Douglas M. Fox

Douglas M. Fox is the Co-Leader of Ballard Spahr's Life Sciences and Technology Group. He practices business, corporate, securities, and technology law, for public and privately held entities in a range of industries.

Doug has nearly 25 years of experience handling corporate, securities, and business law matters. He counsels startup and mature technology and new-economy companies, and the research institutions and investment banks that deliver both the intellectual and financial capital necessary to fuel their growth. His experience ranges from biotechnology and life sciences companies to solar energy, wireless communications and edutainment, and data mining companies.

Doug regularly represents real estate investment trusts, mutual funds, and other investment funds and companies on matters of corporation and trust law. He advises clients on issues of board responsibilities, change-in-control and proxy contests, mergers and acquisitions, takeover defenses, and governance. More recently, Doug has focused on counseling sponsors and others on the structuring and establishment of Qualified Opportunity Funds, an advent of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017.

Although his focus for his REIT and mutual fund clients often focuses on matters of the corporation laws of Maryland, where many of these entities are domiciled, his broad-ranging experience as a corporate and securities lawyer for clients in other industry groups enables him to bring an added perspective to the transactions with which he is involved. He and his colleagues at Ballard Spahr have acted as counsel for literally hundreds of equity and debt offerings and other financing transactions, as well as for dozens of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, liquidations, and other similar types of transactions. Doug represents licensors and licensees in complex licensing and co-promotion transactions.

Professional Activities

Maryland State Bar Association, member, Section on Business Law; member, Committee on Corporate Law; past Chair, Committee on Representing Emerging Companies

Session of the Maryland General Assembly, adviser on technology law matters, 2000-2001

Maryland Judicial Institute, Instructor, Business and Biotechnology Law

Early Stage East Bio-Life-Tech Conference, past Chair

Recognition & Accomplishments

Licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.), Maryland, 1985

The Legal 500 US, Real Estate–Real estate investment trusts (REITs), 2018

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, corporate/M&A law, 2009-2017; REITs: Maryland counsel, national ranking, 2014-2018

The Best Lawyers in America, corporate law, 2013-2019

Baltimore SmartCEO magazine, named 2010 Smart Lawyer and 2006 Maryland's Legal Elite

Publications

Contributor, How To Start and Grow a Life Sciences Company: Practical Advice for Startup Companies & Incubators, published by VentureCapital.org, 2011

Board Memberships

Emerging Technology Centers

University of Baltimore School of Law (J.D. 1985)

University of Maryland (B.S. Civil Engineering 1979)

Maryland