Robert Hayward was honored as the “Lawyer of the Year (Chicago Capital Markets/Securities Law)” by The Best Lawyers in America in 2015 and 2019, and “IPO Lawyer of the Year in Illinois” by Global Law Experts in 2020, and helps lead the team that has been awarded “Capital Markets Practice Group of the Year” by Law360.
His practice primarily involves counseling publicly-traded corporations and leveraged buyout and private equity funds and their portfolio companies in all aspects of transactional, M&A, securities law, corporate governance, executive compensation, stockholder activism and general corporate matters. Robert has extensive experience representing issuers in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities (especially IPOs and acquisition financing), buyers and sellers in public and private M&A and leverage buyout transactions and issuers and investors in PIPE, venture capital and other private financing transactions.
In addition, Robert regularly advises publicly traded corporations, including The Boeing Company, Deere & Co., Kellogg Company, Whirlpool Corporation, Carvana Co., Express, Inc., U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc., Tenneco Inc., Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc., and their executive officers and directors on corporate governance, SEC compliance and disclosure matters, proxy access, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, special investigations, stockholder activism and proposals, executive compensation and fiduciary duties of directors and officers.
In 2011 and 2012, Robert was named to The Directorship 100 by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) for his influence and leadership in the boardroom.
He is annually listed in Best Lawyers in America (Securities; Capital Markets; and Securities Regulation) and in The Legal 500 U.S. for Capital Markets. Robert has been named as one of the “Who’s Who Legal 100” by The International Who’s Who of Capital Markets Lawyers. In 2010, he was recognized as one of the leading public company corporate lawyers under the age of 40 (Law360’s “Rising Star”). He is also recognized by his peers as a “Leading Lawyer” in the areas of corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, publicly held corporations and securities & venture finance by the Leading Lawyers Network.
Robert is a co-author for the treatise “A Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules” (updated annually). Robert also co-authored numerous articles which have appeared in Insights: The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor; Corporate Counsel, The Venture Capital Review and others. Robert is a contributing author to Jack S. Levin’s five-volume “Mergers, Acquisitions and Buyouts” treatise and “Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Transactions” treatise (updated annually). Robert has been quoted or featured in Board Member Magazine, The Deal, The Daily Deal, The American Lawyer, Law360, IR Magazine and others.
Robert annually serves as the Co-Chair of the “SEC Hot Topics” seminar in Chicago and is a frequent panelist at leading M&A, securities and public company seminars, including the Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Conference.
