Equity practice group. Similarly, John leads Martin LLP’s Private Equity practice, providing legal counsel to sponsor firms, portfolio companies and management teams.
John’s private equity clients are typically engaged in some form of leveraged acquisition, with varying strategic goals, which may include holding and operating, or restructuring or reinvigorating, with the objective of a sale within a 3- to 5-year time horizon. His private equity practice specializes in supporting clients engaged in these acquisitions, each of which includes varying degrees of leverage and some overlap, depending on the client, with typical venture capital projects.
In connection with his private equity work, John also has considerable expertise in advising clients in matters involving representation and warranty insurance, a specialty that operates at the intersection of insurance litigation, mergers and acquisitions and private equity projects.
He has helped negotiate and finalize policies, engaged in spot-check due diligence, and handled more complex claims made against policies. He frequently works with an insurer’s claims group to analyze claims, determine whether they’re supported and appropriate, and negotiate settlements with insured parties. If and when these matters ripen into disputes requiring arbitration, John is also involved in management and resolution of the controversy.
John provided general counsel services for select clients, typically startups and growth-stage enterprises. He advises them on a broad range of legal and management issues, such as contracts, insurance and indemnification issues, certain employment and financing issues, and so on.
John brings to his clients a unique and invaluable blend of the perspective of a senior private equity attorney from a large law firm, and the personal, hands-on client service and attention Martin LLP is known for. His clients receive the benefit of both, and of making business-critical decisions with the guidance and counsel of an experienced, trusted advisor.
John is married with three daughters, two granddaughters and two rescue dogs. He has been an avid, eclectic reader his entire life. He has supported a broad range of charitable and nonprofit organizations including serving as outside pro bono counsel for the Stamford Symphony Orchestra and the East Harlem-based Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service. He served as a volunteer reader for Connecticut-based Volunteer Services for the Blind, spending a couple of hours each Saturday afternoon reading to a 90+-year old blind gentleman for several years. He also served on the Board of Directors of Stamford-based Kick It For Keith Inc., a charitable organization formed to honor the memory of Keith Segovia, a Stamford-born and raised college and professional soccer player who died tragically of cancer at the age of 33.
Admissions
Connecticut
Pennsylvania
New York
Areas of Practice
Corporate
Private Equity and Private Investment Practice
Mergers & Acquisitions
Growth Companies
Corporate Finance
Private Securities Offerings
Joint Ventures
Honors & Awards
Selected as one of the Best Lawyers in the Corporate Law area, 2009-2019
Listed in Super Lawyers, 2009-2019
Ranked as a leading practitioner in the Corporate/M&A area by Chambers USA, 2008 – 2012, and 2017
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Real Estate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5240
EDUCATION
University of Bridgeport School of Law, J.D., 1982
Sacred Heart University, B.A., 1974
AFFILIATIONS
Chairman, Board of Directors, Laurel House, Stamford, CT
Past President, Board of Directors of the Bartlett Arboretum Association, Inc.
Member, Advisory Committee, Town of Greenwich Community Television
Ken DellaRocco is a Partner in our Real Estate group and one of the firm’s most senior attorneys. For more than 35 years he has practiced real estate law, and amassed an extensive, exceptionally diverse set of capabilities that makes him uniquely valuable to the firm’s real estate clientele.
Ken is known in the industry as a practical, effective attorney who integrates legal counsel with a more holistic perspective that incorporates strategy, analysis of a transaction, and evaluation of every aspect of a potential purchase or sale, including those his clients sometimes haven’t considered. There is a significant amount of “General Counsel” in Ken’s approach to advising his clients.
The lengthy list of projects Ken has been involved in spans virtually every type of real estate project imaginable, including shopping centers, hotel projects, residential developments condominiums, office buildings, warehouses, industrial buildings and retail properties as well as extensive experience in structuring and negotiating countless commercial leases. As an adjunct to his real estate practice, he also has hands-on experience in several related legal disciplines, including land use and environmental law. He has negotiated numerous construction contracts and has experience in the real estate law relating to Federal Opportunity Zones.
