Profile

Allan Tanenbaum is Of Counsel to Taylor English’s Corporate and Business practice group. Mr. Tanenbaum has a broad range of experience in representing public and private companies in financing, mergers and acquisitions, compliance, and corporate governance matters. He has managed public offerings of debt and equity securities, as well as institutional private placements of high-yield securities and venture capital financings. Acquisitions and dispositions have included transactions between public companies, transactions involving small to middle market private companies, and related bank and private financing transactions.

Prior to joining Taylor English, Mr. Tanenbaum was General Counsel to AFC Enterprises, Inc., the franchisor of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Church’s Chicken, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and Cinnabon. Most recently, he co-founded and was Managing Partner and General Counsel of Equicorp Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity and advisory firm specializing in the quick service and fast casual food industry. He was in private practice in Atlanta for more than 30 years, specializing in business transactions.

Mr. Tanenbaum has advised Boards of Directors and Board Committees concerning corporate governance, both under Sarbanes-Oxley and under common law fiduciary principles, and has implemented compliance programs for companies after they have gone public. He has managed a broad variety of litigation and special matters, including shareholder class actions, derivative suits, government investigations and Board Committee investigations, and has experience in alternative dispute resolution, arbitration and mediation, and other innovative approaches to risk management and dispute resolution.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors, chairs the Compensation Committee and is a member of Audit Committee of DSW Shoe Warehouse, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange Company, as well as on the Boards of several privately owned corporations. Mr. Tanenbaum is a frequent lecturer on corporate governance and securities matters to business and professional groups.

He is a native of Savannah, Georgia, and is currently living in Sandy Springs with his wife Elaine. He has four children and four grandchildren.

Memberships

Legal Services Corporation, Finance Committee, non-director Member

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), National Board Member

LPGA Foundation, National Board Member

The Southern Education Foundation, Former Board Member

ABA Standing Committee on Audit 2014–2017

ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Needs and Responsibility, Former Commission Member

ABA Presidential Task Force addressing the unmet legal needs of underserved populations, Co-Chair

ABA Retirement Funds

• Chair-elect
• Investment Committee, Chair

ABA Division of Public Education, Former Chair

ABA Commission on Partnership Programs, Former Chair

ABA General Practice section, Former Chair

The Fellows of the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division, Former Chair

ABA Fund for Justice & Education, Former Chair

ABA House of Delegates, Former Georgia Representative

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justices’ Commission on Public Trust and Confidence, Former Liaison

Atlanta Bar Foundation, Former President

Community Involvement

The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, Founding Member, Secretary

The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Director Emeritus

The Atlanta Technical College Foundation, Board Member

Practice Highlights

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