Erin Joyce Letey
Principal
Erin has been providing valuable business advice to Pacific Northwest companies since she joined Riddell Williams in 2000. As a member of the firm’s Corporate Transactions and Finance practice group, she advises business owners and senior executives on major corporate events, from business formation through sale. She has significant experience providing publicly traded and privately held businesses with advice and structuring assistance in a variety of critical corporate transactional matters, including:
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Public and private offerings of securities
- 1934 Exchange Act reporting
- Corporate governance
- Contract drafting and negotiation
Erin also has experience assisting nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations with legal issues such as formation and dissolution, application for federal tax exemption, nonprofit governance, and mergers.
Representative Transactions and Industries Served
Beer and Wine
- Represented Redhook Ale Brewery (Nasdaq: HOOK), the largest craft brewer in the Pacific Northwest, in its merger with Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
- Negotiated Master Distributor Agreement and Exchange and Recapitalization Agreement with Anheuser-Busch on behalf of Redhook
Entertainment
- Multiple private equity financings for Shadowcatcher Entertainment, LLC, a Seattle-based independent film and television production company
Health Care
- Represented Assured Capital Partners and its subsidiary, Northwest Healthcare Alliance, Inc., a high quality provider of home health and hospice care, in the sale of Assured to LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG)
Hospitality
- Represented Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH), a northwest-based full service hotel and hospitality company, in a $64 million public offering of common stock
- Represented Red Lion Hotels Corporation in a $52 million public offering of trust preferred securities
Manufacturing
- Represented Premier Industries, Inc., a closely held northwest-based manufacturing company, in the sale of its Insulfoam and Premier Building Systems divisions to Carlisle Syntec, a subsidiary of Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL)
- Represented Premier Industries, Inc. in the sale of its Premier Plastics division to Captive Plastics
Technology
- Represented Saber Consulting, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions to state and local government entities, in connection with an equity investment by Accel-KKR
Education and Admissions
Erin received her B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Oregon in 1996 and her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in June, 2000. She is admitted to practice n Washington.
Memberships
King County Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association
Professional and Community Activities
Erin is the acting President and board member of Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations (WAACO), a nonprofit corporation that helps provide pro bono legal representation to nonprofit organizations and low-income microentrepreneurs.
Erin also serves as pro-bono corporate counsel for Families with Children from China—NW chapter, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the WSBA Business Law Section.
Awards and Recognition
Erin has been named a Rising Star® by Washington Law & Politics magazine.
Publications and Presentations
Securities Law Issues in Real Estate Fund Formation. Real Estate Joint Ventures and Funds CLE, Law Seminars International, February 8 and 9, 2010
Washington Corporate Law Overview. Washington CLE Bootcamp, December 8, 2009
Nonprofit Board Governance and the New Form 990, February 4, 2009
Back to School: Basics in Board Governance. October 8, 2008
Policyholders’ D&O Coverage Issues After Enron/Worldcom, Business Law Section Newsletter, Washington State Bar Association, Spring 2003
A Review of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Washington Corporate Forms, 2d Ed., November 2002
