W. Chris Coleman

Shareholder, Industry Group Leader

Paralegal: Beth Garner
Bio Menu
  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Honors & Involvement
Bio overview

Chris Coleman’s practice encompasses a broad range of business transactions and general representation of business entities, including public and private securities offerings and public company reporting; mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and financing; forming, structuring and capitalizing new entities; reorganizing and recapitalizing existing entities; and business contracts.

Over the course of his career with McAfee & Taft, Chris’ client list has included businesses engaged in virtually every major industry, including manufacturing, energy, real estate, financial services, engineering services, software, food manufacturing and distribution, retail and communications. While Chris’ recent focus has been assisting clients in mergers and acquisitions, as both buyer and seller, and investment transactions, representing both private equity investors and the companies seeking investors, his role has also been to oversee all of the legal needs of many of these clients. This role has ranged from negotiating business contracts and relationships to overseeing litigation strategies, and from evaluating incentive programs and exit strategies to structuring and negotiating workouts and business restructurings.

This broad base of experience, combined with the ability to identify and fully understand client needs and pull together the expertise of other legal specialties within the firm, have proved invaluable to clients requiring highly integrated legal solutions to complex legal matters.

Chris’ expertise has earned him inclusion in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America (business organizations; closely held companies and family businesses law; corporate compliance law; corporate governance law; corporate law; mergers and acquisitions law; securities/capital markets law; securities regulation; venture capital law) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers. He was named by Best Lawyers as “Oklahoma City Corporate Governance and Compliance Lawyer of the Year” for 2011, “Oklahoma City Securities/Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year” for 2012 and 2024, “Oklahoma City Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” for 2016, “Oklahoma City Corporate Compliance Lawyer of the Year” for 2017 and 2019, “Oklahoma City Securities Regulation Lawyer of the Year” for 2018, “Oklahoma City Venture Capital Lawyer of the Year” for 2018, 2021 and 2024, “Oklahoma City Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Lawyer of the Year” for 2020, and “Oklahoma City Business Organizations Lawyer of the Year” for 2021, honors only given to a single lawyer in each legal specialty in each market.

Download Bio (PDF)
Experience, Honors, & Awards

Representative Experience

  • Represented the owners of more than 100 independently owned 7-Eleven convenience stores in Oklahoma in the sale of the companies’ membership interests to Texas-based 7-Eleven, Inc.
  • Represented Tyson Foods, Inc., the nation’s largest protein-focused food company, and its subsidiaries in their acquisition of the poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins, Inc. and AMPRO Products.
  • Represented Virgo Capital in an investment in a going private transaction involving RMG Networks Holding Corporation, a global leader in intelligent digital signage software.  The transaction involved negotiating debt and equity financing to facilitate the merger of the previously publicly traded company.
  • Outside general counsel to public food company providing variety of services, including public debt offerings, acquisitions of public and private targets, advising board of directors, and conducting ultimate auction of the company.
  • Represented clients in the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas properties and producing assets and of oil and gas compression and processing assets, pipelines and gathering systems.
  • Represented issuers in Rule 144A and public offering of debt and preferred securities for telecommunications companies.
  • Represented underwriter in public offering of technology company.
  • Represented issuer in IPO of oil and gas exploration company and Rule 144A debt transactions and public offering of debt and equity.
  • Lead counsel for solid waste disposal company in a series of roll-up transactions over several years, resulting in an IPO and subsequent sale of the company.Represented management and minority investors of portfolio companies in recapitalization transaction.
  • Represented private equity investors in auction and sale of portfolio companies.
  • Represented public companies in purchase of a target companies in auction processes as well as sale of public companies and takeover planning.
  • Represented founders in formation of bank holding company, private placement of equity to investors, and acquisitions of banks and bank assets.
  • Represented shareholders in sale of closely held bank holding company in a tax-free exchange for registered public bank stock.
  • Represented various issuers in ongoing public reporting and corporate governance.
  • Represented issuers in preparation of private placement memoranda and private placements for banking institutions, technology companies and oil and gas companies.
  • Represented several oil and gas and real estate companies in deed in lieu, restructuring, bankruptcy avoidance and other workout transactions.
  • Represented a tribal business corporation in connection with its acquisition of a Small Business Administration 8(a) government contracting company.

 

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (business organizations; closely held companies and family businesses law; corporate compliance law; corporate governance law; corporate law; mergers and acquisitions law; securities/capital markets law; securities regulation; venture capital law)
  • Named “Oklahoma City Corporate Governance and Compliance Lawyer of the Year” for 2011, “Oklahoma City Securities/Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year” for 2012 and 2024, “Oklahoma City Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” for 2016, “Oklahoma City Corporate Compliance Lawyer of the Year” for 2017 and 2019, “Oklahoma City Securities Regulation Lawyer of the Year” for 2018, “Oklahoma City Venture Capital Lawyer of the Year” for 2018, 2021 and 2024, “Oklahoma City Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Lawyer of the Year” for 2020, and “Oklahoma City Business Organizations Lawyer of the Year” for 2021 by The Best Lawyers in America
  • Listed in Oklahoma Super Lawyers
  • Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings

Professional Organizations and Memberships

  • Oklahoma County Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Association
  • American Bar Association

Civic Involvement and Leadership

  • Rotary Club of Oklahoma City
  • Calm Waters (Former Member, Board of Directors)

ATPs display in this column
Attorney Articles

Articles

Like déja vu all over again

The Journal Record |
mt_bio_practice_areas
mt_bio_industry_groups
mt_admissions

Admissions

  • Oklahoma, 1982
mt_education

Education

  • J.D., University of Oklahoma, 1982
    • Board of Editors, Oklahoma Law Review; Order of the Coif
  • B.A. (Political Science), with distinction, University of Oklahoma
    • Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Eta Sigma
mt_certifications
mt_bio_media_items
mt_bio_news_items

In The News

Photo of McAfee & Taft exterior signage with the Best Lawyers logo overlaying the image
Best Lawyers names 128 McAfee & Taft lawyers to 2023 lists
McAfee & Taft honored as top-ranked firm by Chambers USA 2022
Best Lawyers 2022

McAfee & Taft honored as top-ranked firm by Chambers USA 2021, 33 attorneys singled out for individual honors

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 93 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2020 edition

Best Lawyers names 20 McAfee & Taft attorneys 2021 ‘Lawyers of the Year’ in 21 practice areas

Chambers USA 2020 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 32 attorneys singled out for individual honors

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 101 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2019 edition

Chambers USA 2019 honors McAfee & Taft as top‑ranked firm

Charles Machine Works to be acquired by Toro for $700 million

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 113 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2018 edition

Best Lawyers honors 25 McAfee & Taft attorneys as ‘Lawyers of the Year’ for 2019

The Best Lawyers in America names 107 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2019 edition

Chambers USA 2018 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 35 attorneys singled out for individual honors

Best Lawyers names 11 McAfee & Taft attorneys 2018 ‘Lawyers of the Year’ in 12 practice areas

The Best Lawyers in America names 102 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2018 edition

Chambers USA 2017 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 39 McAfee & Taft attorneys as leading lawyers for business

Stage Stores acquires selected Gordmans assets

Best Lawyers names 21 McAfee & Taft attorneys 2017 ‘Lawyers of the Year’ in 22 practice areas

Chambers USA 2016 honors McAfee & Taft as top-ranked firm, 41 firm attorneys as leading lawyers

Best Lawyers names 17 McAfee & Taft attorneys as 2016 ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in 18 categories

Best Lawyers names McAfee & Taft attorneys 2011 Oklahoma City ‘Lawyers of the Year’