Mary Ellen Kanoff retired from the partnership in March 2013. Mary Ellen specialized in corporate finance, public and private mergers, and acquisitions and general company representation. She was an active leader in the Hospitality, Gaming and Leisure and the Retail and Consumer Products Industry Groups.
In the corporate finance area, Mary Ellen handled public and private securities offerings and other financing transactions, representing public and private companies, institutional investors and major investment banks. Mary Ellen’s M&A practice included the representation of targets, bidders, private equity firms and investors in strategic acquisitions and joint ventures in a variety of industries, including gaming and hospitality, food and beverage, technology and consumer products.
Mary Ellen regularly represented companies and boards, and was a frequent speaker on corporate governance and securities regulation issues, serving as a featured speaker at the annual SEC Securities Regulation Seminar and at the UCLA Anderson School of Business-Director Certification Program.
Mary Ellen was named a top corporate attorney in the 2010 and 2011 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide and in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Best Lawyers in America survey in the Corporate Law category.
At the time of her retirement, Mary Ellen was an active member of the Los Angeles community, serving on the Board of Trustees for St. John’s Health Center Foundation in Santa Monica, on the Board of Chrysalis, a nonprofit agency for the homeless and unemployed, and as Chancellor to the Vestry of St. Matthew’s Church in Pacific Palisades.