Thompson, Leigh C.

Dennis is a shareholder in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association. He is based in our Minneapolis office and is a member of the Business Law Section. Dennis practices principally in the areas of:

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Corporate finance
• Securities
• Corporate governance
• Business law

In his practice, Dennis serves as outside general counsel to a number of privately held companies, providing counsel and guidance on matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, risk management, business contracts, general corporate law, and shareholder conflict resolution.
 
He has extensive experience negotiating various transactions on behalf of clients. In this capacity, Dennis has handled domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, stock and asset acquisitions, and joint ventures.
 
Dennis also represents clients in a wide range of investment and finance-related activities. He has experience working with private foundations and individual investors in connection with the review of, and investment in, hedge funds and private equity funds throughout the world. He is intimately familiar with the structures and methods used by hedge funds, as well as the unique tax concerns associated with related transactions. Dennis has also represented investment banks and numerous public and private issuers in connection with the offer and sale of both registered and privately placed securities.

Dennis is admitted to practice in Minnesota and Missouri. He has been listed as a “Minnesota Rising Star” in mergers and acquisitions in Minnesota Law & Politics. He currently serves as treasurer of the Business Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), as well as the section's legislative coordinator, in which capacity he facilitates the section's introduction and approval of new legislation. Most recently, he assisted with introducing a bill that would allow nonprofit LLCs to be formed in Minnesota. In addition, Dennis was active for several years on the board of directors of Connect U.S.-Russia, a nonprofit organization (recently dissolved) that promoted relationship building between American entities and Russian counterparts.

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Dennis received a B.A. in political science from Creighton University. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a staff member of the American Criminal Law Review . Dennis is a certified Russian linguist and attended the Defense Language Institute School of Russian in Monterey, California. He joined Briggs in 2007.