Jennifer Vergilii

Practice Areas

Corporate and Finance

Mergers and Acquisitions, Divestitures and Sales

Corporate Succession Planning

Public Company M&A and Bond Counseling

Commercial Contracts

Investment Management

Career

Jenn Vergilii is a Firm Vice Chair and and a Partner with Calfee’s Corporate and Finance practice group. She counsels public and privately held clients with respect to mergers and acquisitions and a wide range of general corporate and business matters, including corporate governance and all forms of commercial contracts.

Jenn serves all types of clients from start-ups, to closely held family businesses to multi-national public companies in a broad range of industries, including healthcare, energy, chemicals, construction, food services and consumer products.

Serving as the firm's lead liaison to Lex Mundi, a leading network of more than 150 independent law firms and 22,000 attorneys worldwide, positions Jenn well to provide global legal counsel to her international clients.

Jenn is a member of the 2018 Leadership Cleveland class. She was elected to join In Counsel With Women in 2018.

Jenn is a regular presenter at seminars and the author of numerous publications.

Jenn began her tenure with Calfee in 2001 and was elected Partner in 2007. She was elected to the Management Committee in 2021 and was named Firm Vice Chair in 2023. Jenn is a member of the Calfee Women Lead affinity group.

Prior to joining Calfee, Jenn was an Associate with the Chicago law firm of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP and then an Associate with the Des Moines firm of Nyemaster, Goode, Voigts, West, Hansell & O’Brien, P.C.

Professional Memberships

Leadership Cleveland Class of 2018

In Counsel With Women, Member

The Achievement Centers for Cleveland, Executive Committee Member and Board Secretary

Publications

Publications:

“Changing the Course of M&A Practice One Case at a Time,” Mergers and Acquisitions Law 2015 - Top Lawyers on Trends and Key Strategies for the Upcoming Year (January 31, 2015), Bio Body Co-Author

“The Delaware Supreme Court’s ‘ATP Tour’ Decision: Most Observers Overstating Potential Impact on Fee-Shifting Bylaws,” Bloomberg BNA Corporate Law & Accountability Report (August 8, 2014)

“Are Privileged Communications Protected? Ramifications of the Great Hill Case,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (January 27, 2014)

“Don’t Get Pinned Into a Corner: Legal Issues with Pinterest,” Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Bar Journal (January 2014)

“May You Live in Interesting Times,” ACG The Pulse (March 2012)

“Protection Against Fiduciary Claim in a Sale or Merger Transaction,” ABF Journal, “Risk Management Issue” (January-February 2012)

“Recent Trends in Earnout Use: A Cautionary Note,” Deal Lawyers (May 2010)

“Record Retention Policy Helps Insurers, Brokers Avoid Exposures, Assure Clients,” National Underwriter Property & Casualty (November 2009)

“Sarbanes-Oxley Applicable to All,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (June 2006)

Presentations:

M&A Panelist, Women Presidents Organization "Platinum VI" Conference, New York, NY (June 2023)

"How to Make the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act a Little Less Foreign to Your Company – From Due Diligence and Contracts to Codes and Training," Calfee's 20th Annual Litigation Seminar, Cleveland, OH (September 2019)

"Executive Compensation – What Are We Leaving on the Table,” Women’s Leadership Forum (February 2018)

"Women’s Leadership Summit," J.M. Smucker Company (August 2016)

ACG – Great Lakes Women in Transaction Group, Jennifer spoke about the success stories of Calfee and the Cleveland Chapter of the Women in Transactions Group

“Acquiring Middle Market Companies – How We Did It,” Center for Free Enterprise (September 2016)

“Women in Industry: A Progression Through Profession,” Society for Marketing Professional Services Northeast Ohio (April 2014)

“Managing an M&A Process,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Northeast Ohio Chapter (May 2013)

“Maximizing the Value of Your Business and Protecting Its Future Growth,” Female Entrepreneur Summit (April 2012)

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Illinois

Iowa

Ohio

Experience

Jennifer’s considerable expertise includes the following representative transactions and clients:

Served as M&A counsel to a multi-billion dollar privately owned company in its 2024 purchase of a business from a Fortune 500 publicly traded company.

Served as M&A counsel to a privately owned developer of a learning management system in its 2024 sale to a West Coast enterprise management software company.

Served as M&A counsel to a Fortune 500 publicly owned food industry manufacturing company in its 2023 $30 million sale of a business to a private company.

Served as M&A counsel to a publicly traded Fortune 500 food industry wholesaler in its 2023 sale of a line of branded products to one of the largest privately held food importers.

Education

Awards