Jua Tawah is an associate attorney in Dickinson Wright’s Corporate, M&A and Securities practice group who focuses on corporate transactions, private funds, regulatory compliance and enforcement, and general corporate law. Mr. Tawah advises entrepreneurs, businesses, asset managers, and broker-dealers on securities, derivatives, and corporate law matters.
Prior to joining Dickinson Wright, Mr. Tawah was an associate at a boutique law firm in Washington, DC that serves the alternative investment community. In that role, he handled a broad range of transactional and private fund matters. He also counseled clients on regulatory issues related to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and National Futures Association (NFA) and represented them in arbitrations as well as proceedings before the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and various exchanges.
Before entering private practice, Jua worked at FINRA for four years where he led multiple investigations of high-frequency trading firms, dark pools and other broker-dealers for potential violations of federal securities law and FINRA and exchange rules. Prior to working at FINRA, Jua clerked with a civil defense litigation law firm, where he gained experience drafting pleadings, briefs and dispositive motions related to mass tort, personal injury, medical malpractice and civil rights claims.
Jua is currently licensed to practice in the State of New York. His practice in the District of Columbia is limited to proceedings before federal courts and matters concerning federal agencies.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Scranton
BSc, Criminal Justice- Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminal Justice Honor Society
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
J.D.- Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Associate Editor
- Black Law Students’ Association
Bar Admission
Prominent Assignments
• Advised a real estate capital company on raising capital to acquire a majority interest in a real estate joint venture, collaborating with a local sponsor/developer.
• Guided a real estate investment and development firm through a Series A capital raise for an opportunity zone development, partnering with an outside investor.
• Acted as lead agent and sole book-runner for agents led by a major wealth management and capital markets firm in an oversubscribed short-form prospectus offering of common shares for a scientific corporation.
• Provided counsel to a major North American bank and a leading independent financial services firm, leading a team of underwriters in a $30,000,000 standard share offering for a manufacturer and supplier of high-volume graphene powder.
• Orchestrated financing and structuring for a housing development project as the representative of a developer, featuring a complex capital stack incorporating a ground lease/leaseback structure with a local finance authority and an opportunity zone component with investors.
• Facilitated the acquisition of two white-glove transportation/shipping companies for a private sponsor, involving cooperative efforts among multiple tribes facilitated by the sponsor.
• Offered comprehensive advice on structuring a qualified opportunity zone ground-up project, serving as lead counsel on financing, capital raising, and tax structuring in close collaboration with local counsel.
Professional Involvement
- American Bar Association
- National Bar Association