Since joining Nixon Peabody more than 25 years ago, Phil has had the pleasure of advising investors, middle market private companies, large public companies, entrepreneurs and C-level executives in many different kinds of corporate transactions, all over North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Phil was born in Southern Africa and finished his secondary education in the United States. His love of family, travel, outdoor adventure and community permeates everything he does.
Phil has been described as “the consummate trusted advisor,” who is “very practical and determined to get the deal closed,” and who “consistently excels at solving client’s complex problems.” Phil routinely taps into a broad network of middle market contacts to help clients source new transaction opportunities, identify sources of capital, hire key employees and engage other key service providers from investment bankers to accountants. Phil believes that: “as lawyers we have to do a lot more than just provide excellent service and work; we need to understand our client’s business and find ways to add value to their business.”
At Nixon Peabody, Phil has served in many prior leadership roles, including chair of the Business Department and on the firm’s Management Committee. Phil currently leads the firm’s nationally acclaimed Private Equity and Family Office practice group. This is a dynamic and experienced group comprised of private equity lawyers around the firm, ranging in skills from fund formation, to transactions, to representing portfolio companies, to resolving claims among investors. Phil is also a member of the Firm’s Policy Committee.
Phil is a frequent lecturer and presenter on the latest trends in mergers and acquisitions, business strategies and issues most important to PE funds, independent sponsors, family offices, CEOs, CFOs and general counsel. Deeply committed to our community, Phil and his wife Julie started a new charity in the spring of 2017 to benefit our veterans called Swim With A Mission. So far, they have already raised over $2.3 million to benefit a number of veteran-focused organizations, including the Navy SEALs Museum (Ft. Pierce, FL), Veterans Count (NH), Children of the Fallen Patriots, Harbor Homes and The Bridge House Veterans Homeless Shelter. Phil is the immediate past president of the Board of the Granite State Children’s Alliance, which attends to child victims of abuse. Phil is also a board member at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida. He also serves on the Board of Elliot Hospital and Elliot Health System. In 2015, Phil co-founded a de novo bank called Primary Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Bedford, NH, and currently serves on the Board of Directors. He is a former member of a number of boards, including, the Derryfield School, the YMCA and Junior Achievement.
When Phil is not on his phone or in front of his computer, he is likely spending time with his family or walking his English Springer Spaniels through the woods, occasionally skeet shooting, sometimes competing in triathlons and always happy to share a single malt scotch or fine tequila. If not for the complete intellectual engagement of working with a wonderful group of clients, Phil would enjoy being a safari guide in the Okavango Delta.
I have more than 20 years of experience in middle market corporate transactional work, including mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, startups, shareholder disputes and venture capital financing. Nixon Peabody’s platform enables our team to represent the full range of clients at any one time. By way of example, we recently worked on the following transactions.:
This is just a small sample of recent work, but illustrates the breadth of experience and our capabilities. Often I find myself in a familiar negotiation that I have been involved in before, but wearing a different hat. Sometimes it is advising the investor, but other times it is the target in a similar type of transaction. Sometimes it is advising the seller on how to secure the best deal, but often it is the buyer on how to become the winning bidder. Sometimes it is the board of directors on how to best deal with an important issue, but other times it is representing the management team on how best to manage their board of directors. The experience of sitting on each side of the table has been invaluable in providing practical and relevant advice to each client.
Our clients continue to be tested to manage in a challenging market. A number of trends have suddenly been accelerated, which when combined with so much dislocation in the market, creates opportunities for those who can see the trends, are bold enough to pursue them and have the liquidity to do it successfully. Management teams will be challenged to survive and thrive, but some will fail. Valuations for weaker companies will drop and some of those companies will be acquired by purchasers still flush with cash. Companies in now hot areas, for example, telemedicine, non-perishable food production and vaccine production will command higher valuations. Both strategic and financial sponsors are going to have a tougher time trying to win the “hot” sellers, but both will have opportunities to acquire weaker companies at distressed prices. Through it all, I think the middle market continues to present great opportunities for savvy dealmakers to find and create value for their investors and stockholders.
The Boston Globe | April 27, 2020
This article quotes Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub, head of the firm’s Private Equity team, on difficult decisions private equity firms are having to make in terms of which startups get funding and which do not in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
New Hampshire Union Leader | April 24, 2020
Following up on last month’s Union Leader op-ed (“I didn’t have a plan, so I bought toilet paper”), Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub wrote this article on developing resilience and mental fortitude amid the pandemic. Phil includes insights from a Marine, a Green Beret, and an Army veteran.
New Hampshire Union Leader | April 10, 2020
This article highlights a donation made by the veteran support group Swim with a Mission of PPE, including 140 N95 masks and gowns to the New Hampshire Veterans Home. Swim with a Mission worked with Recovery Logistics Network to secure the equipment. Swim with a Mission is a charity co-founded by Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub and his wife Julie.
New Hampshire Union Leader | March 18, 2020
Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub wrote this op-ed sharing the insights of three retired Navy SEALs who talked about how people react in times of fear and anxiety, and how we can be strategic in our approach to the coronavirus outbreak.
Wall Street Journal | February 27, 2020
Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub talks to the Wall Street Journal about the personal and professional impact of the coronavirus outbreak on private-equity practitioners.
New Hampshire Union Leader | March 23, 2019
Manchester Corporate partner and Private Equity practice team leader Phil Taub is mentioned in this article for his elevation to board director of the National Navy UDT-Seal Museum in Florida. Phil co-founded the nonprofit Swim for a Mission, which has raised more than $1.2 million for veterans’ causes over the past two years.
New Hampshire Business Review | November 23, 2018
Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub is featured in this interview about his view on the market for mergers and acquisitions. The article also mentions Phil’s extensive work on behalf of our nation’s veterans.
New Hampshire Business Review | November 22, 2018
Manchester Corporate partner Phil Taub is featured in this interview about his view on the market for mergers and acquisitions. The article also mentions Phil’s extensive work on behalf of our nation’s veterans.
iHeart Radio | September 07, 2018
Manchester private equity and family office partner Phil Taub was featured in this podcast discussing his career at Nixon Peabody and the success of the “Swim with a Mission” charity event he founded. He will also be featured in a chapter of the book that will be published based on this podcast series.
New Hampshire Union Leader | June 10, 2018
Manchester corporate partner Phil Taub is quoted in this article previewing Swim With a Mission, a fundraising event founded by Phil and his wife, Julie, to benefit veterans’ organizations.
George Washington University National Law Center, J.D.
Boston University, B.S.
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire
Philip was selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 in the fields of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Philip has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2010.
Philip has been recognized for exceptional standing in the legal community in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2019 for Corporate/Commercial (New Hampshire). He has also been recognized in Chambers in previous years.
Philip has also been recognized as a “New England Super Lawyer” in business and corporate law based on a peer-review survey by Thomson Reuters (2007-2018).
Phil currently serves on the following boards: Swim With A Mission, Inc. (Co-Founder and President), National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Ft. Pierce, Florida), Primary Bank (New Hampshire), Granite State Children’s Alliance (Past President) and Elliot Health Systems (New Hampshire). Phil formerly served on a number of other community boards, including, the Greater Manchester Family YMCA, the Derryfield School and Junior Achievement. Philip is a former president of the local bar association.
