Kenneth B. Abel

Bar Admissions

• Maryland

Court Admissions

• Court of Appeals of Maryland

Education

• University of Maryland School of Law (J.D., with honors, 1992)
  • Order of the Coif (4th of 206)
  • The Business Lawyer, Student Editor, 1991-1992
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1988)

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Kenneth B. Abel

Experience

Kenneth B. Abel is a principal at Ober|Kaler and co-chairs the firm's Business Group. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities law matters, Maryland corporation law matters, private fund and investment adviser representation, and general business representation. He has earned respect among colleagues and recognition from premier legal publications.

Ken’s mergers and acquisitions experience includes drafting and negotiating asset, stock purchase and merger agreements for buyers and sellers. His security law experience includes preparing public and private offering documents for issuers. He regularly advises Maryland corporations, including open and closed-end investment companies and real estate investment trusts incorporated in Maryland, and acquirers of these corporations, on matters of Maryland corporation law, including corporate governance matters and matters related to hostile takeovers and takeover defenses. He advises private funds and investment advisers on formation and compliance matters. He serves as “outside” general counsel to numerous emerging growth and mature companies, where he has extensive experience negotiating and/or drafting limited liability and limited partnership agreements, stockholder agreements, venture capital financing agreements, employment arrangements (including equity compensation for employees) and business contracts.

Ken is the former chair of the Maryland State Bar Association's Business Law Section as well as the former chair of its Securities Law Committee. He is currently active on several Business Law Section committees. As a member of the Business Law Section’s Legislative Committee, Ken has testified before the Maryland General Assembly on legislation affecting business in Maryland. He is the author of two Bloomberg BNA publications on Maryland law.

Ken served as a member of the Special Joint Committee of the Section of Business Law and the section of Real Property, Planning and Zoning of the Maryland State Bar Association which prepared the Maryland Report on Lawyers’ Opinions in Business Transactions, and he serves as a resource within the firm on legal opinion matters.

Ken enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and coaching and attending their sporting events.

Professional Memberships

• American Bar Association
  • Section on Business Law
• Maryland State Bar Association
  • Section of Business Law, Chair, 2011; Vice Chair, 2010-2011; Secretary, 2009-2010
    • Committee on Securities Law, Chair, 2005-2009
    • Committee on Corporation Law
    • Committee on Unincorporated Business Associations

Honoraries

• Listed in Maryland Super Lawyers, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2013
• Listed in Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers – Corporate/M&A (Maryland), 2005-2013
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law Categories (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2008-2013
• Listed in Smart CEO's Legal Elite, 2010

Professional Background

• Clerk to the Honorable Lawrence F. Rodowsky, Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1992-1993