Ajay K. Mago

Ajay Mago is a corporate and technology lawyer with a focus on complex transactional and advisory matters. Because of his consistently high volume of complex transactional engagements, he has developed a broad vision of the issues that confront business organizations and works to develop novel, creative and constructive solutions.

Mr. Mago is a nationally recognized lawyer and a trusted advisor to boards who advocates passionately for individual, corporate and institutional clients across numerous industries. His legal work has been recognized in The Washington Post, India Business Law Journal, Law360, Inside Counsel, Legal 500 U.S.– Leading Lawyers for M&A: Middle-Market, among other publications. Mr. Mago is committed to the community and engages in significant pro bono work. He has handled pro bono matters involving international and domestic microfinance, civil rights issues, immigration rights, and many other issues.

Utilizing process standardization, technology and project management tools, Mr. Mago and his team provide legal support to clients ranging from financial institutions to global technology vendors to public multinational corporations with high volumes of transactional, commercial and technology contract work streams.

Mr. Mago advises public and private companies and firms on all types of single-jurisdiction and cross-border M&A transactions, including negotiated and unsolicited acquisitions; going private transactions; stock-for-stock acquisitions; auctions; spin off transactions; acquisitions of minority interests; tender and exchange offers, and joint ventures. During his career Mr. Mago has advised clients on M&A transactions with cumulative total value of several billion dollars.

Mr. Mago’s practice also focuses on representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with acquisitions, investments, financings, joint ventures and strategic alliances. He has represented general partner and limited partner clients across a broad spectrum of private equity fund types and transactions, including buyout, growth equity, real estate, venture capital, mezzanine, special opportunity, secondary market, fund of funds, feeder funds, co-investment, distressed debt, and pledge funds/seeding arrangements. Mr. Mago also represents multiple private equity investors in “club” transactions.

Mr. Mago has broad experience representing lenders, agents and other market participants in a wide variety of commercial financing transactions. His practice includes structuring, negotiating, and documenting syndicated secured and unsecured and multicurrency financings, private debt placements, structured financings, acquisition financings, construction financings, liquidity facilities, and debtor-in-possession and exit financings. He also has extensive experience in restructurings and workouts.

Additionally, Mr. Mago has significant experience with the complex intercreditor aspects of mezzanine and subordinated debt transactions. He also has represented numerous business entities acting as borrowers, including financial sponsors and large and middle market companies, in negotiating and closing their credit facilities.

A number of emerging growth companies have relied on Mr. Mago to serve as outside counsel. In addition to guiding companies on day to day legal needs, his practice focuses on helping technology and growth companies form and operate new businesses, raise capital through private offerings, and buy and sell companies.

Mr. Mago works proactively and collaboratively with clients’ managements and boards of directors to coordinate and oversee clients’ legal needs and their integration with operations and business initiatives.

In addition to his work with growth companies, Mr. Mago represents a number of venture capital firms and angel investors.

Mr. Mago has extensive experience representing domestic and foreign technology companies in the legal and business issues related to the development and deployment of technology businesses and services for Fortune 500 and other companies. He handles information systems and information technology implementation transactions (including large scale, multi-site ERP and CRM implementation transactions), IT development, technology services, professional services, service level, large scale computer and telecommunications network services, equipment purchases, sales and maintenance deals.

Mr. Mago has broad experience in technology transactions, licenses, technology transfer and all forms of business process outsourcing (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS) and is a contributing author to LexisNexis’ Lexis Practice Advisor® Outsourcing module. He represents clients in the acquisition, divestiture and licensing of IP assets and rights involving a wide variety of technologies, including apparel and textiles (fabrics and garments), software, high speed machinery, industrial products, electronics, chemicals, medical devices and products, household goods, and furniture.

Mr. Mago has advised both domestic and international clients on matters involving a wide range of jurisdictions, including India, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Peru, the Netherlands, Mexico, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Southern Sudan and Uganda.

Ajay Mago’s practice also focuses on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and he leads EM³ Law’s AI and ML Practice. He regularly advises companies on the complex regulatory and legal issues associated with AI and ML technologies. Mr. Mago and his team understand large language models and how AI works, and they help clients adopt these technologies responsibly and innovatively.

Mr. Mago provides strategic counsel on issues such as data protection, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, software development, product liability, internal AI usage policies, and open-source software. Because his advice covers all of these areas, he aims to help businesses achieve their objectives while managing legal challenges that continue to evolve in multiple jurisdictions.

Companies for which Mr. Mago has worked on substantial matters during his legal career include ACI Worldwide, Bank of America, Walton Street Capital, Starwood Capital Group, The Duchossois Group, Imperial Capital, LLC, Canaccord Genuity Corp., Grainger Worldwide, The Riverside Company, BBVA Compass, SKS Microfinance, Lennox International, Kaiser Aluminum, KeyBank, PMFG, Koch Industries, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Macy’s, PNC Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, AT&T, Novartis International, International Wire Group, Inc., Saputo, Inc., and Woodward, Inc.

Legal AI Implementation Advice for Businesses (5 Step Guide)

Privacy in the Digital Age: Decoding the AI Consent Act

A Closer Look at the American Privacy Rights Act 2024

• Lead attorney handling hundreds of acquisition, investment, finance, and real estate transactions for deals ranging in size from $1.5 million to over $1 billion.
• Lead attorney in over $2.5 billion of domestic and cross border investment, acquisition, and financing transactions.
• Outside general counsel and advisor to companies ranging in size from $10 million to over $500 million in revenue.
• Lead attorney in International Trade Commission investigation of import of fraudulent textiles.
• Co-chair of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firm’s (NAMWOLF) International Law Practice Area Committee.

• Outside General Counsel
• Private Equity
• Venture Capital
• M&A
• Banking and Finance
• Technology Transactions
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

• The University of Texas at Austin (J.D. 2004; M.S. in Technology Commercialization 1999; B.B.A. 1997)

• Jones Day
• Mayer Brown LLP
• Duane Morris LLP

• Legal 500 U.S.– Leading Lawyers for M&A: Middle-Market 2015
• Emerging Lawyer, Emerging Lawyers, 2015
• Indiaspora
• American Bar Foundation Fellow
• President of Chicago Bar Foundation Young Professionals Board (2012-2013)
• President of South Asian Bar Association Foundation (2016-2017)
• Speaker, Cybersecurity, Argyle 2016 Chief Information Security Officer
• Leadership Forum, Los Angeles, CA, May 10, 2016
• Speaker, Cybersecurity Nuts and Bolts: What to do in Case of Breach, U.S. India Chamber of Commerce, Dallas, TX, April 21, 2016
• Speaker, “Analysis of a Technology License Agreement,” Practising Law Institute, Chicago, IL, April 23-24, 2015
• Speaker, Indiaspora’s AI Summit 2024, “Beyond Buzzwords: Can AI Be a Force for Good?,” Stanford University, CA, April 26, 2024

• Legal AI Implementation Advice for Businesses (5 Step Guide)
• Privacy in the Digital Age: Decoding the AI Consent Act
• A Closer Look at the American Privacy Rights Act 2024

• Law Clerk to Judge Sam A. Lindsay, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (2004-2005)

• Hindi