Ken’s approach to his practice emphasizes working closely with his clients to complete projects and identify opportunities rather than simply identifying challenges – in other words, collaboratively seeking solutions that will enable projects to be completed. As a significant portion of his career was spent as Chief Legal Officer for a major retail holding company, he has a unique, and valuable, client’s perspective which informs and guides his work.
Ken typically develops ongoing, long-term client relationships. He has several clients with whom he was worked for over eighteen years. He prioritizes responsiveness and a high degree of availability as a key aspect of his role as a trusted adviser.
More than any other legal discipline, real estate law deals with the tangible. For over three decades, Ken has advised clients with the concrete, very tangible objective of helping them complete projects. Whether it’s constructing a shopping center complex, leasing office space, or leveraging the benefits of an Opportunity Zone, Ken sees his role as helping his clients get things done.
Ken is Chairman of the Board of a not-for-profit, “Laurel House-Resources to Recover”, which provides resources and services to people with mental illness, and their families. He also enjoys golf, tennis, reading, biking, traveling and cooking.
Admissions
Connecticut, 1983
New York, 1988
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1983
U.S. Supreme Court, 1991
Areas of Practice
Real Estate
Commercial Leasing
Commercial Financing
Commercial Development
Residential and Commercial Conveyancing
Corporate and Business Matters
Contracts
Honors
Connecticut Super Lawyers
Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5228
EDUCATION
Quinnipiac University School of Law, J.D.
The George Washington University, B.A.
Chris Geotes is a Partner in the Business and Corporate practice group at Martin LLP. His corporate practice focuses on the representation of companies in three general categories – mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and outside general counsel services.
Many of Chris’s corporate clients are financial, technology and manufacturing companies. Chris represents M&A clients on both the buy and sell side, and his equity finance experience touches every phase of financing, from seed money and angel investing through venture capital, private equity and institutional investment. Chris also supports Martin LLP’s debt finance team on transactions involving vehicles such as lines of credit, term loans, revolving loans, secured and unsecured promissory notes, and convertible notes.
Chris’s outside general counsel services are more focused on his clients’ day-to-day legal needs. This work often includes assisting clients with the drafting and negotiation of customer contracts, vendor/supplier agreements, equity incentive plans and employment agreements, as well as providing guidance on risk mitigation strategies.
As an adviser, Chris strives to take a holistic approach to assessing the needs of his clients and how they’ll be served by the particular financing methodology they’re utilizing. Whenever possible, he seeks to understand in detail the management team, business, operations and long-term objectives of his clients, and also works to help them explore perhaps previously unconsidered alternatives to their planned strategy, as well as their exit strategy.
Chris was born and raised in Stamford, and still lives here with his wife Marie and his son Noah. Chris maintains an active pro bono practice focused on local non-profit organizations, including his current service as Pro Bono Counsel to Building One Community and as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF).
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Litigation Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5260 | 203-973-5250
EDUCATION
Boston University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1986
Brown University, A.B., 1983
Mark Gregory is a Partner and the Head of the Firm’s Litigation practice group. His practice encompasses a broad range of litigation and dispute matters, advising and advocating for both businesses and corporate executives.
For over 30 years, Mark has represented clients as lead counsel in all types of general commercial litigation matters, including complex contract interpretation, federal securities law, shareholder derivative claims, antitrust, intellectual property, brokerage, trade secrets, fraud, unfair competition and real estate disputes. Much of his work is connected with the Firm’s business and transactional practice — specifically contract matters, disputes concerning closely-held ownership of business entities, legal malpractice, business torts such as unfair competition or restrictive covenants or intellectual property infringement. He has represented clients in federal and state lawsuits, arbitrations and other alternative dispute resolution forums.
