919.865.2805
dreynolds@wyrick.com
Bio
Don is a trusted advisor to growth companies, and investors, practicing in the areas of capital markets, securities law, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions and corporate law. He joined the firm in 1993, prior to which he practiced at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, the largest law firm in Silicon Valley. Don’s experience ranges from representing start-up companies in their initial organizations and financings to representing companies and underwriters in public offerings, mergers & acquisitions, and SEC reporting and compliance matters. Don has worked on over 130 public offerings, raising over $10 billion in aggregate, and a similar number of mergers and acquisitions, valued in aggregate at over $13 billion.
Don has taught Securities Regulation at Campbell University’s law school and guest lectured on corporate governance at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He chaired the NCBA Securities Regulation Committee from 1997 through 2001 and was on the NCBA Business Council from 2000 through 2003. Don is the only Securities & Corporate Finance attorney outside Charlotte to have been listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers each year since 2007.
Don received his B.A. from Whitman College and his J.D. from New York University School of Law.
- Recognized as a BTI Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting Group (2012)
- Recognized as a leading Corporate/M&A attorney by Chambers USA (2011-2012, 2014-2024)
- Listed among The Best Lawyers in America: Corporate Law, Securities Law, Securities Regulation (2010-2025); Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2014-2025)
- Listed as “Raleigh Best Lawyers Securities Regulation Lawyer of the Year” (2017, 2019)
- Listed as “Raleigh Best Lawyers Mergers & Acquisitions Law Lawyer of the Year” (2015, 2023)
- Listed as “Raleigh Best Lawyers Securities/Capital Markets Law Lawyer of the Year” (2012)
- Listed as “Raleigh Best Lawyers Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year” (2014)
- Listed among Business North Carolina Magazine Legal Elite: Business (2012-2014, 2016, 2022), Business Law (2004), Corporate Counsel (2005, 2013)
- Listed among North Carolina Super Lawyers for Securities & Corporate Finance (2007-2024)
- Named one of Top 100 Super Lawyers in North Carolina (2014-2016)
- Named one of Top 25 Super Lawyers in Raleigh (2014, 2016)
- North Carolina Bar Association
- North Carolina State Bar
- State Bar of California
- The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
- US Rowing, Board of Directors, At-Large Independent Director, Board Secretary, Governance, Ethics & Nominating Committee Chair
- Board Member, Council for Entrepreneurial Development-Coastal, 1997-2000
- Elon University Parents’ Council Member, 2013-2017
- USA Taekwondo, Board Member 2014-2020, Board Chair 2017-2020, Executive Search Committee Chair, Governance Committee Chair and Audit Committee Member
- Associate Class Representative and Alumni Admissions Representative, Whitman College
- WSHA Public Radio Community Advisory Board Chair, 2011-2018
- For 13 years from pre-IPO through its acquisition, attended all Board and committee meetings of a Charleston, South Carolina based SaaS software company listed on Nasdaq and represented that company in its $150 million IPO and subsequent debt and equity offerings for a total of over $1 billion
- Attends all Board and committee meetings of an Austin, Texas based technology company listed on Nasdaq and represents that company as SEC and primary corporate outside counsel
- Attends all Board and committee meetings of a Maryland based specialty pharmaceutical company listed on Nasdaq and represented it on SEC matters, stock offerings raising over $200 million and acquisitions and dispositions valued at a total of over $120 million
- Represented a North Carolina based venture fund/family office in multiple PIPEs (private investments in public equity) totaling $60 million
- Represented an RTP-based drug development company in its $200 million spin-off as a separate Nasdaq-listed entity, attended all of its Board and committee meetings and represented it on SEC matters and in its acquisition for over $1 billion in cash, plus CVR’s (contingent value rights) worth up to an additional $350 million
- Represented a large, global technology company based in the Silicon Valley in 9 acquisitions valued at a total of over $400 million
- Represented a major RTP-based global CRO (contract research organization) on SEC matters and in its $172.5 million IPO and subsequent equity offerings for a total of over $2 billion
- Represented another major North Carolina based CRO as its SEC counsel for the 15+ years it was a public company, and in its sale to private equity firms for $3.9 billion
- Represented a local LED lighting company from inception through 2 rounds of equity financing and its sale to a public company for $107 million
- SEC Adopts Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Rules
- Key ISS and Glass Lewis Voting Policy Updates for 2022
- Client Alert: SEC Approves Nasdaq Board Diversity Listing Rules
- Enforcement of Proxy Advisor Rules Paused Pending Further SEC Review
- Nasdaq Proposes New Listing Rules Aimed at Promoting Board Diversity and Transparency
- SEC Amends Accredited Investor Definition
- SEC Releases Framework for Determining when Blockchain Tokens are Securities
- “Five Questions with Donald Reynolds and Larry Robbins,” North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, July 2023
- “Spotlight on Raleigh, NC,” Chambers Associates, October 2023
- “Lessons in Olympic Sport and Governance,” East Chapel Hill Rotary Club, February 2022
- “Lessons from the Head of the Table,” U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s National Governing Bodies Council, March 2021
- “Securities Law Primer and Updates: Basic Building Blocks, Block Trades and Blockchain,” North Carolina Bar Association Business Section Annual Meeting, 2019
- “Regulatory and Practical Updates on IPO’s and Public Company Responsibilities,” VACO Continuing Professional Education seminar, 2017
- Ernst & Young IPO Readiness event, Cary, NC, May 2016
- “Crowdfunding Symposium,” Campbell University Law School, October 2015
- “Investors, Entrepreneurs, Founders and the JOBS Act,” Charlotte, NC, October 2013
- “The JOBS Act’s Impact on Fundraising: The IPO On-Ramp, Crowdfunding and More,” NCBA Business Law Section Annual Meetings, Pinehurst, NC, February 2013
- Panelist, “Financing Growth,” Nasdaq, Cary, NC, June 2011
- Moderator, “D&O Insurance: Public, Private and Non-Profits, Are You Really Covered?” NACD, RTP, NC, May 2008
- “Exiting No Man’s Land: Getting Yourself Prepared for the Capital Markets,” Morrisville, NC, November 2007
- “Going Public-What Officers and Directors Need to Know,” NACD, RTP, NC, November 2006
- “Making the ‘Tone at the Top’ Ring True: Establishing Ethics through Corporate Governance,” IMA/IAA joint meeting, RTP, NC, October 2004
- “Where Have all the VC’s Gone? A PPM Primer,” Opportunity 2004, Wrightsville Beach, NC, March 2004
- The Art of Advising a High Technology Company, UNC Law School, Chapel Hill, NC, November 2002, 2003
- Moderator, “The Role of the Board in Establishing and Monitoring Corporate Ethics,” National Association of Corporate Directors, Research Triangle Chapter, RTP, NC, February 2003
- “Identifying and Addressing Securities Law Issues,” NC Bar Foundation Basics of Business Law Seminar, Cary, NC, May 2002, April 2000, 1998, 1996
- “PIPEs as a Capital Financing Technique,” RTP, NC, November 2001
- “Initial Public Offerings 2001: Road Map for an IPO,” Durham, NC, March 2001
