By: Catherine Porter Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Advisory Board
Chair, Transaction Section
Moye White LLP
1400 16th Street, 6th Floor
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303.292.2900
Fax: 303.292.4510
[email protected]
www.MoyeWhite.com
Rising to the top of one’s profession is difficult. Excelling simultaneously as an active member of one’s society is even more difficult, yet strong community leaders are distinguished by their ability to do exactly that. In this way, Edward "Ted" White has risen as a strong leader in Colorado.
A business lawyer by profession, White has been recognized as a leader in his field by many organizations and publications, including Best Lawyers in America, Colorado Super Lawyers, Denver Business Journal PowerBook, and as a Top Lawyer in Law Week Colorado. He was also awarded Best of Bar in International Trade and Finance by the Denver Business Journal in 2008.
However, White’s achievements outside of his work set him apart as a leader, not only in law, but also in Colorado. Currently chairman of the board of trustees for the Boettcher Foundation, White focuses his efforts with the other trustees and the staff on determining how the Boettcher Foundation can have the greatest positive impact given limited resources (Boettcher has a corpus of approximately $300 million). White is also a trustee or former trustee of many community organizations including: AWM Charitable Fund, Colorado Historical Foundation, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Botanic Gardens Endowment, Graland Country Day School, Kent Denver School, Porter Adventist Hospital, Schlegel White Foundation, Tenth Mountain Trail Association, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, the Webb-Waring Institute for Biomedical Research, and the Webb-Waring Foundation.
Additionally, White has met success both as the author of the book, Drafting Business Contracts, published in 2010, and as the founder and managing director of the Estabrook Funds, a multi-asset absolute return hedge fund, which is one of the first of its kind in the United States.
White’s interests in the community extend far beyond his job as a lawyer, where his most recent undertaking combined his profession with his interest in promoting international collaboration among the countries of the Americas. For the past two years, White has served as chair of the board of directors of the Denver Biennial of the Americas while his firm, Moye White LLP, donated over $150,000 in pro bono legal services to the event.
One of the largest international events in the country in 2010, The Biennial of the Americas consisted of dozens of events celebrating the innovation, sustainability, and arts of the thirty-five nations of the Americas. White and his board oversaw the event, which included a series of high-profile roundtable discussions and art exhibitions at forty venues throughout Colorado, from public art exhibits at Civic Center Park to performances by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. The Biennial of the Americas was the largest themed ideas festival in Colorado’s history.
White’s ability to step back and recognize the importance of the international community is apparent outside of his work with the Biennial. White's legal practice focuses on international law. He has worked on projects in each continent, with a focus on the Americas, and is currently the vice president of the International Alliance of Law Firms for which he serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Marketing Committee.
White’s primary full-time job is being a business lawyer with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, financings, and international projects. A "name partner" in the Moye White law firm, he is chairman of the firm’s Transaction Section and serves on the Management Committee.
White combines his extensive knowledge of commercial and investment markets to help clients purchase and sell companies, make strategic investments, arrange financing, and operate profitably. As a strategic partner, White helps clients discern opportunities and make strategic connections that add value to their business. He leads his clients to match their legal structure with business goals and navigate the complexities of growing their business.
White is also an arbitrator for complex commercial disputes through the American Arbitration Association. He has resolved dozens of commercial claims relative to matters such as international transactions, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, professional sports contracts, and other complex business issues.
The world is full of smart, talented people who are successful at their business or profession. What we need are more of them, who like White, keep a broader perspective and are willing to help for the sake of the community. These are the people who truly have a positive impact.