John W. Gerl

• Counsel to Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) in its $6 billion merger to form one of the 50 largest banking organizations in the U.S., as well as nine other successful bank acquisitions.
• Counsel to Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF) in 12 successful bank acquisitions, including its largest-ever transaction at the time.
• Represented numerous public and private financial institutions in both buy- and sell-side M&A transactions.
• Counsel to Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) in its sale of its institutional retirement investment business to three separate acquirers.
• Represented dozens of wealth management and investment advisory firms in acquisition and corporate reorganization transactions.
• Counsel to various financial institutions in their compliance with enforcement actions and banking regulations with the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, and various state banking departments.
• Advising public companies on SEC compliance issues and assisting with the preparation of proxy statements, Section 16 reporting and Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.
• Represented issuers and underwriters in community bank securities offerings.
• Represented multiple banks in their initial public offerings.

John Gerl is a partner in the Financial Services Group. John focuses his practice on the representation of both public and private financial institutions, wealth management, and investment advisory firms in a range of transactional and regulatory matters, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity securities offerings, securities reporting, regulatory compliance, and general corporate governance.

John has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America^® “Ones to Watch” for Banking and Finance Law.

John received his J.D. from Duke University, where he served as the lead articles editor and symposium coordinator of the Alaska Law Review and as vice president of the Business Law Society. A First Honor Graduate, John graduated, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia, where he received his B.S. in psychology and his B.A. in sociology.

Bar Admissions

• Georgia

Education

• Duke University (J.D., 2015)
• University of Georgia (B.S., B.A., 2012)

Memberships