Skip to Main Content
Our Commitment to Diversity
Ernie L. Cochran II

Ernie Cochran is a partner in the firm's Finance practice. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and general corporate matters. Ernie advises Fortune 500 companies as well as middle-market and emerging growth companies in a wide variety of corporate matters. He regularly represents private equity sponsors, hedge funds, venture capital firms and corporate investors. He also has experience involving real estate development and transactions and represents borrowers and lenders in connection with secured and unsecured credit facilities, asset-based loans and acquisition financing.

Ernie has worked on transactions involving companies in many industries, including technology, paper and packaging, aerospace, distribution, energy, healthcare and real estate.

He regularly advises clients in the following areas:

  • Stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions, mergers and other similar transactions for both public and private companies;
  • Private equity and venture capital financings;
  • Distressed debt acquisitions and dispositions;
  • Joint ventures, partnerships and strategic alliances;
  • Corporate recapitalizations, reorganizations and restructurings;
  • Commercial lending and corporate finance;
  • Real estate acquisition, disposition and development;
  • Technology transactions; and
  • General corporate and commercial matters, including contract negotiation and the formation and capitalization of corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships.

Prior to joining K&L Gates, Ernie worked for firms in Atlanta and Charleston.

  • Named "Lawyer of the Year" by The Best Lawyers in America® for Corporate Law in Charleston SC, 2024
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® in Charleston
    • Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Venture Capital Law, 2024
    • Corporate Law, 2018-2024
  • Named a 2015 BTI Client Service All-Star
  • One80 Place, Board Member, 2016 - Present
  • Leadership Charleston, Class of 2012
  • Charleston County Bar Association
  • Urban Land Institute, Member
Additional Thought Leadership Pages
Additional News & Event Pages
Return to top of page

Email Disclaimer

We welcome your email, but please understand that if you are not already a client of K&L Gates LLP, we cannot represent you until we confirm that doing so would not create a conflict of interest and is otherwise consistent with the policies of our firm. Accordingly, please do not include any confidential information until we verify that the firm is in a position to represent you and our engagement is confirmed in a letter. Prior to that time, there is no assurance that information you send us will be maintained as confidential. Thank you for your consideration.

Accept Cancel