
Megan N. Gates
Member / Co-chair, Securities & Capital Markets Practice
+1.617.348.4443
Megan guides public companies through structuring and implementing capital-raising transactions, SEC reporting compliance and corporate governance obligations, and strategic mergers and acquisitions. With a specific passion for the life sciences industry, Megan has over 25 years of experience in the biotechnology field. Her counseling is directly informed by a client-focused perspective she gained during a prior in-house counsel role with a global laboratory and analytical instrument maker.
Megan is Co-chair of the Securities & Capital Markets Practice Group and former member of the Firm's Policy Committee. She concentrates her practice on providing counsel to public companies with respect to public and private equity financings, merger and acquisition transactions, and compliance and disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Megan frequently advises clients on corporate governance matters, including compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. She also has extensive experience with tender offers, exchange offers, and going-private transactions.
Megan frequently speaks at conferences on securities offerings, corporate governance, and compliance matters, including at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) panels and industry meetings.
Before joining the firm, Megan served as associate general counsel for Thermo Electron Corporation, where she was responsible for securities offerings and compliance for the corporation and its 23 publicly traded subsidiaries.
Education
- Boston College (JD)
- Wellesley College (BA)
Experience
Merger & Acquisition Transactions
- Represented OvaScience in its merger with Millendo Therapeutics, Inc.
- Represented Albireo Pharma, Inc. in its merger with Biodel Inc.
- Represented ChyronHego Corporation in its $120 million acquisition by Vector Capital Partners
- Represented Chyron Corporation in its acquisition of Hego Aktiebolag
- Represented Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. in its $600 million acquisition by PerkinElmer Corporation
- Represented Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. in its $164 million acquisition by Pfizer Inc.
- Represented Targacept, Inc. in its merger with Catalyst Biosciences, Inc.
- Represented RegenMedTX, LLC in its acquisition by a private equity firm
- Represented EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. in its acquisition of Bioceros Holding B.V.
Securities Offerings
- Represented Bank of America – Merrill Lynch in a $138 million follow-on offering by Puma Biotechnology, Inc.
- Represented OvaScience, Inc. in a $50 million follow-on offering
- Represented OXiGENE, Inc. in multiple follow-on offerings
- Represented MELA Sciences, Inc. in a $10 million follow-on offering
- Represented NeuroMetrix, Inc. in multiple follow-on offerings
- Represented Coley Pharmaceutical Group in its $102.6 million initial public offering
- Represented Targacept, Inc. in its $40.7 million initial public offering
- Represent H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC in multiple follow-on offerings by biotechnology issuers
Recognition & Awards
- Recommended by The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare: Life Sciences (2020); Capital Markets: Equity (2020)
- Casa Myrna: Recipient of Norman Knight Charitable Foundation Award (2014)
- Women’s Business Boston: Top 10 Corporate Lawyers (2010)
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly: Top Women of Law (2010)
- Phi Beta Kappa
Involvement
- Member, Boston Bar Association Council
- Corporate Board Committee, The Boston Club
- Life Sciences Council, Springboard Enterprises
- Board of Directors, Wellesley College Business Leadership Council
- Board of Directors, Greater Boston Legal Services
- Curriculum Committee, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE)
- Board of Directors, Pine Street Inn, a nonprofit organization that is New England’s largest resource for homeless men and women
- Co-chair, Boston Bar Foundation John & Abigail Adams Benefit (2016)
- Past Chair, Board of Directors, Casa Myrna, a nonprofit organization located in Boston that is working to end domestic violence in the lives of women and children
- Past Co-chair, Boston Bar Association Business Transactions Section and Securities Law Committee
Languages
- Japanese
Viewpoints
Preparation for 2020 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2021 Annual Shareholder Meetings
January 21, 2021 | Advisory | By Megan Gates, John Condon, Daniel T. Kajunski, Anne Bruno
SEC Whistleblower Complaints Swell to a Flood: How to Find the High Ground of Sound Compliance
June 9, 2020 | Alert | By Adam Sisitsky, Megan Gates, Bryan J. Jennings
Preparation for 2019 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2020 Annual Shareholder Meetings
January 23, 2020 | Advisory | By Megan Gates, John Condon, Anne Bruno
Preparation for 2018 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2019 Annual Shareholder Meetings
January 29, 2019 | Advisory | By Anne Bruno, Megan Gates
Updating Risk Factor Disclosures in 2019 Annual Reports
January 8, 2019 | Video | By Megan Gates
SEC Amends Definition of “Smaller Reporting Companies” (SRCs) to Increase the Number of Companies that Qualify for Scaled Disclosures
August 14, 2018 | Advisory | By Megan Gates
Preparation for 2017 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2018 Annual Shareholder Meetings
January 30, 2018 | Advisory | By Pamela Greene, Anne Bruno, Megan Gates
U.S. IPO Market: Can We Bounce Back From Two Slow Years?
May 17, 2017 | Blog | By Megan Gates, Sahir Surmeli
Preparation for 2016 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2017 Annual Shareholder Meetings
January 24, 2017 | Advisory | By Megan Gates, Pamela Greene
Changing World of Raising Capital
September 15, 2016 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Megan Gates
News & Press
Mintz Practice Groups and Attorneys Garner Top Rankings in 2020 Edition of The Legal 500 United States
June 12, 2020
Reverberations of the gov't shutdown felt by Mass. businesses
January 17, 2019
Mintz’s Megan Gates to Speak at 2017 Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting
October 12, 2017
SEC Fines Audit Firm for 'Personal Relationships'
October 11, 2016
Various Ways to Raise Capital
September 13, 2016
Mintz Attorney Megan N. Gates to Speak on IPO Preparedness Panel
September 13, 2013
Events
ESG 101: Emerging Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Issues for Boards
View the Webinar Recording
