Practices:

• Corporate
  • Governance Center
  • Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Payments

Industries

• Financial Services
• Health Care
• Payments

Experience

Anthony M. Balloon concentrates his practice on general corporate counseling of both public and privately-held companies. He focuses on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions. Having returned to the Atlanta office in 2008 after nearly two years in the firm’s Brussels office, Mr. Balloon has significant experience with complex international acquisitions.

Mr. Balloon also counsels clients in implementing best practices corporate governance and compliance programs and assists clients in need of special independent review/investigation services. 

Mr. Balloon has represented corporate clients in a diverse set of industries, including banking and finance, transaction processing, defense/aerospace, telecommunications, food and beverage and technology consulting. 

In addition to his corporate counseling experience, Mr. Balloon has provided assistance in two cases heard in the United States Supreme Court:

• Lapides vs. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
• Henson vs. Syngenta Crop Protection, 537 U.S. 28 (2002)

Prior to joining McKenna Long & Aldridge, Mr. Balloon clerked for the Honorable Frank M. Hull of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. While in law school, Mr. Balloon was a Robert W. Woodruff Fellow in Law, served as an Articles Editor for the Emory Law Journal, and was elected to membership in the Order of the Coif. In June 2002, Balloon was selected by the Fulton County Daily Report as a lawyer "On the Rise" in the Atlanta legal profession.

Notable Engagements

Representation of one of the top ten U.S. financial institutions in: establishing, de novo, a licensed banking institution in Europe; the regulatory and tax driven restructuring of its pan-European operations (with substantial physical operations in each of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the U.K.); and preparing various business lines for roll-out within all the countries of the European Economic Area.

Representation of the purchaser in the acquisition of a European division from the world's then largest financial institution. This division conducted business across Europe with physical operations spread over four jurisdictions.

Representation of a top 5 U.S. merchant acquirer in multiple bank merchant portfolio acquisitions.

Representation of a private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois in connection with: its leveraged acquisition of a ticket and label printing company, and its execution of a "roll-up" strategy in the industrial services industry through multiple acquisitions.

Reviewed compliance programs of Fortune 100 Corporations and recommended extensive modifications to Boards which were accepted and implemented.

Represented Nasdaq company in a Section 10 A investigation requested by external auditor. The investigation provided comfort to the auditors and convinced them that no illegal acts had occurred, and that accounting treatment was correct, averting negative publicity.

Education

• J.D., Emory University School of Law, with high honors, 2002; Order of the Coif
• B.S., University of Florida, Fisher School of Accounting, with honors, 1999

Admitted

• Georgia