Joel N. Ephross, P.C.

practices in the area of corporate law with an emphasis on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and physical and financial trading. He serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Project Development/P3 industry group. He has structured debt transactions, including project finance; real estate lending; leveraged and non-leveraged lease financings; structured finance; asset securitization; bankruptcies and reorganizations; letters of credit; and credit enhanced transactions, including advising buyers and sellers on CFIUS-related issues. He has worked in all aspects of commercial real estate, including leases, acquisitions and divestitures, mortgages and easements. Mr. Ephross has substantial experience in all aspects of energy and natural resources, including mining, oil and gas leases, oil field services, midstream and power generation. He has experience in connection with domestic and cross-border transactions, including advising buyers and sellers on CFIUS-related issues. Mr. Ephross' practice includes corporate governance matters, including advising on issues of fiduciary responsibilities and Sarbanes-Oxley matters, and has represented special committees conducting investigations and advising on strategic alternatives.

Mr. Ephross is a 1993 magna cum laude graduate of South Texas College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Lytae. He holds an M.B.A. from Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business, and is a graduate of Yale University.

Resume

Experience

•Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2012-present
- Special Counsel, 2005-2011
•Enron Corp.
- Assistant General Counsel, 2002-2005
- Senior Counsel, 2000-2002
•Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
- Associate, 1993-2000
•Panhandle Eastern Corporation (formerly Texas Eastern Corporation)
- Senior Analyst, 1987-1992
•Energy Planning, Inc.
- Senior Analyst, 1986
•Horne Strategies, Inc.
- Analyst, 1985

Honors and Awards

•Recipient, American Lawyer, Global Finance Deal of the Year in Project Finance, Global Legal Awards, New York, 2015

•Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Banking and Finance Law Category, 2016-2020

•Listed as one of Texas' Top Rated Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell
•AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected Speaking Engagements

•Speaker, Innovation Across Borders: Strategies for U.S. and Chinese Companies in the Health Sciences Industry, Duane Morris LLP and Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association (USA), January 8, 2019

•Speaker, Mastering Acquisitions and Buyouts, KPMG Learning Executive Education, November 4-5, 2013
•Panelist, Credit Conditions and a Look to the Future, ACG InterGrowth 2012 - ACG Middle Market Growth Track, April 26, 2012

Publications

Selected Publications

•Co-author, LIBOR Set to End by 2021, Duane Morris Alert, August 2, 2017
•Featured in Duane Morris Houston Lawyer Leads Quanta Services' Team on $1B Deal, Texas Lawyer, May 8, 2015
•Author, Structuring Indemnity Agreements for Private Equity Portfolio Funds, ACG Private Capital Review Newsletter, July 2012
•Author, When Control Creates Private Equity Fund Liability, ACG Private Capital Review Newsletter, June 2012
•Co-author, The Arithmetic of Shale Gas, LSU Journal of Energy Law & Resources, Vol. I, No. 2, Fall 2013
•Co-author, SBA Rules: Investment Funds Can Now Be Majority Owners of SBIR Companies, Duane Morris Alert, February 22, 2013; republished by VCExperts, March 13, 2013
•Co-author, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010: Congress Enacts Sweeping Financial Reform, Duane Morris Alert, August 24, 2010
•Co-author, U.S. Financial Reform: The Regulation of Derivatives and Swap-Trading Provisions, Duane Morris Alert, August 24, 2010
•Co-author, U.S. Financial Reform: Modifications to the U.S. Federal Reserve's Emergency Lending Authority, Duane Morris Alert, August 24, 2010
•Co-author, Modifications to Press-Release Requirements for NASDAQ-Listed Companies, Duane Morris Alert, April 1, 2010
•Co-author, So Long, U.S. GAAP, Financial Week, July 28, 2008
•Co-Author, Sarbanes-Oxley at Five: Does SOX Section 402's Prohibition on Personal Loans to Officers and Directors Extend to Business Investment Arrangements? Securities Litigation Report, Vol. 4, No. 8, September 2007
•Co-author, Corporate Governance Feature: The Disney Decision and Distinctions Between Officers' and Directors' Fiduciary Duties Under Delaware and California Law, M&A Lawyer, Vol. II, No. 5, May 2007