Elizabeth S. Perdue is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Business and Finance Practice. Ms. Perdue represents privately held companies in acquisitions and disposition transactions, including mergers, asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions, asset exchanges, spin-offs, roll-ups and leveraged buyouts, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions. She also has extensive experience structuring and documenting strategic alliances such as joint ventures, corporate partnerships, and licensing and distribution arrangements, including those involving groups of competitors. She represents both borrowers and lenders in traditional and creative financing transactions, including corporate credit facilities, ESOP loan transactions, venture capital and startup financings, and asset-based and structured financing vehicles. Her experience spans a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, service businesses, software, emerging technologies, and media.

Ms. Perdue advises clients in a wide range of general business matters, including organization and dissolution, shareholder, buy-sell, and limited liability company operating agreements, corporate structuring, organization and governance issues, unfair competition issues, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, intellectual property licensing, distribution and supply agreements, employment agreements, and general business contracts.

Ms. Perdue counsels clients in the acquisition, protection and licensing of intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and patent licensing. Ms. Perdue negotiates and drafts agreements relating to intellectual property, software, technology and electronic information, including acquisition, license, distribution, marketing, development, and Internet-related agreements.

Ms. Perdue is actively involved with Opportunity International (OI) and in the Women's Opportunity Fund, most recently holding the position of vice chair of the Board of Directors of OI. These non-profit organizations help poor women in developing countries help themselves by providing them with startup business loans, as well as business and leadership training.

Ms. Perdue has written and spoken on a variety of electronic commerce issues, including online contracting and unfair competition issues.

Ms. Perdue received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1982 and her B.A., cum laude, from Pomona College in 1976. She is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.