Allan Tanenbaum

Counsel

Atlanta, Georgia

Allan Tanenbaum is Counsel to Taylor English’s Corporate and Business Department. 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, and is member of the Nominating/Corporate Governance and Audit Committees of Designer Brand, Inc (“DSW”), a New York Stock Exchange Company, is on the Board of Directors, chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee of Medallion Financial Corp., a Nasdaq company, and formerly chaired the Audit Committee of the American Bar Association, as well as on the Boards of several privately owned corporations and non-profit entities. 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. He has four children and seven grandchildren.

Affiliations

  • ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Needs and Responsibility, Former Commission Member
  • ABA Commission on Partnership Programs, Former Chair
  • ABA Division of Public Education, Former Chair
  • ABA Fund for Justice & Education, Former Chair
  • ABA General Practice Section, Former Chair
  • ABA House of Delegates, Former Georgia Representative
  • ABA Presidential Task Force addressing the unmet legal needs of underserved populations, Former Co-Chair
  • ABA Retirement Funds, Former Board Member and President
  • ABA Standing Committee on Audit, Former Chair
  • Atlanta Bar Foundation, Former President
  • Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justices’ Commission on Public Trust and Confidence, Former Liaison
  • Henry Louis Aaron Fund – Atlanta Braves Foundation, Advisory Board Member
  • Legal Services Corporation, Finance Committee, non-director Member
  • LPGA Foundation, Former National Board Member
  • Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Former National Board Member
  • The Atlanta Technical College Foundation, Board Member and Treasurer
  • The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Director Emeritus
  • The Fellows of the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division, Former Chair
  • The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, Founding Member, Secretary
  • The Southern Education Foundation, Former Board Member

Recognitions

  • State Bar of Georgia Lifetime Achievement Award

Practice Areas

  • Corporate & Business
  • Financial Institutions
  • Government & Internal Investigations
  • Leisure & Hospitality
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurant
  • Retail

Education

  • University of Virginia School of Law, JD
  • Wharton School of Finance & Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania, BS

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia