Maureen C. Easton

Partner

Maureen C. Easton

Partner

Maureen Easton is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. She has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and private equity and venture capital transactions in a variety of industries including insurance, manufacturing, and financial technologies. Maureen also advises companies in connection with general corporate and governance matters. She works as her clients’ trusted partner to advance their business interests and avoid potential problems through active listening, creative negotiation, and precise drafting of documents.  She is a member of the Transactions and Insurance Practice Groups; the Manufacturing and Innovative Technology Sectors; and the Food & Beverage Industry Team, where she leads the firm’s Craft Beer practice.

Maureen’s insurance industry experience includes representation of life and property/casualty insurers in mergers and acquisitions; venture capital investments by insurers in insurtech and fintech companies; mutual insurance holding company mergers and conversions; governance advice; new company formation; and strategic partnership transactions.

Representative Experience

  • Represented CUNA Mutual Group in its $1.35B acquisition of Assurant’s global preneed business
  • Represent CUNA Mutual Group in its venture capital investments, particularly in the financial technology industry
  • Represented National Guardian Life Insurance Company in its acquisition of Everplans, a digital life and estate planning company
  • Represented CUNA Mutual Group in its acquisition of ForeverCar and its mechanical repair coverage digital platform and marketing capabilities
  • Represented Teel Plastics in its recapitalization with Morgenthaler Private Equity
  • Represented National Guardian Life Insurance Company in its strategic partnership with Insurance Capital Group to jointly develop and launch a national dental and vision insurance business
  • Represented American Family Insurance in its $1B acquisition of Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance
  • Represented American Family Insurance in its mutual holding company merger with Main Street America Group
  • Represented American Family Mutual Insurance Company in its conversion to a mutual holding company structure
  • Represented American Family Insurance in its $660 million acquisition of Homesite Group, Inc. and its various insurance subsidiaries
  • Represented American Family Insurance in its $239 million acquisition of PGC Holdings Corp. and its various insurance subsidiaries

Awards and Recognition

  • Named to BTI Consulting’s M&A Client Service All-Stars list (2021)
  • Selected by Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Up-and-Coming Business Leaders in the greater Madison area (2017)

Affiliations

  • Member, Audit Committee and Governance Committee, Board of Directors of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
  • Member, Board of Directors of Creative Learning Preschool, Inc.

Presentations and Publications

  • Co-author, Insurance M&A Activity Rebounds, ThinkAdvisor (2021)
  • Quoted, Trov’s Evolution: From Barba Streisand to Embedded Insurance, Carrier Management (2021)
  • Quoted, Foley & Lardner to add craft beer practice group, Milwaukee Business Journal (2016)
  • Quoted, Executive Q&A: Maureen Easton navigates the legalities of brewing, Wisconsin State Journal (2016)
12 September 2024 Deals and Wins

Foley Represents American Family Insurance in $1.7 Billion Sale of The General to Sentry Insurance

Foley & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to American Family Insurance in its signing of a definitive agreement with Sentry Insurance to sell The General, a subsidiary of American Family Insurance based in Nashville, TN.
26 June 2023 Deals and Wins

Foley Represents SixSibs Capital in Growth Equity Investment in Green Light Distribution

Foley & Lardner LLP recently advised SixSibs Capital in a minority growth equity investment in Green Light Distribution, a leading distributor of wine and craft spirits brands based in Dallas, Texas.
25 May 2023 Deals and Wins

Foley Successfully Represents City Brewing Company and Wisconsin Brewing Company in Petition to Affirm Contract Manufacturing of Spirits in Wisconsin

On May 11, 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue issued a declaratory ruling concluding that contract manufacturing (co-packing) and alternating proprietorship arrangements between properly permitted parties are legal in the State of Wisconsin.
24 February 2023 Deals and Wins

Foley Serves as Legal Adviser to A1 Garage in Growth Capital Partnership with Cortec Group

Foley & Lardner LLP served as legal adviser to A1 Garage Door Service Holdings, Inc. (A1), a market leader in the direct-to-consumer residential repair and replacement garage door services industry, in its growth capital partnership with an affiliated investment group led by Cortec Group Fund VII, L.P., an investment portfolio held by Cortec Group.
15 September 2022 Events

ACC-WI CLE Program and Networking

Please join Foley and ACC-WI for an afternoon of CLE, followed by an outdoor Oktoberfest reception with traditional Bavarian fare and beverages, festive music, and fun.
10 November 2021 Deals and Wins

Foley Represents TRICOR Insurance in Strategic Investment from J.C. Flowers

Foley & Lardner LLP represented TRICOR Insurance, a leading nationwide business insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, and individual life and health independent insurance agency, in a strategic investment from J.C. Flowers & Co., LLC (“J.C. Flowers”), a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry.