Bio
Nathan Howze is a business attorney focusing on venture capital transactions, emerging companies, mergers and acquisitions, and cannabis businesses. He serves as trusted outside counsel to clients in a diverse range of industries, including real estate, food and beverage, cannabis, technology, and provides practical, strategic advice to help close his clients' most important deals.
Nathan frequently advises sponsors, investors, entrepreneurs, and emerging companies on debt and equity financings, capital raises, mergers and acquisitions, business contracts, and general corporate matters. He counsels venture capital funds and family offices through equity financings, recapitalizations, and restructurings, and has helped to form, finance, and advise hundreds of established and emerging businesses in industries such as technology, life sciences, cannabis, food and beverage, real estate, and construction. Nathan also advises cannabis businesses and investors on regulatory compliance matters and applications for coveted cannabis licenses.
Experience
Representative Engagements
- Represent $500 million venture capital fund on equity investments and convertible debt financings in early stage and growth companies.
- Represent $70 million venture capital fund on equity and convertible debt investments in Black, Latinx and Women owned companies located in Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods.
- Represented lead investors in $137 million investment in an innovative and sustainable packaging company.
- Represented sellers in $16 million sale of international medical device company.
- Represented buyer in $15 million acquisition of cigar bar and liquor distiller.
- Represented public company buyer in $11 million asset acquisition of a commercial real estate brokerage and asset management company.
- Represented applicant in successfully obtaining cannabis dispensary license in the highly competitive Chicagoland area.
Credentials
Education
Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business, M.B.A., 2016
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., 2015
Utah Valley University, B.S.A. Behavioral Sciences (Social Work), 2011
Bar Admissions
Illinois
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
Business Law Section
Cannabis Law & Policy Committee, Vice Chair (2019)
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Chicago Bar Association
Business Law Committee
Honors & Awards
2022 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (Corporate Law), Best Lawyers®
Publications & Presentations
“From Regs to Riches: Navigating the Rapidly Emerging Fields of Cannabis & Hemp Law,” (panelist) American Bar Association/Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Chicago, IL (September 19-20, 2019)
“Six Tips to Marketing Yourself,” (presenter) Giving Power to Adolescents (GPA) Youth Conference, Chicago, IL (June 16, 2016)
Community Service
HFS Young Professionals Board Scholars