Michael Best is pleased to announce the addition of Aaron W. Barker to the Corporate Practice Group and Venture Best®, the firm’s team dedicated to helping high-growth entrepreneurs. He joins as a Partner in the Austin office and Head of Venture Best, Texas.
“Aaron is an incredibly accomplished lawyer whose leadership is demonstrated through his involvement in the region’s increasingly active venture capital and start-up scene,” says Shawn Stigler, Partner and Co-Chair of the Venture Best Group. “His entrepreneurial spirit matches that of our current Venture Best team and our clients, and I look forward to adding him to our roster of talented attorneys.”
With more than 15 years of experience, Barker counsels technology, life science, consumer brands, and other emerging growth companies and their boards from incorporation through exit. He focuses his practice on equity and debt financing transactions, private equity and venture capital investments, as well as a wide variety of strategic transactions including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, spinouts, and buying and selling assets. He additionally advises clients on general corporate law and governance matters, and he has also assisted public companies with public offerings, SEC compliance and reporting obligations.
“Austin is known to be a hub for startups and emerging businesses, and Aaron’s extensive experience in counseling clients in this space will greatly benefit these emerging companies,” said Rick Ressler, Managing Partner of the firm’s Austin office.
Prior to joining Michael Best, Barker served as the Chair of the Emerging Companies Group at a midsize law firm. Outside of his practice, Barker is a member of the Texas State University Liberal Arts Advisory Board and has previously served on the board of the Ascend Center for Learning, now known as The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas.
Barker received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif and was Associate Editor at the Texas Law Review. He earned his B.S., cum laude, from Texas State University - San Marcos.