Bio

Sean Donahue is Chair of the Public Company Advisory practice and Co-Chair of the Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense practice of Paul Hastings, and he is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and New York offices. Drawing on his previous experience as an attorney in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, his practice focuses on counseling public companies and their boards of directors on shareholder activism and takeover defense, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, securities regulation, and corporate governance matters. Mr. Donahue spends a significant amount of his time advising public companies and their boards of directors on shareholder activism and takeover defense matters. He has been involved in hundreds of activism and takeover defense situations, including numerous high-profile proxy contests. Mr. Donahue has counseled boards of directors and management teams in navigating activist situations involving Elliott Management, Carl Icahn, Engaged Capital, Starboard Value, ValueAct, Lion Point Capital, Engine Capital, Voss Capital, Tang Capital, Highland Capital, Mill Road Capital, Legion Partners, JCP Investment Management, GAMCO, Eric Singer, Brad Radoff, Global Value Investment Corp., and Kanen Wealth Management, among others. He also has significant experience advising public companies in responding to short attacks. Mr. Donahue serves as primary outside corporate and securities counsel to numerous public companies. In this role, he counsels clients on SEC reporting and corporate governance matters. Mr. Donahue advises clients in a diverse range of industries, market capitalizations, and geographies. Mr. Donahue is ranked by Chambers USA for Takeover Defense. Clients note that he “has a sophisticated view of the activism defense landscape and commercial viability of different initiatives.” Mr. Donahue is also recommended by The Legal 500 US for Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards and Corporate Governance. Clients remark that he “is incredibly accessible and provides digestible and thoughtful advice. He understands the issues that are top-of-mind for in-house counsel and their stakeholders and really tailors his advice in a way that benefits the business.” Mr. Donahue is a member of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee for the American Bar Association, where he serves as Chair of the Proxy Statements and Business Combinations Subcommittee, and the Corporate Governance Committee, where he serves as Co-Chair of the Shareholder Activism & Engagement Subcommittee. He is also a member of both the Securities Law Committee and Corporate Practices Committee of the Society for Corporate Governance. Mr. Donahue also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute’s Capital Area Chapter. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Donahue was a partner at another international law firm. He previously served as an attorney-adviser with the SEC in the Division of Corporation Finance. While at the SEC, Mr. Donahue worked on a number of transactional and securities compliance matters.