Goodwin Poaches SEC Alum Lynn to Lead Public Companies Team

Goodwin Procter is bringing on Morrison & Foerster’s David Lynn to lead its public company advisory practice as the firm looks to build out its regulatory capabilities.

Lynn is a former chief counsel of the corporation finance division at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Washington, D.C.-based lawyer led MoFo’s public company advisory and governance practice.

Lynn advises companies, boards of directors, and underwriters on regulatory matters, securities transactions, and corporate governance.

He was a part of the MoFo capital markets team that advised Arm Holdings plc on its $5.2 billion IPO in September, the largest US-based IPO to date in 2023. He was also a part of the team that represented Silver Crest on its de-SPAC merger with TH International Ltd. for $1.4 billion in 2022.

Goodwin’s public company work is “perfectly aligned” with his background and skill, Lynn said in an interview with Bloomberg Law. He advises clients on everything from accessing capital to dealing with new SEC regulations or disclosure issues, he said.

The firm works with more 600 public companies in various corporate and litigation matters, said Edwin O’Connor, co-chair of Goodwin’s capital markets practice. That gives Goodwin a unique vantage point on issues that arise for companies as they emerge, he said.

The public company advisory practice that Lynn will lead provides advice and support on securities regulation, corporate governance, capital markets, transactions and other regulatory matters.

Lynn spent over a decade at the SEC before heading to Morrison & Foerster in 2008. He jumped to Jenner & Block in 2017, serving as its co-chair of its securities practice before returning to MoFo in 2018.

Lynn’s “expertise is outstanding and really does make him the ideal person to lead our public company advisory practice,” O’Connor said.