Casey W. Riggs headshot

Casey W. Riggs

Co-Founder & Member

Casey W. Riggs spends his time on two primary practice areas.
Casey assists individuals and families with estate planning, estate administration, and trust matters.
Casey assists business clients in wide variety of corporate and business matters, such as mergers and acquisitions/sales of businesses, raising capital through venture capital and private debt and equity financings, developing bonus, long-term incentive, and equity/phantom equity plans, entity formation, and other general corporate, contract, and business issues.

For Estate and Trust Matters

Casey has worked extensively with families in estate planning matters, including preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives, and advised on related issues involving tax matters, asset protection, and other unique circumstances. In addition, Casey has served as legal counsel to executors, trustees, and individual beneficiaries in estate and trust administration matters.

For Business Clients

Mergers & Acquisitions

Casey represents both buyers and sellers of small and middle market companies in a variety of industries, including technology, real estate, insurance, financial services, commercial services, and others. Clients look to him for strategic guidance through all stages of the acquisition process, from the letter of intent stage, through due diligence and definitive agreement negotiation, to closing and post-closing matters.

Exit Planning

Business owners planning to sell often ask Casey to get involved early on to help with exit or transition planning. This usually involves income and estate tax planning and making sure the selling business’s legal contracts and affairs are in good order to maximize the value of the business for potential buyers and avoid unexpected issues that can slow down a deal (or in the worst case, kill a deal altogether).

Venture Capital; Capital Raising

Many of Casey’s clients are experiencing rapid growth and need to raise outside capital, which may come from bank financing, friends and family, angel investors, and/or venture capital or private equity funds. Casey guides clients through this process from the term sheet or letter of intent stage through the closing of a financing transaction.

Startup Work

Casey helps startup businesses develop a solid legal foundation at the outset. This work often includes providing advice with respect to entity selection, drafting organizational documents and agreements, making sure clients have appropriate contracts in place (e.g., customer and supplier contracts and contracts with employees and contractors).

Equity Compensation

Frequently, Casey’s clients are seeking creative ways to attract, retain, and compensate key employees. This often includes designing and implementing bonus plans, long-term incentive plans, phantom equity plans, restricted stock/stock option plans, and profits interest plans for limited liability companies. Casey helps clients understand the differences among these types of arrangements and select and implement the plan that is right for them.

Representative Matters

Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Closed an acquisition of a division of a public company in the technology space for approximately $13 million.
  • Closed an acquisition of a staffing business by a strategic buyer valued at approximately $3M, including earnout.
  • Served as co-counsel on acquisition of a software company operating out of India for cash and stock consideration.
  • Closed an acquisition by a private fund of a medical technology company through a cash-out merger.
  • Closed an acquisition of a commercial furniture dealer and installer through a merger transaction.
  • Closed an asset sale to a strategic buyer valued at approximately $20M (depending on post-closing earn-out results and other contingent consideration).
  • Closed an asset sale to a publicly traded, strategic buyer valued at up to $10M (depending on post-closing earn-out results and other contingent consideration).
  • Closed an asset sale of a transportation and logistics company to a private equity buyer valued at approximately $9.5M.
  • Closed the sale of a division of a family-owned business to a strategic buyer for approximately $2 million.
  • Closed the sale of a retail business operating 46 locations to a strategic buyer.
  • Closed the equity sale of an entity operating an employee assistance program to a strategic buyer for approximately $2.5 million.

Venture Capital/Debt and Equity Raises

  • Represented a financial services company in a $200M capital raise through the issuance of debt through a special purpose entity.
  • Represented a financial services company in an $8M capital raise through the issuance of preferred limited liability company interests.
  • Represented a company in a $10M “swing line” from private investors.
  • Represented a staffing company in a $10M capital raise through the issuance of Class A-2 limited liability company interests.
  • Represented a technology company in a $3M Series A-2 financing from two financial services firms and existing Series A-1 investors.
  • Represented a technology company in seed rounds, a Series A round that raised $5.5 million, and a Series B round that raised $17M.
  • Represented several startup companies within and outside the technology sector in early-stage rounds of equity raises, including by issuance of convertible notes and preferred equity.

Equity Compensation Arrangements

  • Represented a financial services company in implementing a wide variety of key employee compensation plans, including short-term and long-term bonus plans, change in control bonus plans tied to equity value, and profits interests plans.
  • Represented a product reseller in developing a key executive employment agreement, unit appreciation rights plan, and short-term bonus plan.
  • Implemented an incentive units/profits interest plan for a technology company.

Estate and Trust Matters

  • Represented many wealthy families with taxable estates in excess of the estate tax exclusion amount with estate planning consisting of Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Healthcare Directives, and Irrevocable SLAT and similar trusts to minimize potential estate taxes
  • Represented numerous owners of closely held businesses in estate planning designed to transition the business to future generations and minimize estate taxes
  • Represented trust companies in various trust matters, including the modification of trusts and having trust accounts judicially approved.
  • Represented clients in modifying irrevocable trusts through nonjudicial settlement, decanting, and other modification agreements
  • Assisted numerous executors with the estate administration process

Contact Information

104 Continental Place
Suite 320
Brentwood, TN 37027
(615) 690-4402
criggs@riggsdavie.com

Practice Areas

Education

Chartered Financial Analyst
(1998)
University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
(J.D. 2003), graduated with honors
University of Tennessee
(B.S. 1995), Finance

Bar Admissions

Tennessee
Kentucky
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