Joe Schauer Joins Koley Jessen's M&A Practice
Joe Schauer has joined Koley Jessen's M&A practice, bringing a background that spans sophisticated transactional work, in-house executive leadership, and securities law.
Joe advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, SEC compliance, commercial contracts, and corporate governance. He represents companies, private equity funds, investors, and financial institutions across life sciences, technology, manufacturing, and other industries. Before joining Koley Jessen, Joe served as Chief Operating Officer of a medical device company, a role he stepped into after a career in private practice that included being a partner of an AmLaw 100 firm. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Joe obtained a CPA license (currently inactive) while advising clients on internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and process improvement matters as part of a nationally recognized consulting firm. That combination of big-firm transactional experience and in-house executive leadership, along with an accounting background, gives him a uniquely grounded understanding of how legal decisions play out inside a business.
"Joe brings a perspective that is genuinely rare in transactional work. Having served as a COO, he understands firsthand what clients are weighing when they work through a deal, the operational realities, the risk calculus, the downstream effects on the business. That adds a layer of practical insight that will resonate with our clients, and we are very pleased to have him join the team,” said Helmut Brugman, Chair of Koley Jessen's M&A practice.
Joe earned his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
