Emily Wang Murphy advises a wide range of clients on strategic transactions, business contracts and corporate governance, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other commercial arrangements.
While her clients run the gamut from start-ups and closely-held businesses to multi-industry conglomerates, EdTech, and government-sponsored enterprises, Emily has a special focus on federally regulated sectors, including institutions of higher education and government contractors. She works closely with owners, executives and boards to help them meet their short- and long-term business goals.
Emily finds her work with higher education clients especially rewarding. Her legal support helps these institutions in turn provide life-changing education and opportunities to thousands of students. She has served as corporate counsel in numerous transactions involving educational institutions, including stock and asset acquisitions/divestitures, institutional mergers and sole-member installations. Emily takes pride in being a problem solver who offers creative solutions to clients from both a legal and business perspective.
In addition, Emily practices in the area of export finance, serving as outside counsel to the U.S. Export-Import Bank. She has closed corporate, asset-backed and small project financings, supporting American exports to and financings in Morocco, Gabon, Nigeria, Turkey and Mexico, among other countries.
Clients find Emily to be highly communicative, collaborative and proactive, with exceptional project management skills. She frequently hears from clients that “deals go more smoothly” when she is involved. Often, following a merger or acquisition which Emily has quarterbacked, she is engaged by the surviving entity or other parties who enjoyed working with her at the negotiation table.
Emily co-chairs the firm’s Higher Education Practice Group and the Asian – South Asian Affinity Group. She also proudly serves as the Partner Champion for the firm’s collaboration with Diversity Lab and its OnRamp Fellowship program.
experience
- Represented a non-profit institution of higher learning with the installation of a second non-profit institution as sole member, creating a university system.
- Represented a non-profit institution of higher learning with the contribution of its assets to a second non-profit institution, creating a stronger combined entity with more program offerings for students.
- Represented a private client with an acquisition valued at $375 million in the manufacturing sector.
- Represented a private client with several divestitures to strategic buyers in the specialty chemical space.
- Represented a non-profit institution of higher learning with the acquisition of a second non-profit institution, resulting in a combined institution of nearly 6,000 students.
- Represented a target company in a merger transaction valued at over $100 million with a publicly-traded fund management services company.
- Represented an international corporation with the acquisition of a majority stake in a U.S. subsidiary in the manufacturing sector.
- Represented a large U.S. conglomerate with the acquisition of multiple subsidiaries in the manufacturing sector.
- Represented an EdTech company in a sale transaction to a publicly-traded multinational publishing company.
- Represented a private equity fund in the acquisition of several higher education institutions for $10 million in the aggregate.
- Represented a private client in connection with the private placement of $300 million in senior secured notes, as well as a loan refinancing in the amount of $30 million.
- Mandarin Chinese (fluent)
- French (conversational)
Professional
- APABA-DC member
- NAPABA member
Community
- American Heart Association/Lawyers Have Heart Executive Leadership Team (2016-2021)
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two teenagers. Our family travels have taken us to Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Great Britain, France and Italy, among other places. As an avid language learner, I take every opportunity to practice conversational Mandarin, French, Italian and Spanish.