Nicholas P. Panos is a Senior Special Counsel in the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions at the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance in Washington, D.C. His responsibilities include administering and interpreting the Williams Act and corresponding SEC regulations governing international and hostile business combinations, proxy contests for corporate control and management buyouts. His SEC career began in the Division of Enforcement where he worked on matters relating to insider trading, front running by investment advisors, and full disclosure in municipal finance offerings. Prior to entering law school, Mr. Panos was employed at a real estate investment bank specializing in the syndication of limited partnerships. Mr. Panos is a contributing author to an SEC Interpretive Release issued in July, 2000 on tender offers for limited partnerships and tender offers subject only to Section 14(e) and Regulation 14E. In response to the recent financial crisis, Mr. Panos helped develop a short sale disclosure system, engineered exemptive relief needed to assist General Motors' attempt to buyback $28 billion in publicly held debt, and provided assistance to a commercial bank seeking to navigate compliance requirements as part of an effort to improve Tier 1 capital. Mr. Panos also was credited in 2009 for authoring proposed reforms to the SEC proxy solicitation rules.
Mr. Panos graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. in Economics and obtained his law degree from the University of Denver where he was a member of the Law Review and earned a research credit in a West Publishing textbook on administrative law. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and also holds a MBA degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City.