ATTORNEY BIOGRAPHIES

WILLIAM H. WENTZ

Mr. Wentz has a wide variety of experience in law, business and government.  He has provided legal services to companies of all sizes, founded and built a high tech company, developed one of the largest antitrust cases in history, and directed litigation for a major federal agency. 

Mr. Wentz has particular expertise in facilitating the purchase and sale of privately-held businesses and structuring business deals.  He is a popular speaker on topics relating to rapidly-growing companies and entrepreneurial businesses.

Mr. Wentz gained national attention as a principal architect of one of the largest price-fixing cases in history, and as the founder of ShipNet Systems, Inc., one of the first e-commerce companies.  Before starting ShipNet, Mr. Wentz was Associate General Counsel of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) during the period of airline deregulation.  He directed the agency's enforcement, antitrust, and consumer protection programs and managed its court and administrative litigation. In the early 1970's, he served as a principal advisor to two Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission.  Mr. Wentz also practiced law in Washington, D.C. representing Fortune 500 companies in major antitrust, merger and regulatory (FTC, EPA, FDA) cases and proceedings. 

After graduating from Brown University, Mr. Wentz attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an editor of the law review and received his J.D. degree cum laude in 1970.  In 1988, Mr. Wentz earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business (GSB).

Mr. Wentz is the Coordinator of the GSB's Entrepreneurial Roundtable and an active participant in business development organizations.  He is also active in Midwest Business Brokers & Intermediaries, the leading M&A Association in the Chicago area.

Mr. Wentz was awarded the Small Business Leader Award by the Oak Brook Association of Commerce and Industry and the Founder's Award by the DuPage Area Association.  

JAY B. STRAYER    

Mr. Strayer has diversified experience in corporate and commercial law with large and medium sized companies.  In recent years, Mr. Strayer has developed an extensive practice in estate planning, probate law and business succession planning. 

Prior to entering private law practice, Mr. Strayer served as in house corporate/general counsel for several large manufacturing companies. In that capacity, he handled acquisitions and divestitures of business units, including major international corporate transactions.  Mr. Strayer also negotiated and implemented complex financing arrangements for both public and privately owned corporations.  He is a skilled negotiator, experienced in  managing complex litigation.

Mr. Strayer was Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Jepson Corporation.  Jepson was a diversified (NYSE) holding company that operated ten manufacturing subsidiaries.   Mr. Strayer was a key member of the management team that took Jepson public and later sold Jepson to Sam Zell's empire where it was merged into Eagle Industries, Inc.

Prior to his position with Jepson, Mr. Strayer was General Counsel and Secretary of Atcor, Inc. a publicly traded (NASDAQ) manufacturer and distributor of steel conduit pipe and related products.

Before becoming General Counsel of Atcor, Mr. Strayer was Assistant General Counsel of McGraw-Edison Company (NYSE).  Mr. Strayer directed the activities of the corporate legal staff at McGraw.  This company was a multi-national corporation with revenues exceeding $3.0 billion prior to being acquired by Cooper Industries in 1985.

Mr. Strayer is a graduate of the University of Kansas where he received degrees in Economics (BA), Law (JD) and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).  Mr. Strayer currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Kansas University Business School and is a frequent guest speaker in the MBA program.  He is also a retired member of the Supply Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve, where he achieved the rank of Commander and specialized in defense logistics and contract administration.

In 1998, Mr. Strayer was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Glen Ellyn.  The Glen Ellyn Jaycees named him Glen Ellyn Citizen of the Year for his leadership roles with various community organizations.