Tom Wippman has served as both inside and outside General Counsel for over 30 years for a variety of clients, including private equity firms, independent sponsors, entrepreneurships, and corporations. For much of this time, Tom was a Managing Director and General Counsel at Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with over $5 Billion under management. Tom has been largely responsible for the structure, documentation and negotiation of many of his client’s buyout and sale transactions and follow-on investment activities, as well as working on executive compensation and employment matters. As part of his work, he identified and leveraged best legal practices across broad networks to minimize legal risks and costs and optimize growth. Tom has applied his years of experience in operations, finance, and law in working with clients in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Tom has represented a range of clients including closely-held middle market businesses across the manufacturing, distribution, and service industries Tom has handled operational and transactional matters such as contracts with sales representatives and vendors and product liability matters. He has assisted leading entrepreneurs, high growth companies, and investors through the start-up and capitalization process. Tom’s diverse and in-depth background enables him to add substantial value as he works with teams to identify and maximize growth opportunities while decreasing legal risks. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, sales, and reorganizations, including the use of complex debt and equity arrangements such as warrants, options, and convertible debt. He has also provided hands on management advisory services to business executives dealing with day-to-day operations and strategic issues including structuring and financing investments. Tom received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and A.B. in Economics from the University of Illinois.