Evans L. King Jr.

General Counsel / Member

Biography

Evans “Buddy” King has served as General Counsel for the firm for the past 20 years, handling and resolving complex conflict and other ethical and business issues. Over the course of his career at Steptoe & Johnson, Mr. King has represented numerous clients in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and commercial financings, primarily in the media and energy industries, serving as “family lawyer” for over 30 years for a large newspaper group. He also has considerable experience in representation of lenders in bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy workouts. Mr. King served on the firm’s Executive Committee for several terms and as head of its Business Department, as well as on several other firm committees. He currently dedicates the bulk of his practice to his role as General Counsel.

Representative Experience

Lead counsel in the purchase of over 20 daily newspapers and countless weekly/shopper publications and radio stations
Lead counsel in numerous financings, both for lenders and borrowers, ranging in size from a few hundred thousand dollars to mid 9 figure range
Handled numerous purchases and sales of producing coal properties and/or coal reserves and oil and gas properties as well as financings relating to such types of assets primarily in the Appalachian region of the United States
Assisted clients in all phases of the acquisition of existing destination resorts
Assisted with land acquisition for hotel developers
Regularly drafted contracts for hospitality and resort clients across a wide range of business activities
General counsel for a newspaper publisher advising on First Amendment and intellectual property matters
Represented the majority owner of a major league baseball franchise in various aspects of ownership interest and shareholder matters
Represented a government contracting business in the sale of the company in a multi-million dollar transaction
Handled purchases and sales of many small and medium-sized and family-owned businesses
Represented the purchaser in a multi-million dollar merger transaction in which the client acquired the number-one-rated mountain resort in the mid-Atlantic region
Represented a major ski resort in the purchase of the assets of a state park ski area and the negotiation of a lease agreement with the state to allow the park to reopen
Served as lead counsel for a major North American coal company in connection with a divestiture project involving properties in several eastern and western states and in Canada

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Licensed In

West Virginia

Education

J.D. William & Mary Law School

B.A. University of Virginia

Memberships

Board of Directors, Medbrook Children’s Charity
Board Member, Mustard Seed, a local food pantry
Past Chairman, Board of Directors, Harrison County Chamber of Commerce
Past Chairman, Board of Directors, Clarksburg Mission, Inc.
Former Member, Board of Directors and Committee Chairman, Harrison County United Way
Past President, Clarksburg Kiwanis
Past Chairman, Board of Directors, Sacred Heart Children’s Center
Fellow, West Virginia Bar Foundation, 2013
Past Member, Committee on Uniform Commercial Code, West Virginia State Bar
Past President, Harrison County Bar Association

Achievements

Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
The Best Lawyers in America® Banking and Finance Law (2006-Present), Commercial Finance Law (2015-Present), Commercial Transactions / UCC Law (2021-Present), Corporate Law (2006-Present), Economic Development Law (2023-Present), Financial Services Regulation Law (2011-Present), Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2010-Present)
Founder, King-Earp-Ross Scholarship at Emory & Henry College, in memory of his father and 2 other Emory & Henry alumni who were teachers, coaches, and administrators at Christiansburg (Virginia) High School
Super Lawyers®, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Energy & Natural Resources Law, Bridgeport, WV (2007, 2011-2016)

Speaking Engagements

Mr. King has been a featured speaker at West Virginia CLE seminars concerning bankruptcy and banking matters, as well as numerous industry seminars on oil and gas financings and commercial workouts presented to clients.

Related Services

Related News & Resources

Press Release

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC Proud to Have More than 145 Attorneys Reco...

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is pleased to announce that 135 of the firm’...

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