Practice Expertise
Areas of Practice
WSG Practice Industries
Profile
Dedicated leadership for clients and colleagues alike
Fred Lautz was a corporate services attorney who guided his clients on myriad business law issues. His focus included mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance and securities, corporate governance matters, buy/sell agreements, executive and equity compensation programs, general operational matters and securities offerings, including public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. He also advised mutual funds and investment advisors on organization and initial registration, board composition and corporate governance matters, regulatory compliance, share distribution structures and relationships, and acquisitions and reorganizations. Fred represented clients of all types and sizes, including:
- Financial institutions
- Mutual funds
- Manufacturers
- Retail and distribution companies
- Professional services companies
As a former managing partner and past member of the firm’s governing Executive Committee, Fred was a central driver of the firm’s client-first culture and helped grow it as a model of 21st century legal services. He was zealous about continuous improvement and considered it essential that Quarles attorneys and business professionals help one another do what was necessary to ensure the firm’s clients could sleep better at night. Fred supervised the firm’s partnership, guided the firm’s strategic and operational growth, and worked hand-in-hand with the firm chair to chart the long-term course for Quarles. Never one to fear change when it was necessary, Fred maintained a singular focus on business objectives, searched out systems that worked and didn’t work, and kept a close eye on developing trends and themes. Ultimately, he viewed himself as a “legally licensed businessman.”
Bar Admissions
- Wisconsin
Education
- University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1985)
- Order of the Coif
- Wisconsin Law Review, senior note and comment editor
- University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (M.E.P.D., 1980)
- Education, emphasis in Mathematics
- University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (B.S., 1975)
- Majors: Math and Physics
Areas of Practice
Professional Career
Articles
- “Inside: Going corporate"
- “Inside: How long can firms tread water without adapting?"
- “Inside: Meet the new normal; same as the old normal"
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