Kerry O. Irwin

Kerry counsels clients from a variety of industries on numerous corporate matters, including governance, mergers and acquisitions, financing and other transactions, tailoring her approach in each case to meet her client’s specific corporate needs.

She has worked on numerous multi-million-dollar transactions, leading deal teams through negotiations of transaction documents and coordinating all aspects of the transaction from start to finish. Her broad transactional experience also includes drafting a wide variety of complex commercial contracts, including sponsorship agreements, NDAs, master services agreements, operating agreements, and joint venture agreements. Kerry is also a vital resource for clients with questions about risk management strategies and compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.

Having been seconded to serve as interim general counsel at a national distributer of personal protective equipment and uniforms, Kerry has experience working directly with business teams on acquisitions and day-to-day legal matters.

Equine

Kerry provides services to horse industry participants by drawing on her experience representing clients of all equine disciplines in the sale, purchase, and leasing of horses of all breeds and disciplines, as well as advising equine non-profits, horse show operators, boarding, training, and breeding operators, owners, equine veterinarians, and riders. A life-long participant in the horse industry, Kerry’s background and knowledge of the equine industry enables her to anticipate challenges and steer clients toward solutions. Currently a horse owner active in the North Carolina hunter-jumper world, Kerry brings her strong transactional background to equine transactions of all sizes. Whether a client is looking to open a boarding facility, syndicate a show jumper, lease a pony for Pony Finals, import a warmblood from Germany, or sell an equine veterinary practice, Kerry and the Moore & Van Allen team have the industry and legal knowledge to assist.

Kerry’s work extends outside of the racetrack and show ring, as she has been a contributor to various publications and educational forums, including being published in Equine Sales and Use Tax Review and Pony Club News. She has served as a guest speaker at the National Equine Law Conference, and is a former Director of the Kentucky Horse Council and a former hunter/jumper riding instructor at Chatham Hall.

Representative Experience

Corporate

• Represented an energy industry-focused private equity firm in connection with its approximately $114 million acquisition of assets associated with a large metallurgical coal mining operation
• Represented a private equity firm in connection with a $20 million portfolio acquisition of a designer and fabricator of architectural LED lighting fixtures
• Represented a telecommunication construction company with several strategic acquisitions
• Represented major metallurgical coal company in a $420 million acquisition of mining operations in Virginia and West Virginia
• Represented a private equity firm investing $90 million in a mining operation
• Represented major metallurgical coal mining company in an acquisition of assets valued at over $1billion in five states
• Represented optometrists in sale of practice to private equity firm
• Represented aerosol food product development company in its acquisition of a competitor company
• Represented contract packager in the acquisition of the assets of a competitor packaging company
• Represented account wagering companies in acquisition of state licenses and continued regulatory compliance

Equine

• Represented a Private Equity Firm in $150 Million Dollar Financing of a racetrack
• Represented clients in horse farm purchases
• Represented clients of all equine disciplines in the sale, purchase, and leasing of horses of all breeds and disciplines
• Drafted and negotiated boarding agreements
• Drafted and negotiated purchase and sales agreements for racehorses, stallion prospects and show jumpers, hunters and event horses
• Served as outside general counsel for numerous equine non-profits

Notable

• Vice President, Chatham Hall Alumnae Council
• Member, North Carolina Horse Council

News

Affiliations

• Kentucky Bar Association
• North Carolina Bar Association
• North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
• Mecklenburg County Bar Association
• Women Lawyers of Charlotte

Speaking Engagements and Publications

• Speaker, National Equine Law Conference: Sports Betting Update after Christie II, with Laura Holoubek, 2019
• Speaker, Kentucky Bar Association Annual Convention: The Potential Impact of Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association on the Future of Sports Betting in Kentucky, with Laura Holoubek and Dan Kustelski, 2018
• Co-author, “Nonprofit Corporations in Kentucky,” Fourth Edition, published by the University of Kentucky College of Law Office of Continuing Legal Education, 2018
• Co-author, “Kentucky Corporation Law,” Third Edition, published by the University of Kentucky College of Law Office of Continuing Legal Education, 2018