As a practitioner, Mark brings the expertise, knowledge and judgment of a big-firm litigator to the Firm’s cases. This includes extensive firsthand courtroom experience. Although he views trying cases as a last resort – when feasible, settlement is almost always a more cost-effective approach than trial — his courtroom reputation typically precedes him. Paradoxically, the best way to achieve a favorable result for his clients is to make it clear that he is preparing to try a case. If and when a case is settled, it will be because of the facts and applicable law – not because he is disinclined to go to court.
Mark places special emphasis on building personal relationships with his clients. Rather than assign work to associates, he typically handles all phases of a case himself, including depositions, drafting pleadings, briefs and motions and negotiating with opposing counsel. He specializes in efficiently managing and resolving the ordinary disputes that regularly arise in the day-to-day operation of any business.
His goal, always, is to matter-of-factly bring disputes, to the greatest degree possible, to a prompt and advantageous conclusion, from both a legal and a business point of view. Whether you’re a client, opposing counsel or a judge, Mark views cases as problems to be solved rather than competitions or conflicts, and is known for advocating calmly and with measure to a conclusion that works.
Mark and his wife, Kara, have five children. He spends a great deal of time in Ludlow, Vermont – enjoying lake activities in summer and skiing in winter – and has been very active in youth sports in Darien, Connecticut and the Arthritis Foundation. He’s also an enthusiastic tennis player, and enjoys watching sports, particularly the Green Bay Packers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Admissions
Connecticut, 1986
New York, 2012
Areas of Practice
Litigation
Probate Litigation
Class Actions
Broker-Dealer
Intellectual Property
Antitrust and Trade Regulation
Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals – Second, Sixth, Seventh, and Federal Circuits
U.S. District Court – Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; District of Connecticut; Eastern District of Wisconsin
Honors
New England Super Lawyers
Connecticut Super Lawyers
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5229
EDUCATION
Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
Dartmouth College, B.A.
Scott Hammond is a Partner in Martin’s Business and Corporate practice group, with a practice centering on middle market debt finance. In this role, Scott advises both lenders and borrowers, as well as other stakeholders involved in a transaction, including project sponsors, banks, direct lenders, institutional lenders, and individuals in debt financings for companies in a wide variety of industries. He sees to it that deals get done. Scott has over 17 years experience in the banking and finance practices at major US law firms including as partner at Winston & Strawn and counsel at Latham & Watkins and at Akin Gump.
Scott is responsible for the smooth, organized and efficient trajectory of a transaction, beginning at inception and proceeding all the way through to the final closing. Although each deal is unique, he typically begins with the negotiation of a term sheet, commitment paper or letter of intent, and proceeds on to the consummation of the deal.
Due diligence, either original or piggybacking on previous due diligence conducted by the buyer or another involved entity, is an essential part of Scott’s role as well, along with negotiating the loan or credit agreement as appropriate with the borrower or lender’s counsel. He also oversees the preparation of ancillary security documents, such as security agreements, guarantee agreements, IP security agreements and deposit account control agreements, as well as intercreditor agreements with respect to first or second liens, mezzanine debt or unsecured debt. With larger, or more structured deals, Scott works with existing precedents and procedures in order to make the process as straightforward and efficient as possible.
In less conventional situations, Scott is skilled at devising innovative approaches to challenges posed by unique or unusual deals. As an example, Scott advised a client on a financing transaction involving managing the status of title documents for a large number of semitrailers. Effective completion required the attorneys involved to personally transport a literal truckload of title documents, in order to ensure that they arrived when needed, intact, and in time for the closing. Because it’s what it took to get the deal done, Scott took care of it.
As a practitioner, Scott has a great deal of experience analyzing potential transactions, with a special focus on the agent/lender side. This work has included reviewing, analyzing and summarizing projects for a large hedge fund, as well as performing borrower, lender and distressed debt analysis for lenders who held notes and wanted a full debt document analysis.
