Bio

Kenneth Crane is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and serves as the Chicago Section Head. Mr. Crane was previously a Partner with Freeborn & Peters, which merged with SGR in 2023. Mr. Crane is a deal lawyer who represents private equity, venture capital and family office–backed companies, focusing on acquisition and sale transactions. He gets involved at all stages in the business growth and succession process, from acquisition, capital raising, financing and growth equity transactions, strategic partnering and joint ventures, to pre-sale and succession planning. Mr. Crane works with entrepreneurs and companies from inception through closing of realization transactions. He also frequently represents the portfolio companies of his private equity, emerging growth and other clients in a wide range of transactions and legal matters, including equity-based compensation plans, manufacturing, distribution and sales agreements, and intellectual property licensing and development. While at Freeborn (now SGR), Mr. Crane served as the Leader of the Corporate Practice Group. Mr. Crane earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.