Erik R. Daly is a member of the firm’s Corporate/M&A Practice Group and has been practicing corporate law since 2007. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, securities law matters and other significant corporate transactions. He also co-chairs Miller Johnson’s corporate, small business and non-profit pro bono efforts as well as its artificial intelligence committee.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mr. Daly represents both publicly traded companies as well as privately held firms in their M&A initiatives.  He has significant experience with a variety of transaction structures and processes, including mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, tender offers and proxy contests.

When working with public companies, Mr. Daly is knowledgeable about the intersection of mergers and acquisitions activities with securities laws, fiduciary duties and other relevant legal obligations for SEC registrants and exchange-listed companies.  His M&A experience on behalf of public companies includes complex carve-out divestitures, geographically diverse acquisitions and sales (domestic and international) and mergers with other publicly-traded companies.

Mr. Daly is equally experienced and enjoys working with founders, owners and private investors on transactions for closely held businesses.  His representative M&A experience on behalf of privately held companies and private equity investors includes working with PE buyers establishing new portfolio companies, roll-up acquisitions and strategic partnerships.  He also works with family offices making significant private company investments, and has worked with numerous sellers and family businesses on exit transactions.

Mr. Daly is involved and experienced in all phases of the transaction and is an integral part of the firm’s cross-sectional transaction team.  He routinely and collaboratively works with clients’ C-level executives, in-house counsel, financial advisors, accountants, consultants and other professionals.

Securities Law and Corporate Financing

Mr. Daly also advises clients on securities law and corporate financing matters, whether arising independently or in connection with M&A transactions.  His representative experience in these areas includes private placements, venture capital and other exempt offerings, as well as working with publicly-traded companies on registration statements, proxy statements and periodic reports filed with the SEC.

Professional Affiliations, Activities and Honors

Mr. Daly is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the State Bar of Minnesota, the State Bar of Illinois, and the American Bar Association (ABA). He is also a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation, a “global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities.”

Mr. Daly participates in the ABA’s Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and Science and Technology Law Section, with particular interests in artificial intelligence, robotics, neurotechnology and related ethical considerations.  Locally, he is also a member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and the Economic Club of Grand Rapids.

Mr. Daly has previously been recognized by Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A and was identified as a “Rising Star” by Michigan Super Lawyers from 2014-2017.  He was named as a 2023 “Leader in the Law” and a 2022 “Go To Lawyer” for Business Law in Michigan by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.  Mr. Daly has also been recognized in several editions of The Best Lawyers in America for Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities and Capital Markets work.

Personal and Community Activities

Mr. Daly teaches “Law for Executives” as adjunct faculty for the Executive MBA program at Grand Valley State University (GVSU).  He is a member of 100 Businesses Who Care and the Boards of Directors of the GVSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) and Special Olympics Michigan.

Together with a number of Miller Johnson team members, Mr. Daly also provides pro bono corporate law and legal training services to borrowers of Michigan-based Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), graduates of local business training and entrepreneurship programs (including SpringGR, Start Garden and the Michigan Veterans Entrepreneurship Lab), and a variety of non-profit organizations across the State.

Education
Mr. Daly earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Journal on Legislation.  He received his B.S., summa cum laude, from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.  At NYU, he studied finance, economics and mathematics and was class valedictorian.  During law school, Mr. Daly served as an intern in the summer honors program at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  While attending college, he was a resident assistant, worked as an international economics research intern for the Council on Foreign Relations and tutored elementary students through the South Bronx Educational Foundation.