As a result, he has developed an uncanny sense of market terms, as well as a grasp of the latest innovations in different loan agreements. New deal features typically originate with large transactions at the top of the market, and gradually filter down to smaller projects over time. His clients value his ability to integrate this with an outstanding real-world grasp of the dynamics of deals based on fee mechanics and the varying clout and negotiating leverage in negotiations different borrowers may have. All this informs his work, and makes him uniquely able to manage projects effectively.
Scott also brings an extraordinary of professionalism and responsiveness to the actual execution of deals. Regardless of the project, every client needs the work behind a deal performed promptly, carefully and in the manner that suits the transaction best. Individual clients also have different communications preferences, and styles. During the sometimes-frenetic process of managing a deal, Scott ensures that regardless of the size, nature or timeframe of a transaction, his clients are up to date on progress, aware of any changes or issues, and perhaps most importantly, never surprised. And more importantly, in the end, the deal gets done.
Scott resides in Larchmont, New York with his wife Blair and their three children. In his spare time he enjoys running, coaching youth soccer, and playing squash, paddle tennis and other semi-obscure racquet sports.
Admissions
Massachusetts
New York
Connecticut
Areas of Practice
Corporate Finance
Growth Companies
Arturo J. Velez
– Managing Partner, Chair of Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5220
EDUCATION
Pace University School of Law, J.D., 1988
Sacred Heart University, B.S., Accounting and Computer Science, 1983
AFFILIATIONS
Association for Corporate Growth, Connecticut Chapter
Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education, Board of Directors
Chris Martin is Martin LLP’s Managing Partner and founder. For more than 30 years, Chris has provided legal and business advice to privately held small and middle market growth companies and their key stakeholders, including founders, investors and senior executives.
Chris provides strategic legal and business advice to companies who have achieved a certain size, typically powered by deep subject-matter expertise, and seek to grow beyond what they are capable of by working alone. He enables clients to maximize the value of their enterprises, and dramatically accelerate growth. His legal practice includes corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, taxation, corporate finance and securities offerings. Chris is also the founder of a private equity firm that invests in growth companies.
He began his career in the emerging companies practices at two Big Four accounting firms, followed by six years at a large, international law firm. In 1996 Chris launched Martin LLP, with a specific focus on helping entrepreneurs grow and build out their companies. His primary clientele are self-funded companies that have grown dissatisfied with the level and nature of the representation they’ve received from traditional large firms and require a new approach to scale.
As both a CPA and an attorney, Chris brings deep accounting and tax expertise to his clients, in addition to his legal capabilities. An entrepreneur himself, Chris speaks his clients’ language, understands their issues and challenges, and is uniquely capable of viewing situations from a business owner’s perspective.
In this role, Chris does a great deal of listening. He strives to understand not only the client’s current situation, but the path that got them there, and from their point of view, their biggest challenges as well as their most significant opportunities. Armed with this information, he then leverages his network to assemble a legal team to meet their needs, including specialized expertise from other law firms as necessary.
In addition to his professional activities, Chris is active with a number of charities, including the Inner-City Foundation for Charity and Education, the New Covenant House, and the Connecticut chapter of My TEAM TRIUMPH, which provides endurance team sport opportunities for disabled athletes. He’s an enthusiastic amateur skier, tennis player, hiker, golfer and triathlete, and the father of a son and a daughter.
