Kerry O. Irwin

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

Kerry has led teams on numerous multimillion-dollar deals, negotiating key transaction documents and managing all aspects of the arrangement from start to finish. Kerry is also a vital resource for clients seeking guidance on risk management strategies and compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.

Clients appreciate Kerry’s accessibility, responsiveness, and willingness to resolve complex issues. They rely on her not only to execute transactions but to proactively identify emerging risks and craft practical, business-minded solutions when challenges arise.

Her secondment as interim general counsel at a national distributer of personal protective equipment and uniforms gave her hands-on experience working closely with business teams on acquisitions and day-to-day legal matters—insight that further deepens her understanding of in-house priorities in healthcare and related industries.

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 has respected background and knowledge of today’s expanding equine market, which enables her to anticipate challenges and steer clients toward solutions. Currently a horse owner active in the North Carolina hunter-jumper world, she 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 her 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, is a former Director of the Kentucky Horse Council, and previously taught hunter/jumper riding classes at Chatham Hall.

Representative Experience

Corporate

• Continued representation of a practice management services company in ongoing add-on acquisitions of women’s healthcare practices, providing corporate and regulatory guidance and advice on general corporate matters
• Represented a practice management services company in series of add-on acquisitions of optometry practices
• Represented a group of single-specialty allergy and asthma practices in its acquisition by a financial sponsor
• Represented optometrists in sale of practice to a sponsor-backed management services platform
• Represented closely-held travel nursing company in equity sale
• Represented physician staffing company in equity sale to strategic investor
• 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 undertaking 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 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 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

• Board of Trustees, Chatham Hall
• Member, U.S. Equestrian Federation, U.S. Hunter Jumper Association, North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association

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