Joseph P. Richardson’s practice focuses on corporate finance and securities, mergers and acquisitions, banking, business and corporate governance issues. Mr. Richardson has substantial experience in representing issuers in initial public offerings, secondary offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities. He has represented underwriters in public offerings and placement agents in private placements of equity and debt securities. Mr. Richardson counsels corporations and executives in a broad range of issues affecting public companies including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, corporate governance, insider trading compliance programs and executive compensation issues. His clients include startup and established companies engaged in a wide range of industries including computer software and hardware, systems integration, air transportation, portable storage, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, biomedical research, technical education, and equipment leasing and financing.

Mr. Richardson’s practice also encompasses aircraft acquisition transactions, and he has been involved in financing and lease transactions covering more than US$5 billion of commercial aircraft and business jets, both for certificated air carriers and private businesses.

Mr. Richardson is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2009 and The Best Lawyers in America 2010. He is recommended for corporate matters and mergers and acquisitions in Arizona by PLC Which lawyer? Yearbook 2009 and appears in PLC Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook 2008/2009. He was also selected by his peers as a Southwest Super Lawyer in a survey distributed by Law & Politics magazine.

Representative Experience

• Serving as issuer’s counsel in initial public offerings ranging from US$20 million to US$290 million.
• Serving as counsel to the issuer in a Rule 144A sale of US$150 million of notes.
• Advising in public debt transactions including exchange offers, redemptions and repurchase transactions.
• Advising in asset sale and merger transactions by public and private companies involving transactions ranging from US$15 million to US$700 million.
• Representing issuers, venture capital firms and private investors in private placement financings involving equity and debt securities in transactions up to US$150 million.