Admissions
Connecticut, 1988
Areas of Practice
Corporate
Mergers & Acquisitions
Growth Companies
Taxation
Corporate Finance
Private Securities Offerings
Honors
Chambers USA 2010-2017
New England Super Lawyers
Connecticut Super Lawyers
Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell (2000-2017)
Arturo J. Velez
– Director Emeritus –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5230
EDUCATION
Fordham University Law School, J.D., 2000
State University of New York at Albany, B.A., 1990
Will Malpica is a partner in Martin LLP’s Business and Corporate group. As Head of the firm’s Banking & Debt Finance practice, Will leverages our team’s experience at international law firms and financial institutions to advise lenders and borrowers in a range of debt financings. Will’s practice concentrates primarily on representing lenders in lower middle market transactions, typically involving sponsor-backed or other acquisitions. Transactions include secured and unsecured, first lien/second lien, unitranche, and cash flow as well as asset-based structures with borrowers across a range of sectors.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Will has helped the firm’s clients access vital government relief programs. Will and his colleagues at the firm are among a small handful of lawyers around the country to have successfully closed loans under the Main Street Lending Program. Will also advises on amendments to existing credit facilities, reservation of rights letters, forbearance agreements and other restructuring matters, in some cases arising out of conditions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to joining Martin LLP, Will was Director and Associate General Counsel in the a global investment banking and commercial banking operations at ABN AMRO Bank and at The Royal Bank of Scotland (now NatWest Markets). In these roles, Will served as senior legal and strategic advisor to a variety of commercial and investment banking business units, advising on a variety of transaction types and products, including bank financing, securitization, public and private capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Prior to his in-house roles, Will worked in the corporate and finance practices of the international law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. Will is a graduate of the Fordham University School of Law.
Admissions
Connecticut
New York
Affiliations and Service
- Director, Lifting Up Westchester
- Director, MyTeam Triumph CT
- Director, Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association
- Volunteer Attorney, Pro Bono Partnership
- Pro Bono Counsel, Building One Community (B1C)
- Director, Fordham Law School Alumni Association
- Member, New York City Bar Association
- Former Commissioner, New York City Commission on Human Rights (appointed by Michael Bloomberg)
- Former Vice Chair, Latino Justice PRLDEF
- Recipient, New York City Bar Association’s “Diversity Champion”
- Named among ‘New York’s Most Influential Latinos’ by the New York Post
- Named among “Connecticut’s ProBono Volunteers of the Year” by the Pro Bono Partnership
Areas of Practice
Banking & Finance
Corporate
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5233
EDUCATION
Brooklyn School of Law, J.D.
Vassar College, B.A.
Jason Putter is a Partner in Martin’s Business and Corporate practice group. Jason’s practice concentrates on corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, private equity, and corporate finance on behalf of middle market clients including a substantial number of growth companies, and the entrepreneurs who lead them.
Jason’s clients value his strategic thinking, and his ability to both see the big picture and communicate it effectively and straightforwardly. He emphasizes developing ongoing relationships with clients which allows him to offer tailored explanations and recommendations regarding the legal impact of different business scenarios, while ensuring that the final decision is the client’s. By drawing on a professional background that is both diverse and extensive, he has the ability to draw analogies for his clients to situations he’s previously experienced without being overly technical. Whether it is a crisis or a routine matter, Jason is a calm, even-keeled voice whose emphasis is on the real-world, practical implications of decisions and situations.
Immediately prior to joining Martin LLP, Jason worked at a small Connecticut firm. Jason was also a Senior Associate at Skadden Arps for six years, where he represented public and private companies and their principal stakeholders in M&A, financing, securities litigation and complex in- and out-of-court restructurings. Prior to entering private practice, Jason held a two-year federal clerkship.
Jason and his wife, Felicia, have four children along with an animal pack that includes dogs, birds, chickens, ducks and freeloading wild rabbits and deer. Jason maintains an active pro bono practice and is on the Board of Directors of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center.
Admissions
Connecticut
New York
Areas of Practice
Corporate
Merger & Acquisitions
Debt & Equity Finance
Private Equity
Corporate Finance
Arturo J. Velez
– Of Counsel, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5227
EDUCATION
Columbia University School of Law, J.D.
Louisiana State University, B.A
Arturo Velez is a partner in Martin LLP’s Business and Corporate Group with a practice focused on middle market debt finance. Arturo has over 20 years of experience representing bank and non-bank lenders in finance transactions. He has extensive expertise with senior secured lending, both asset based and cash flow, and with various specialty finance products such as healthcare ABL, RMR lending, and premium finance. Arturo has successfully closed numerous credit facilities to borrowers in a wide range of industries. He has documented and closed, revolving lines of credit to government contractors, ABL revolvers to healthcare providers, such as skilled nursing facilities and hospitals, as well as financings based on recurring monthly revenue for borrowers in the security industry. Arturo’s representation of lenders has often been in the context of acquisition financing.
