John N. Kurowski is Senior Counsel and Chairman of the Corporate/Finance Department. John has practiced law in Wisconsin for over 15 years. John grew up in Milwaukee and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. John received his Bachelor of Arts degree (with distinction) in 1991, majoring in Political Science, and his law degree (cum laude) in 1994. While in law school, John was an associate editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Prior to joining Erhard & Payette, John practiced in the business organization department of Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, S.C., where he was a member of the legal opinions committee and the product and distribution team.

John's main practice areas are general business and corporate law and business transactions. John has served as counsel to a wide range of business clients, including individuals and public and privately held companies ranging from manufacturers to financial institutions and service organizations. John has acted as a trusted advisor on a wide variety of corporate matters, including transactions such as mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, securities law, complex contractual issues and matters related to corporate governance and operations including business records, employment agreements and shareholder/ownership concerns. John also has significant experience advising clients on noncompetition agreements and confidentiality agreements.

John has spoken to business and professional audiences on corporate issues, most recently on issues of records retention and disposal.

Some examples of John's experience in assisting business clients include: (A) Helping a client in the finance business to acquire venture capital financing, enabling the client to expand operations and restructure its ownership; (B) Selling a manufacturing company to a management group on behalf of a client, enabling the client to achieve the goal of maintaining local ownership for the business; (C) Acquiring a manufacturing company on behalf of a venture fund client in a transaction that also involved venture capital and bank financing components; (D) Assisting in the purchase and sale of hotels and resorts; (E) Assisting a client with the selection of an appropriate investment banking firm to assist with the marketing and sale of the company and participating in the legal and other aspects related to such processes; (F) Working with a manufacturing client to develop records management policies and procedures to reduce the client's exposure to future risk; and (G) Drafting model noncompete and confidentiality agreements to assist clients in a variety of contexts, including the sale of businesses.

John is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association (Business Law Section) and the State Bar of Wisconsin (Business Law Section). John currently serves on Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Association of Southeastern Wisconsin and is a member of the Communications Committee and Human Resources/Finance Committee for that organization. In his free time, John enjoys golf, fishing, scuba diving and attending sporting events.

• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Financing Arrangements
• Business Ownership and Governance
• Negotiating and Drafting Business Agreements, including Employment and Consulting Agreements, Confidentiality and Noncompete Agreements, License Agreements, Stay Put Agreements, Manufacturing, Supply and Sales Representative Agreements, and Terms and Conditions for Standard Purchase and Sales Forms