Seidel, William John

Chris Hewitt advises public companies on corporate and securities laws matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, takeover preparedness, corporate governance, corporate counseling, and SEC compliance.

Chris has counseled clients on numerous high-profile transactions, including Macy's acquisition of The May Department Stores Company; the acquisition of Albertsons by a consortium of SUPERVALU, CVS Corporation, and Cerberus Capital Management; the acquisition of The Reader's Digest Association by Ripplewood Holdings; and Triarc Companies' acquisition of Wendy's International.

Other companies for which Chris has worked on substantial matters include Axsys Technologies, Cliffs Natural Resources, CTS, Diebold, National City, and Penton Media.

In recent years, Chris has advised a number of companies in contests for corporate control, including the successful defense by A. Schulman against a proxy solicitation by Barington Capital Partners, the defense of GenCorp against a proxy solicitation by Pirate Capital, the successful defense of Cryo-Cell International against a proxy solicitation by a dissident stockholder, the successful defense by Oglebay Norton against a hostile tender offer by Harbinger Capital Partners, and the successful auction of Lamson & Sessions resulting from Ramius Capital Group's attempt to obtain multiple board seats.

In 2005, Chris was recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the country's leading young attorneys in its annual "40 Under 40" feature, one of only eight attorneys in the 40 who practice corporate law. In 2006, Chris was recognized as an "up-and-coming individual" in corporate/M&A in Chambers USA and was profiled in the "Rising Stars" edition of Ohio Super Lawyers.