Arturo has acted as primary lender’s counsel in finance transactions both as external counsel and as in-house counsel. Prior to joining Martin LLP, Arturo was an in-house counsel at various finance companies and banks, including CapitalSource Finance, LLC and CapitalSource Bank, with his last position being Associate General Counsel-Commercial Lending for Pacific Western Bank. Prior to his in-house roles Arturo worked as an associate in the finance practice of Otterbourg, P.C. in New York City. Arturo’s in-house commercial lending experience gives him insights to various needs and concerns of clients in finance transactions.
Arturo enjoys traveling with his wife and two sons and, when he can, appreciates a multiday backpacking trip in a scenic place.
Arturo J. Velez
– Partner, Business and Corporate Group –
CONTACT
Tel: 203-973-5224
EDUCATION
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1988
State University of New York at Binghamton, B.A., 1985
AFFILIATIONS
American Bar Association
Association of Corporate Counsel
Ken Zinghini is a Partner in Martin’s Business and Corporate practice group. He concentrates on advising companies, owners and investors on a broad range of business and transactional topics, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, joint ventures, securities, and other corporate and commercial transactions. Ken also advises a variety of clients on the new qualified opportunity zones tax law, including matters related to qualified opportunity fund (QOF) formation and QOF investments in real estate, infrastructure projects, and operating companies organized as qualified opportunity zone businesses (QOZBs).
Prior to joining our firm, Ken was a senior member of the in-house legal teams of a Fortune 500 conglomerate holding company and a high-growth competitive telecom, data and media company, both headquartered in New York City. In those roles, he was responsible for supervision and oversight of virtually every legal aspect of the companies’ operations. As these companies operated and invested in verticals ranging from oil and gas exploration, offshore drilling, and midstream energy, including transportation and storage of natural gas and liquids, to hospitality, manufacturing, property casualty insurance, telecom, data and online media, his legal track record is exceptionally diverse. This versatility makes him an invaluable advisor to clients across industries and encountering a range of novel legal challenges. Before going in-house, Ken spent 8 years in private corporate legal practice in New York City.
Ken’s extensive in-house experience means that he has an intimate, firsthand understanding of the challenges his clients deal with and the priorities that are most important to company owners and managers. More specifically, he is keenly aware that legal decisions and strategy do not operate in a vacuum but are closely connected to the business behind them – he knows both. His client-side history means he is well-versed in the identification of key issues and avoids the all-too-common trap of over-lawyering.
Ken’s capabilities fall into two main categories. First, he has overseen numerous transactions involving public and private companies in many industries, including acquisitions, divestitures, equity and debt financings, restructurings, and joint ventures. Second, he has advised senior management on the full range of non-transactional legal issues facing businesses, such as commercial contract negotiations, compliance (including regulatory compliance), corporate governance, executive compensation, related-party transactions, and matters relating to control and ownership of businesses. Ken also has a background in providing these services to clients as an outsourced General Counsel.
It has often been observed that there is no teacher like experience, and nowhere is this truer than in corporate law. Ken brings a unique, enormously valuable background to his work — a singular combination of hands-on experience both as a senior-level client and as a practitioner. His integration of judgment, practicality, decisiveness, and focus makes him a major legal asset for the companies he counsels.
In his free time, Ken enjoys travel, wine, reading, and the New York Times crossword puzzle. He’s a golfer, tennis player, has completed several triathlons, and coached many youth sports teams in soccer, baseball, softball, and basketball. He has two children who, like him, have grown up to be avid New York Mets fans.
Admissions
Connecticut
New York
Areas of Practice
Corporate
Mergers & Acquisitions
Corporate Finance
Growth Companies
Joint Ventures
Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments
