Nilene R. Evans is Of Counsel in the New York office of Morrison & Foerster. Ms. Evans’ practice involves acting as counsel for domestic and foreign, public and privately held companies, advising them on issues ranging from securities offerings and ongoing disclosure obligations to strategic planning, employment and licensing agreements and acquisitions and dispositions. She has extensive experience acting as underwriters’ and issuer’s counsel for initial and subsequent public and private equity and debt offerings, including PIPEs (private investment in public equity). Ms. Evans also has had substantial experience over the years in fast paced “shelf” public and Rule 144A offerings by major corporations, including real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Some of Ms. Evans’ significant transactions as underwriters’ counsel include the initial public offering and several subsequent public offerings of one of the then fastest growing physicians’ management companies in the United States, a combined equity and convertible notes offering for an Internet bank, the actual and a proposed public offering of two Israeli technology firms, the spin off by means of a public offering of the entire interest of a major insurance company in its reinsurance subsidiary, the initial U.S. public offering of one of the largest Israeli supermarket chains, and the combined senior note and common stock offering for a major international construction and engineering firm that had not publicly offered any securities in over 30 years. She has represented a significant U.S. holder of mezzanine debt instruments in the sale of such assets to a publicly traded mortgage REIT and its related equity investment in such REIT. Ms. Evans was also involved in structuring a proposed spin off of the Israeli operations of a Dutch company with significant operations in the United States and England, represented the company in a complex industrial development bond reorganization and acted as company counsel in numerous private acquisitions and sales of companies.

Ms. Evans has made presentations on due diligence in REIT transactions, Rule 10b5-1 plans, “Navigating Troubled Waters – A General Counsel’s Role When Times are Difficult,” “Fiduciary Duties of Officers & Directors - Hot Again?” and other securities and corporate law issues, particularly the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Ms. Evans received a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law in 1979 where she was a member of the Annual Survey of American Law. She graduated, magna cum laud e, from Brown University in 1976. Ms. Evans’ most recent affiliation prior to joining the firm was with the New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Ms. Evans is a member of the New York State and City bar associations.