Services & Industries
Education
J.D., summa cum laude, Lewis & Clark Law School, 2011
B.A., magna cum laude,
Tulane University, 2007
Bar & Court Admissions
Oregon State Bar
Washington State Bar
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Adam is Co-Chair of Tonkon Torp’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group and Chair of its Corporate Finance Practice Group, working closely with business owners and their management teams as they traverse business transitions. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, with a particular emphasis on buying, selling, and obtaining construction and permanent financing for senior living communities. He also acts as outside general counsel to a diverse set of clients and provides substantial counsel to professional firms and others in structuring owner relationships and facilitating exits.
Adam measures his success on whether his clients feel comfortable with and confident in the transaction. He take pride in framing transactions that clients can easily understand, bringing order and clarity to overwhelming and confusing processes, agreements, and information so that his clients understand where they are and where they are going.
When Adam launched his law career, he made a self-care commitment to balance his hard work for clients with time spent outdoors. Today, Adam remains an outdoor enthusiast who takes any chance he can to explore the wonders of the Pacific Northwest with his wife and young daughters. Adam’s children have enjoyed vistas from all around the region, including Black Butte, Beacon Point, the Wallowas, and multiple peaks in between.
Representative Matters
Recent Mergers & Acquisitions Work Highlights
Assisted a custom sailboat manufacturer with operations based on the West Coast in acquiring its primary East Coast competitors with SBA-backed financing.
Restructured joint venture and split up assets worth more than $300 million.
Assisted European public company in acquiring an Oregon-based manufacturing company with worldwide brand recognition.
Facilitated the acquisition of a growing medical practice by a leading national group.
Guided a natural resource consulting firm in expanding its regional presence by acquiring a competitor.
Represented clients in buying, selling, and financing professional firms and other businesses.
Acquisition of Bare Land for Subdivision Development
Represented client in the acquisition of bare land in Gresham, Oregon for development of a 250 lot subdivision, including negotiation of a secured purchase money loan and take-down agreements to sell the future lots to a residential homebuilder.
Recent Governance and Owner Disputes
Guided business owner through high-stakes negotiation to acquire sole ownership of business ventures from her uncooperative partners.
Helped a majority member of an LLC wrest back control of a large recycling outfit after a minority member took illegitimate steps to lock the majority member out of the business. We helped by finalizing an unfinished business transaction and cleaning up corporate record-keeping prior to arbitration.
Represented clients in structuring and implementing corporate transactions to remove antagonistic business partners.
Venture Debt Financings
Guided growth-stage companies in obtaining credit facilities to provide material financing for operational expansion.
Featured Work
Tonkon Torp Helps Starting Line Sailing Chart Course for Global Growth
Tonkon Torp celebrates the successful acquisition of an exclusive licensing arrangement for its client Starting Line Sailing, a custom sailboat manufacturer with operations and distribution channels throughout the world.
Community Involvement & Activities
Oregon State Bar Business Law Section
New Business Lawyers Subcommittee, Member
Continuing Legal Education Subcommittee, Member
Oregon State Bar MCLE Committee
Former Chair
Bend Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network
Former Chair
Professional Memberships
Multnomah Bar Association
Deschutes County Bar Association
The Best Lawyers in America
2021-2025, Ones to Watch – Business Organizations (including LLCs & Partnerships)
2021-2025, Ones to Watch – Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Recent News
Best Lawyers in America Names 15 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2025 Ones to Watch List
Fifteen Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 17 practice groups have been named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Ones to Watch directory. Best Lawyers Ones to Watch is a peer-review honor that acknowledges the professional excellence of attorneys who have been in private practice for less than 10 years.
Best Lawyers in America® Names 17 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2024 Ones to Watch List
Seventeen Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 18 practice groups have been named to The Best Lawyers in America 2024 Ones to Watch directory. Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch is a peer-review honor that acknowledges the professional excellence of attorneys who have been in private practice for less than 10 years.
Tonkon Torp Names Adam Adkin Co-Chair of Business Transitions Practice Group
Tonkon Torp LLP has appointed partner Adam Adkin as Co-Chair of its Business Transitions Practice Group, along with partner Jeffrey Woodcox.
Best Lawyers in America® Names 16 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2023 Ones to Watch List
Sixteen Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 16 practice groups have been named to The Best Lawyers in America 2023 Ones to Watch directory.
Tonkon Torp Unveils Shareholder Disputes & Governance Practice Group
Tonkon Torp has launched a new practice group, Shareholder Disputes & Governance.
Recent Publications
The Cost of Money
By Adam Adkin – Although high interest rates may no longer be headline news, loan obligations remain a driving source of stress for many business owners. Loan financing is fundamental (and often unavoidable) for many businesses.
Avoid the Rush – Preparing for Pacing Items in Real Estate Financing
By Adam Adkin – Real estate developers and owners typically need to close their finance transactions as quickly as possible. Nonetheless, the closing frequently slips a few weeks from the target date. Actively managing the pacing items for the transaction is one of the best ways to facilitate a smooth (and timely) closing.
You’re Not the Boss Anymore
By Adam Adkin and Josie Jeremiah – It’s nice to get paid. Giving up control of your business? Well… that’s a different story. On closing the sale of a business, owners realize a dramatic financial return on their investment. However, few buyers are willing to close a transaction and allow the former owners to ride off into the sunset. At a minimum, a buyer needs the former owners to transition knowledge and help establish the buyer as the new owner.
Earn-Outs: Bridging the Valuation Gap
By Adam Adkin and Zack Schick – Do we value our possessions more just because we own them? Sometimes. Does this association of value apply to businesses? Almost always. Buyers and sellers of a business often find themselves with a wide gap between what they are willing to pay and accept, respectively, for the business. Although many factors inform this difference, one of the primary contributors is the parties’ differing perspectives regarding the certainty of the business’s future financial performance.
Understanding Rollover Equity
By Adam Adkin – For the right transaction, a rollover of equity can add value for the buyer and the seller. Rollover equity is ownership in the buyer or its affiliates that is issued to a seller as payment for all or a portion of the purchase price for a business. For a buyer, rollover equity spreads the risk of the business’s post-closing operations among the buyer and sellers.
Publications & Presentations
“You’re Not the Boss Anymore,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, July 2024
“Earn-Outs: Bridging the Valuation Gap,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, July 2024
“Understanding Rollover Equity,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, July 2024
“Covenants in Development Financing – What to Expect,” Ear to the Ground, May 2024
“Lawsuits Don’t Often Make Your Dreams Come True,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, July 2024
Panelist, “Business Law Career Options,” Business Law Society, Willamette University College of Law, October 2020
“Entity Formation for New Lawyers,” Advising Oregon Business Series, MBA New Lawyers Section, September 2020
“Corporate and Business Law Fundamentals for Startups,” TiE Oregon Bootcamp, March 2019
“Representations and Warranties Insurance: Go On, Take the Money and Run,” Oregon Business Lawyer, December 2018
“Private Businesses Benefiting the Public: Oregon’s Benefit Company,” OSB Nonprofit Organizations Law Section Newsletter, Spring 2018
“Oregon Benefit Companies – Greenwashing or a Real Change?” March 2018
“2016 Employment Law Update,” June 1, 2016
“Mental Health in the Workplace: The Legal Perspective,” February, 2016
“2015 Employment Law Update… And Oregon’s New Sick Leave Law,” December, 2015