Bass, Berry & Sims | Attorneys | Search

Bob F. Thompson's practice focuses on securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions and financial institutions. He graduated from Princeton University in 1969 and, after serving three years in the United States Navy, received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975. He has practiced with Bass, Berry & Sims since his graduation from Harvard. He is past chairman of the Subcommittee on Enforcement, Director Liability and Troubled Banks of the Banking Law Committee and the Liaison with Securities Administrators and NASD and the Uniform Securities Act Subcommittees of the State Regulation of Securities Committee of the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the ABA and the Ethics Committee of the Nashville Bar Association. He also is a member of the Lawyers Committee of the Tennessee Bankers Association and has served on the Advisory Committee of the Southern Banking Law and Policy Institute. Bob was a member of the drafting committees of the 1980 Tennessee Securities Act, the 1985 Tennessee Regional Reciprocal Banking Act and the 1990 Tennessee Reciprocal Banking Act. Bob is listed in more than ten editions of Best Lawyers® and named Best of the Bar by the Nashville Business Journal. He has been listed as one of the best banking lawyers in Tennessee since 2004 by Business Tennessee magazine and one of the best corporate lawyers in Tennessee by Chambers USA. He is also listed in the Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America.

Bob has lectured for seminars and professional education programs on banking law, corporate law and securities regulation. Bob is past chairman of the firm's diversity committee. He also has taught business law at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and at Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont College. He served as president of Legal Services of Middle Tennessee from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the board of directors of Legal Services of Middle Tennessee from 1982 to 1990. He served as chairman of the board of trustees of The Webb School from 1998 to 2002 and has also served on the boards of directors of the Nashville Opera, The Tennessee Special Olympics and on the Alumni Council of Princeton University.

The following are illustrative of Bob's practice:

Serving as principal corporate and securities counsel for public companies in the banking, thrift, managed care, healthcare information and small business lending industries.
Representing public and private companies in merger transactions involving common stock of publicly held acquirors.
Representing the Special Committee of independent directors of public companies in going private transactions.
Representing a publicly held client in a simultaneous spin off of one of its businesses to its shareholders and stock for stock merger of its other businesses.
Representing a public client in acquiring a major business line for common stock and warrants and entering into an ongoing strategic relationship with a private company.
Representing public clients in issuance of convertible preferred securities to major institutional investors.
Representing community bank clients in mergers with regional bank holding companies.
Advising the boards of directors of financial institutions concerning director liability and bank agency enforcement issues.
Serving as underwriters' counsel in initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and shelf takedowns of various types of debt and equity securities.
Representing emerging growth companies in venture capital placements and initial public offerings.