John A. Kober

Partner

John A. Kober is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice, and co-chair of the ESOP Practice.

Mr. Kober is one of the most knowledgeable ESOP attorneys in the nation, having advised numerous corporations, private equity groups, management groups, and fiduciaries regarding the use of ESOPs in a wide variety of transactions, including corporate ownership succession transactions, mergers and acquisition transactions, private equity management buyout transactions, private equity ESOP company acquisitions, medical industry ESOP transactions, and corporate reorganizations. He is involved in advising ESOP companies and fiduciaries involved in ESOP and corporate litigation. He also advises on corporate governance and best practices for ESOP companies.

Mr. Kober has lectured and written extensively on private equity ESOP transactions, shareholder liquidity and ownership succession, litigation involving fiduciary ESOP and corporate board of director lawsuits, and corporate governance of ESOP companies.

Mr. Kober speaks regularly at the annual national conferences of The ESOP Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA), private equity conferences, the Family Firm Institute (FFI), the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG) and at local and regional conferences sponsored by The ESOP Association. He also has made presentations for numerous other organizations, including programs sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Bankers Association, and State Bar Associations.

Mr. Kober is the immediate past chair of the ESOP Association’s National Finance Advisory Committee, current member of the Board of Directors of the NCEO and a member of the Technical Legislative Advisory Board dealing with ESOP S corporation legislation of ESCA, FFI and local chapters of the ACG.

Mr. Kober received his LL.M. in taxation from the University of Missouri in 1984, his J.D. from Washburn University in 1982, and his B.S. from Kansas State University in 1980.

Mr. Kober is admitted to practice in Texas, the District of Columbia, Nebraska, and Kansas and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.