Overview
Sherrill is Chair of the firm's Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group and serves on Tonkon Torp's Managing Board. She counsels clients on buying and selling businesses, and structuring complex joint ventures. Sherrill is also a member of the firm's Information Privacy & Security Practice Group, assisting clients in their compliance with state and federal information privacy and security laws and regulations, including breach notification laws. As a member of Tonkon's Corporate Finance & Transactions Practice Group, Sherrill advises clients on bank financings, private placements, and public offerings. She also represents public companies and advises them on securities compliance, corporate governance matters, and follow-on offerings.
Sherrill’s clients value her ability to provide quality legal counsel with practical business advice, create creative solutions, and make "legalese" easy to understand. She especially enjoys working with women-owned or operated businesses.
Sherrill previously practiced at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP’s San Francisco office and at Graham & James LLP, also in California.
Featured Representative Matters
Vestas
Pacific Foods
Rejuvenation, Inc.
Climax Portable Machining & Welding Systems
The Joinery
Delphina's Bakery
Market Industries
Randolph Construction Services, Inc.
The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX)
- Its offering of $230 million of 3.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2018
- Its offering of 3,000,000 shares of common stock
- Its entry into a five-year $245 million revolving line of credit with Bank of America which replaced its existing $100 million credit facility
- Its negotiation of an agreement with General Electric Railcar Services Corporation ("GER"), a subsidiary of GE Capital, GE's financial services business, to modify GER's new railcar manufacturing contract with Greenbrier
- Its negotiation of a $75 million strategic investment from WL Ross & Co. LLC
- Its acquisition of Meridian Rail Holdings Corp. for $230 million in cash
Featured Work
Tonkon Torp Guides Pacific Foods through Oregon’s Largest Acquisition of 2017
Tonkon Torp led Oregon's largest M&A transaction in 2017, the $700 million acquisition of Tualatin-based Pacific Foods of Oregon LLC by Campbell Investment Company. Pacific Foods is an iconic, nationally distributed organic food brand founded in 1987.
Tonkon Torp Brings Attorney Power to Renewable Energy Transaction
Tonkon Torp client Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) is the North American subsidiary of one of the largest corporations in the world, the Italian electricity company Enel S.p.A. Here's how we helped EGPNA in a renewable energy acquisition.
Tonkon Torp Represents Vestas in Acquisition of UpWind Solutions
Tonkon Torp represented its client Vestas, the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, in the acquisition of UpWind Solutions, Inc., an independent service provider for wind power plants in nine US states. The $60 million acquisition furthers Vestas's strategic objectives for its North America service business.
Diverse Team Aids Greenbrier in Joint Venture
Tonkon Torp acted as Oregon corporate counsel for its long-term client The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. in finalizing a 50/50 joint venture with Watco Companies, L.L.C. The venture combines the two companies’ railcar repair, refurbishment and maintenance businesses into a new organization, GBW Railcar Services, LLC.
Tonkon Torp Helps Albina Head Start Stabilize Finances for Enhanced Programming
Albina Head Start, Inc. (AHS), which serves more than 1,000 low-income children and their families in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland, faces the future in a stronger financial position thanks to a significant pro bono effort by Tonkon Torp. Find details and more featured cases here.
Tonkon Torp Helps CLIMAX Strengthen Worldwide Market Position
Tonkon Torp represented Newberg, Oregon-based CLIMAX Portable Machining and Welding Systems, in its acquisition in 2013 of Houston-based Calder Testers. Founded in 1966, CLIMAX is the world’s largest supplier of portable machine tools for the power generation, shipbuilding, heavy construction and mining, petrochemical and engineering industries.
Tonkon Torp Facilitates Greenbrier Subsidiary Divestiture
Earlier this year, Tonkon Torp represented Meridian Rail Acquisitions Corp., a subsidiary of the firm’s long-standing client The Greenbrier Companies, in the sale of substantially all of the equipment utilized in Greenbrier's reconditioned wheelset roller bearing operations in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The purchaser was The Timken Companies, a global manufacturer of mechanical components and high-performance steel, including bearings.
Community Involvement & Activities
Women Presidents' Organization, Inc.
Member
Oregon State Bar
Securities Regulation Section
Past Chair
Member
Women’s Investment Network
2008, Program Chair
2007-2009, Member
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network
2005-2007, Secretary and Board Member
Professional Memberships
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Women Lawyers
Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals
Awards & Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America
2011-2019, Corporate Compliance Law
2011-2019, Corporate Governance Law
2014-2019, Securities/Capital Markets Law
2014, Lawyer of the Year – Corporate Governance Law, Portland
2013, Lawyer of the Year – Corporate Compliance Law, Portland
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers
Client Choice Awards, USA & Canada
Portland Business Journal
Super Lawyers
Recent News
Best Lawyers in America® Names 51 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2019 List
Sherrill Corbett and Gwen Griffith Speak at Business Transition Seminar
Chambers USA Names 20 Tonkon Torp Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field
Brenda Meltebeke and Sherrill Corbett Speak to Women Business Leaders
Best Lawyers in America® Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2018 List
18 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named Leaders in Their Field by Peers and Clients
Sherrill Corbett Shares M&A Expertise in Thought Leaders Forum
Women Business Leaders Gather at Seminar Co-Hosted by Tonkon Torp
Six Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named Portland Lawyers of the Year
Best Lawyers in America® Names 44 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2017 List
Sherrill Corbett Discusses Corporate Board Trends for Oregon Business
18 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Are Named Leaders in Their Field by Peers and Clients
Tonkon Holds Seminar for Women Business Leaders
Tonkon Torp Sponsors Portland Open Golf Tournament
45 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America® 2016
Chambers USA 2015 Guide Honors 7 Tonkon Torp Practices and 19 Lawyers
18 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Are Named Leaders in Their Field by Peers and Clients
Corbett & Wilker Discuss “Big Data" Headaches
Best Lawyers in America® 2015 Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to Prestigious List
Sherrill Corbett joins Tonkon Torp Managing Board
Publications & Presentations
Moderator, Business Transitions Seminar, KeyBank Club, May 2018
Panelist, "She Persisted – Stories from Business Women Who Have Persevered and Triumphed," November 2017
Panelist, "Turning Points – Stories of Transition – A Seminar for Women Business Leaders," KeyBank Club, October 2016
"Been There! Done That! A Seminar for Women Business Leaders," KeyBank Club, October 2015
"Is Big Data Giving you a Big Headache?," Oregon State Bar Corporate Counsel Section, Oregon State Bar Center, October 2014
"Data Security and Breach Response 101: A Primer for Corporate Counsel," Association of Corporate Counsel, Nike Campus, June 2014
"Getting Your Ducks in a Row," KeyBank, February 2014
"The Business Sale Process," KeyBank, January 2014
"Before Selling a Business, Consider a Buyer’s Perspective," Daily Journal of Commerce, October 2013
"Purchase and Sale of a Business or Its Assets," Multnomah Bar Association Business Law Seminar Series, May 2013
"Operating, Financing and Selling a Business in the Digital Age," Oregon Law Institute, Lewis & Clark Law School, February 2007
"State Securities Law Issues Regarding Mutual Insurance Companies and Mutual Holding Companies (co-authored with James M. Kennedy) – FORC Quarterly Journal of Insurance Law and Regulation – Vol. XV, Edition II