Thomas C. Erb, Chairman Emeritus

Thomas C. Erb has spent his entire forty-plus year legal career with Lewis Rice, and served as the Chairman of the Firm from May 2012 until August 2020. Tom led the firm with a strong business sense, developing and communicating the firm's strategic direction and ensuring that its policies and culture aligned with the firm's client-centric business goals. The firm thrived under his leadership, reporting consistent practice expansion, revenue growth and record profitability year after year.

Tom continued to practice law while serving as Chairman, maintaining an active corporate and M&A practice. Tom has drawn on his background in accounting to counsel Fortune 500 companies and closely held businesses alike, with particular emphasis on commercial banks and financial firms. He has served as lead counsel to numerous corporations and their boards of directors, providing advice on corporate governance, transactional matters and regulatory issues. He has led major M&A transactions across the country involving business combinations, joint ventures, stock redemptions, private placements, commercial financings and asset securitizations. Tom is committed to serving his community, having served in various civic and charitable roles.

Corporate Governance

Tom has counseled boards of directors and board committees regarding strategic matters, governance issues, dealing with activist shareholders, fulfilling fiduciary duties and similar matters. He has also provided counsel on proxy contests, anti-takeover devices, hostile takeovers, forced and agreed buyouts and split-ups, internal corporate investigations and issues arising out of majority-minority shareholder relationships.

Corporate Transactions

Tom has advised both public and private companies on mergers, asset and stock acquisitions, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations, securities registrations, private placements and various types of debt financings. In addition, he has counseled clients regarding venture capital, private equity and organizational matters affecting entrepreneurs, investors and start-up ventures.

Regulatory Compliance and Investigations

Serving as lead counsel to public companies, Tom has advised clients regarding compliance with the SEC’s periodic reporting requirements, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statements, Section 16 reports and other such public filings. For issuers and underwriters, Tom has quarter-backed public and private offerings of equity, including IPOs, secondary offerings, high yield bond transactions, leveraged finance and other debt transactions, Rule 144A offerings, and hybrid and asset-backed securities financings. In the financial institutions arena, Tom has advised clients regarding Federal Reserve, FDIC, and various state banking authority regulatory compliance issues.