Jo represents clients in corporate and securities law. Her practice has an emphasis on corporate governance issues. She has served as lead counsel on public registrations representing over a billion dollars and has substantial experience in cross-border corporate acquisitions.
Jo Watson HacklOF COUNSEL
Contact
P 864-242-8225
F 864-235-8900
- Corporate
- Joint Ventures and Public-Private Partnerships
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Outside General Counsel
- Securities and Corporate Finance
| 1988, J.D. | Yale Law School, Yale Journal of International Law, Book Review Editor, 1986-87; Yale Law Journal, Notes Topic Editor, 1987-88 |
| 1985, B.A. | Millsaps College, with high honors; Omicron Delta Kappa |
- Represented an international public company in connection with a shelf registration statement covering up to $750 million of common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, stock purchase contracts, stock purchase units, warrants, debt securities and trust preferred securities.
- Represented an international public company in connection with 144A private placement of $400 million of notes and subsequent registered exchange offering.
- Represented an international public company in connection with a $250 million offering of floating rate notes. This offering was a takedown from the shelf registration statement described above.
- Represented a public company in connection with a tender offer and consent solicitation relating to its Senior Notes (approximately $31 million in aggregate amount then outstanding).
| 1989-Present | Wyche, P.A. |
| 1988–89 | Law Clerk, Hon. Robert S. Vance, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit |
- Alabama Bar, 1990
- South Carolina Bar, 1990
- ETV Foundation Board Member
- Hollingsworth Funds Board Member
- Greenville Chamber ACCELERATE Committee
- Greenville Area Development Corporation, Past Chair
- The Community Foundation of Greenville, Past Chair
- Liberty Fellowship, Senior Advisor
- The Emrys Foundation, Past President
- Camperdown Academy Board of Directors
- Leadership Greenville, Class XIX; past Forum President
- Children’s Museum of the Upstate, past Member of the Board of Directors
- Peace Center for the Performing Arts: Philanthropist of the Year, 2002; past Member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors
- Former Greenville County Human Relations Commissioner appointed by County Council
- Greenville Professional Women’s Forum, Past President
- Diversity Leadership Institute Fellow
- Aspen Global Leadership Institute Fellow
- NEXT Venture Mentoring Service, Founding Mentor
- Greenville Chamber Pacesetter Program, Mentor
- Greenville Technical College Area Commission
- Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA), Board Member
- South Carolina Research Authority Board Member
- Author, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, a middle grade novel that won the 2019 Southern Book Prize in Children’s Literature
- Panelist for The Greenville Chamber’s 2013 PULSE Leadership Luncheon, “Perspectives on Building Capacity in the Workplace, PULSE, and the Community”
- A New Generation in Legal Literacy: Review of Jo S. Kittinger’s Breath of Hope, Clearinghouse Review, November-December 2012
- Panelist for “Power Surge: Maximizing the Board Chair/Executive Director Relationship” presented by DNA Creative Communications in conjunction with the Community Foundation of Greenville, the Hollingsworth Funds, Inc., and the United Way of Greenville County
- “Most Common Questions and Answers about Ethics Programs”, as heard on “South Carolina Business Review”
- “Ten Questions to Ask Before Joining a Private Company or Non-Profit Board”, as heard on “South Carolina Business Review”
- “Most Common Questions and Answers about Positioning Your Company for a Possible IPO”, as heard on “South Carolina Business Review”
- Co-author, “State Takeover Statutes and Shareholder Wealth; An Empirical Study,” Yale Law Journal, 1988
| 2017 | Named Greenville Corporate Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers® |
| 2016 | Recipient of the Greenville County Bar’s Tommy Thomason Award |
| 2016 | Named the Greenville Corporate Governance Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers® |
| 2015 – Present | Listed in South Carolina Super Lawyers |
| 2013 | Recipient of the Community Foundation’s Ruth Nicholson Award |
| 2013 | Winner of the Greenville Chamber’s ATHENA Leadership Award |
| 2013 | Selected as a finalist for the United Way Mentor of the Year Award |
| 2013 | Martindale-Hubbell AV rated |
| 2010 – 2011 | Selected as one of Greenville Business Magazine’s 50 Most Influential |
| 2010 | Selected as a Woman of Achievement by the YWCA |
| 2008 | Liberty Fellow |
| 1995 | Recipient of the Greenville Bar Association Richard Riley Pro Bono Award |
| 1994 | Selected as one of 35 in the inaugral class of “Best and Brightest” by Greenville Magazine |
| 1988 | Israel H. Peres Award for best student writing in the Yale Law Journal |
