
Patrick Gadson

The Grace Building
1114 Avenue of the Americas
32nd Floor
New York, NY 10036

Patrick’s principal areas of practice are private equity, mergers and acquisitions and shareholder activism. Patrick is the co-head of V&E’s Shareholder Activism practice, which advises public companies in competitive proxy solicitations, strategic investor relations, and corporate governance. He also counsels senior management, boards of directors, investment managers and both private equity and strategic investors in a wide variety of complex business transactions, corporate governance matters, strategic investor relations and other special situations. His experience includes advising clients in connection with shareholder activism related investments, hostile takeovers, public and private M&A transactions, strategic minority investments and corporate capital investments. Prior to joining Vinson & Elkins, Patrick practiced law at a leading shareholder activism law firm and a preeminent corporate law firm in New York City.
Experience Highlights
Synalloy in the defense of the proxy fight by Privet Fund Management and UPG LLC
Comscore in defense of the activism campaign of Starboard Value
Owens Realty Mortgage in its proxy contest defense against Hovde Capital Advisors and Opal Advisors
Continental Grain in its activism campaign with D.E. Shaw against Bunge
Nutrisystem in the defense of the activism campaign of Legion Partners
Sandridge Energy in its proxy contest defense against Carl Icahn and in the defense of the unsolicited bid of Midstates Petroleum
Credentials
- Columbia Law School, J.D., 2011
- Cornell University, B.S., Industrial and Labor Relations, 2006
- Legal 500 U.S., M&A/Corporate & Commercial – Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards, 2020
- New York
- Rankings & AwardsDecember 21, 2020
- Press ReleaseNovember 18, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 17, 2020
- InsightAugust 4, 2020
V&E SEC Update
- Rankings & AwardsJune 16, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsMarch 9, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsJanuary 21, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsDecember 17, 2019
- Press ReleaseDecember 9, 2019
- V&E+May 7, 2019
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 5, 2019
- InsightOctober 8, 2018
V&E Shareholder Activism Update
- Deals & CasesSeptember 28, 2018
- Deals & CasesAugust 2, 2018
- V&E+July 26, 2018
- Press ReleaseFebruary 8, 2018
- “Best & Worst Things a Company Can Do When Approached by an Activist,” 13D Monitor Active Passive Investor Summit, April 16, 2019 (panelist)
- “What to Do When the Barbarians Are At Your Gate: A Shareholder Activism Bootcamp,” National Investor Relations Institute Annual Conference, June 10, 2018 (speaker)
- “Condensed Activism Bootcamp,” Corporate Governance Ohio Chapter Meeting, October 26, 2017 (speaker)
News & Insights
V&E SEC Update