Lauren A. Brown
Practice Areas
Education
- Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., 2015, summa cum laude
- Washington and Lee Law Review, lead articles editor
- Denison University, B.A., 2010, magna cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
Lauren is an associate in the corporate group in the Vorys Columbus office. She assists both public and private companies in corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, proxy contests, periodic reporting and disclosure (Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reporting and proxy statement disclosure) and corporate governance. Lauren regularly counsels companies on compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and with NYSE and NASDAQ rules.
Additionally, Lauren counsels state instrumentalities and nonprofit corporations on structuring relationships with for-profit and nonprofit organizations, corporate governance and risk management.
Her career highlights include:
Mergers and Acquisitions:
- Represented Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in connection with the Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $350 million aggregate principal amount of 8.75% senior secured notes due 2025
- Represented The Scotts Company LLC in multiple transactions with Monsanto Company relating to The Scotts Company LLC serving as the exclusive agent for Roundup-branded products
- Represented Bob Evans Farms, Inc. in the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Pineland Farms Potato Company, Inc.
- Represented First Defiance Financial Corp. in its $70.3 million acquisition of Commercial Bancshares, Inc.
- Represented NASDAQ-listed Air Transport Services Group, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of PEMCO World Air Services, Inc.
- Represented a private equity investor in various portfolio company investments, ranging from $1 million to $3.4 million
- Represented publicly and privately held companies in buyer and seller side transactions, including multi-step acquisitions of assets and/or equity and mergers, ranging from $1 million to $25 million
Securities Offerings:
- Represented Park National Corporation in connection with its underwritten public offering of $175 million aggregate principal amount of 4.50% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2030
- Represented The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $450 million aggregate principal amount of 4.500% senior notes due 2029
- Represented M/I Homes, Inc. in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 4.950% senior notes due 2028
- Represented M/I Homes, Inc. in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $250 million aggregate principal amount of 5.625% senior notes due 2025
- Represented Worthington Industries, Inc. in connection with its underwritten public offering of $200 million aggregate principal amount of 4.300% senior notes due 2032
Lauren received her J.D. summa cum laude from the Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and a lead articles editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from Denison University.
Professional and Community Activities
- Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) (2019 to present)
- Member of the Central Ohio Regional Advisory Board of Children’s Hunger Alliance (2019 to present)
- Regular volunteer at the Columbus Dream Center
News
- 8/3/2020Vorys recently advised Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary Abercrombie & Fitch Management Co. in connection with the Rule 144A/Regulation S offering.
- 1/23/2020Vorys recently advised M/I Homes, Inc. in connection with its Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 4.950% senior notes due 2028.
- 10/11/2019Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP recently advised Worthington Industries, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of Heidtman Steel Products, Inc.’s pickling and slitting facility located in Cleveland.
- 8/3/2017
- 7/28/2017Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP recently advised Worthington Industries, Inc. in connection with its underwritten public offering of $200 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.300% Notes due 2032.
- 10/30/2015Vorys is pleased to welcome seven new first-year associates to the firm. Christopher LaRocco joined the Columbus office; Lauren Brown, Timothy Dougherty and Laura Erdman joined the Cincinnati office; Natalia Cabrera joined the Cleveland office; and Andrew Gordon-Seifert and Brian Simmons joined the Akron office.
Events
- 1/25/2021Vorys attorney Lauren Brown hosted a webinar for Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) where she shared how women can remove the self-imposed barriers that prevent pursuing goals and adopting new mindsets.
Insights
- 1/12/2021Even in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff continued to update and streamline disclosure requirements applicable to public reporting companies.
- 1/4/2021In what has been heralded by some as a major step towards combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and financial fraud, and by others as a sweeping intrusion on privacy and a burden on small businesses, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted on January 1, 2021
- 10/12/2020Members of the Vorys M&A and Private Equity Groups authored a white paper that addresses attorney-client communication issues in M&A and more.
- 11/21/2018On November 19, 2018, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) released updates to its proxy voting guidelines for 2019 (2019 Updates).
- 11/21/2017On November 16, 2017, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) released updates to its proxy voting guidelines for 2018 (2018 Updates). The 2018 Updates are effective for shareholder meetings on or after February 1, 2018. This alert summarizes the highlights of the 2018 Updates.
- 10/17/2017On October 12, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to various items of Regulation S-K that are intended to (1) modernize and simplify certain disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K and related rules and forms and (2) improve the readability and navigability of disclosure documents and discourage repetition and disclosure of immaterial information.
- Fall 2016The landscape of collateral requirements for public fund deposits by state and local public entities is changing.
- 6/17/2016On June 10, 2016, six agencies that regulate financial institutions (FDIC, SEC, OCC, Federal Reserve Board, National Credit Union Administration, and Federal Housing Finance Agency) jointly proposed regulations regarding incentive compensation for financial institutions.
- Spring 2016As the longest awaited sequel in years, financial regulators have finally revealed their revised interagency proposal to restrict incentive-based compensation arrangements for executives at financial institutions. In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act obligated six agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to establish rules prohibiting incentive-based compensation arrangements that would encourage inappropriate risk-taking.