DJM-white-background-headshot-300x300
DJM-white-background-headshot-300x300

David J. Morris

David Morris is a capital partner and Chair of the Corporate & Securities Group. David practices in the areas of corporate and securities, corporate finance and investment management.

David concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, fund formation, securities, banking and finance, trading and commodities law, emerging growth companies and general corporate matters. He also serves as outside general counsel to start-up, emerging growth and middle market companies in a wide variety of industries.

David has significant experience in the investment management, proprietary trading and commodities law areas and represents private investment funds (hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds and real estate funds), broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, and other investment management and proprietary trading industry participants.

Additionally, David has extensive experience in bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy workouts and restructurings. In this capacity, he represents buyers and sellers of distressed assets and counsels operating companies with respect to insolvency matters, reorganizations and assignments for the benefit of creditors. He also represents investment funds, bankruptcy trustees and other parties in connection with restructurings, asset monetization and liquidations.

David is active in the Association for Corporate Growth, the Economic Club of Chicago, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Chicago, and the Anti-Defamation League’s Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Board.  He previously served as an Adjunct Professor in the Entrepreneurship Law Center at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.  Before joining Fox Swibel, David was general counsel and managing director of a private equity, investment banking and proprietary trading firm where he was responsible for structuring, negotiating and documenting a broad range of transactions.  Prior to entering private practice, he worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.

David has been named a Leading Lawyer in closely & privately held business law, mergers & acquisitions law, and securities & venture finance law by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Only lawyers who are most often recommended by their peers in the statewide surveys are included in Leading Lawyers Magazine.

David has been selected for inclusion in The 2024 Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Corporate Law.

Recent Publications

Expansion of the Corporate Transparency Act Enhances Reporting Requirements

By David J. Morris Updated 12/11/2023 Enacted into federal law in January of 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA") established information reporting requirements for reporting companies. Reporting companies include (1) corporations, limited liability companies ("LLC's") or other entities created through ...
Read More

Best Lawyers in America© 2024

Fox Swibel is proud to announce twenty-one attorneys have been named in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, the oldest, most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, accounting for over a third of our attorneys. Please ...
Read More

Legislation Clarifies Federal Exemption for M&A Brokers

Image Source - Shutterstock While M&A brokers previously faced uncertainty with respect to federal broker-dealer registration requirements, a new statute provides a clear and unambiguous exemption based on specified, limited activities.  M&A brokers received an unanticipated but welcome surprise in ...
Read More

SEC Adopts Series of Modernizing Amendments to Definition of “Accredited Investors”

  Image Source - Shutterstock On August 26, 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted certain amendments (the “Amendments”) to the definition of an “accredited investor” as defined by Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 (the ...
Read More

Main Street Lending Program: Federal Reserve, Treasury Department Create New Lending Facility, Release Updated Program Terms and FAQ’s

Main Street Lending Program: Federal Reserve, Treasury Department Create New Lending Facility, Release Updated Program Terms and FAQ’s May 21, 2020   Image Source - Shutterstock This Client Alert relating to the Main Street Lending Program (the “MSLP”) has been ...
Read More

SBA, Treasury Department Warn Businesses to Carefully Consider Whether PPP Loan is Necessary

Image Source - Shutterstock On April 23, 2020, the Treasury Department, in collaboration with the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”), released guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).  The potentially most significant aspect of the FAQ’s is the ...
Read More

Main Street Lending Program: Federal Reserve, Treasury Department Take Action to Combat COVID-19

Image Source - Shutterstock Pursuant to its mandate from Congress to promote maximum employment, stable prices and market stability, the Federal Reserve announced on April 9, 2020, that it is taking measures to provide up to $2.3 trillion to further ...
Read More

CARES Act: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Click to Go to Answer: When can my business submit an application for an SBA 7(a) loan from the Paycheck Protection Program? For purposes of calculating "payroll costs," should a business include compensation paid to independent contractors? Is a portfolio ...
Read More

Summary of Legislation and Rulemaking Impacting Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

Summary of Legislation and Rulemaking Impacting Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Apr 1, 2020 Image Source - Shutterstock The impact of COVID-19 has affected everyone in the United States.  In response to the widespread economic consequences suffered by small businesses ...
Read More

Summary of Federal, State of Illinois and City of Chicago Grant and Loan Programs to Assist Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

Summary of Federal, State of Illinois and City of Chicago Grant and Loan Programs to Assist Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Mar 31, 2020   Image Source - Shutterstock Businesses around the world are facing significant adverse consequences due to ...
Read More
Scroll to Top