John R. LeClaire
Areas of Practice
John LeClaire is a co-founder and the chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group. The Goodwin Procter Private Equity Group serves leading private equity firms and growth companies across the country and is one of the nation’s most highly regarded private equity practices. Mr. LeClaire’s practice focuses on private equity transactions and relationships with growth companies. Mr. LeClaire joined Goodwin Procter in 1982 and has been a partner since 1989. He has served as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
Work for Clients
Mr. LeClaire’s private equity work includes leveraged recapitalizations, buyouts and minority investments, both in later stage situations and earlier stage ventures, for leading private equity firms. He also specializes in the representation of emerging growth companies in sectors such as technology and information services, health care, financial services and consumer products. Mr. LeClaire’s work with these companies focuses on strategic counsel, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and other financing transactions, equity and executive compensation programs for senior executives, and going-private transactions. Mr. LeClaire’s other private equity work has involved the creation of collective investment vehicles for institutional investors. Examples of this work include the establishment of investment initiatives in emerging markets such as Latin America, China and Russia.
Publications/Presentations
Publications by Mr. LeClaire include “Going Private: Private Equity Investors Discover Market Orphans” in the November 1999 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Three Sided Investments in the Age of the Internet” in Private Equity Analysts’ Year 2000 Guide to Corporate Investors; “Cashing in Your Chips: Liquidity and Wealth Management Strategies for E-commerce Entrepreneurs” in the March 27-April 2, 2000 edition of Mass High Tech; “Speed Thrills - The Opportunity and Challenges of Investing at E-Speed” in the June 2000 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Performance Deals – A Crystal Ball in the Capital Structure” in the December 2001 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Freeing the Captives” in the March 2002 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “The Benchmark Case and the Limits of Preferred Stock Protection” in the November 2002 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Keeping the Money Safe” in the March 2004 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Schmuck Insurance and the revival of the Moribund” in the July 10, 2006 edition of Buyouts; and “PE Holdings May Be Sitting on Preferred Stock Powder Kegs” in the September 2006 edition of Mergers & Acquisitions: The Dealmaker’s Journal. Mr. LeClaire is a frequent writer and speaker in the private equity/emerging companies area and a lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Business. He is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business,...more » Publications by Mr. LeClaire include “Going Private: Private Equity Investors Discover Market Orphans” in the November 1999 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Three Sided Investments in the Age of the Internet” in Private Equity Analysts’ Year 2000 Guide to Corporate Investors; “Cashing in Your Chips: Liquidity and Wealth Management Strategies for E-commerce Entrepreneurs” in the March 27-April 2, 2000 edition of Mass High Tech; “Speed Thrills - The Opportunity and Challenges of Investing at E-Speed” in the June 2000 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Performance Deals – A Crystal Ball in the Capital Structure” in the December 2001 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Freeing the Captives” in the March 2002 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “The Benchmark Case and the Limits of Preferred Stock Protection” in the November 2002 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Keeping the Money Safe” in the March 2004 edition of Venture Capital Journal; “Schmuck Insurance and the revival of the Moribund” in the July 10, 2006 edition of Buyouts; and “PE Holdings May Be Sitting on Preferred Stock Powder Kegs” in the September 2006 edition of Mergers & Acquisitions: The Dealmaker’s Journal. Mr. LeClaire is a frequent writer and speaker in the private equity/emerging companies area and a lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Business. He is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500 and Leading Dealmakers in America, and is regularly quoted in national publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The Daily Deal, Buyouts and Mergers & Acquisitions: The Dealmaker’s Journal. Mr. LeClaire also recently published his first book, A Century of Sutton Sports, a collection of tales, oral histories and musings about small town sports and culture over a 100-year span. less »
Bar and Court Admissions
Mr. LeClaire is admitted to practice in Massachusetts.
Education
J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1982 (magna cum laude; Articles Editor, Boston University Law Review)
A.B., Brown University, 1979 (magna cum laude)
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