Ryan Opel Joins Business Law Department

For Immediate Release

GALLAGHER & KENNEDY ANNOUNCES ADDITION
OF NEW SHAREHOLDER TO BUSINESS LAW DEPARTMENT

Ryan Opel Joins Business Law Department of Gallagher & Kennedy

PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 8, 2012) – Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A., a full service law firm, today announced the addition of Ryan B. Opel as a shareholder in the firm’s Business Law Department. Mr. Opel is a seasoned transactional lawyer concentrating in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, commercial contracts, supply chain, corporate governance, franchising, securities regulation, nonprofit law and general corporate law.

Mr. Opel joins Gallagher & Kennedy’s distinguished team of transactional lawyers, which is led by Terence W. Thompson and specializes in serving Arizona’s own business community with industry-leading expertise and unparalleled client service in business transactions of all varieties.

Mr. Opel joins Gallagher & Kennedy from North Carolina, where he was a partner with a large national law firm and represented a range of regional, national and international clients consisting of public and private companies, governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations in a variety of industries, including restaurant, financial services, manufacturing, retail, broadcasting, information technology, health care, professional sports and higher education. As the co-leader of his former firm’s Restaurant Team, Mr. Opel has significant experience in the restaurant industry and has represented several prestigious national brands with hundreds of company-owned and franchised units.

Mr. Opel has been consistently recognized by Business North Carolina as a member of the Legal Elite (Best Lawyers Under 40) and by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star. He earned his J.D., cum laude, in 2002 from the Duke University School of Law where he was Managing Editor of the Duke Law Journal. He also received his M.A. in Psychology from Duke University in 2002 and B.A. in Psychology & Politics, summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University in 1999. A dedicated supporter of the arts, Mr. Opel has received accolades for his considerable pro bono legal services and other volunteer services for nonprofit arts organizations.