Michael Hardy Bio

Michael C. Hardy is a partner in Duane Morris' Corporate Practice Group and Chair of the firm's Private Equity Division. He is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Baltimore office and a member of the firm's governing Partners Board. Mr. Hardy’s practice focuses on representing capital providers and growth companies in connection with their most important transactions. He advises clients in connection with complex equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions both domestically and internationally. Mr. Hardy has extensive experience advising private equity sponsors, private credit funds, and portfolio companies funded by private capital across a broad range of industries. Mr. Hardy's private capital clients include middle market equity and credit funds, large institutional investors, special situations funds, independent sponsors, SBICs and family offices. Mr. Hardy also regularly advises regulated financial institutions and borrowers in connection with lending transactions. In addition to his private capital experience, Mr. Hardy has a broad-based multidisciplinary practice providing counsel to growth companies and middle market businesses. He advises management teams and boards of directors regarding strategic transactions, corporate governance and securities matters, business and tax strategy and matters relating to company operations. Mr. Hardy's corporate clients include companies in the technology, financial services, consumer products, telecommunications, education, real estate, healthcare and life sciences industries. Within the technology industry, Mr. Hardy has substantial experience with tech-enabled services, financial technology, cybersecurity, data analytics, healthcare and education technology companies. Mr. Hardy is nationally recognized by clients and peers as a leader in mergers and acquisitions and private capital transactions. His insights about private equity and capital markets have appeared in numerous business and legal publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Private Equity International, Regulatory and Compliance Watch and FundFire. Mr. Hardy has been acknowledged by Chambers and Partners as a leader in Corporate and M&A and is rated as "Highly Regarded" by Euromoney's International Financial Law Review (IFLR). Mr. Hardy was a 2021 finalist for IFLR's National Private Equity Lawyer of the year and is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Mergers & Acquisitions for 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he was selected by the Maryland Daily Record for inclusion in its Business and Employment Law Power List, which identifies power players across the state who are “leading key organizations, creating change, impacting the community and engaging others to succeed.” Mr. Hardy is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, and holds a business degree from Towson University.