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Christian Chad Warpula

Partner
Charlotte
+1.704.331.7510
Fax +1.704.353.3210

Primary Practice

Secondary Practices

Education

  • J.D., Wake Forest University School of Law, 1998, (cum laude; Honor Award Recipient in Taxation of Corporate Reorganizations, Business Planning, Non-Profit Organizations, and Intellectual Property)
  • B.S., Harding University, 1995, (cum laude)

Admissions

  • Bar of North Carolina
  • Biography Overview
  • Additional Background
  • Representative Work

Chad Warpula is a partner in the Charlotte office of K&L Gates LLP. His diversified practice includes sports and corporate related representations for leagues, owners, teams, athletes, drivers, sponsors, licensees, media partners, venues and promoters in all types of transactions and disciplines. Mr. Warpula has significant experience in all types of corporate, M&A, joint venture, contractual, competition, licensing, sponsorship, agency, media and entertainment, intellectual property, employment, real estate, aviation and dispute resolution matters affecting his clients. 

Among his sports-related clients are The NASCAR/Teams Licensing Trust, an industry licensing trust which consolidated and restructured the licensing models for the NASCAR, team and driver intellectual property rights, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., numerous race teams and participants in all areas of motorsports, including the NASCAR, Indy Racing League and Grand-Am Series, and Olympic competitors and training facilities.

Professional Background

Mr. Warpula started his career in motorsports representing Dale Earnhardt, the legendary 7-time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion. Immediately prior to joining K&L Gates, Mr. Warpula served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates LLC and General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Board Member for Earnhardt Childress Racing Technologies.

Mr. Warpula also formerly served as a partner at a national law firm practicing in Capital Markets and Intellectual Property Transactional areas. He represented domestic and international clients in capital markets and corporate finance transactions, private equity transactions, securities offerings, IPOs, debt restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and general corporate matters. Mr. Warpula also represented clients in structuring, drafting and negotiating multi-million dollar transactions related to licensing of intellectual property rights, sponsorship and merchandising agreements, sports, entertainment and new media arrangements, technology transactions, privacy issues, professional services and complex outsourcing arrangements.

Achievements

  • Member of Order of the Coif
  • Named "Who's Who Among American Law Students"

Professional/Civic Activities

  • Sports Lawyers Association
  • American Bar Association
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Sports and Entertainment Section Council
  • Mecklenburg County Bar Association
  • Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council
  • Young Entrepreneur’s Organization
  • Association for Corporate Growth
  • The Club at Longview
  • Former Owner and Broker-in-Charge of Christian & Co., North Carolina and South Carolina real estate investment and advisory firm

Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker: The Racing Attorney Conference (TRAC) – “Managing the Effect of a Changing Business Environment on Employment Agreements, Sponsorship Deals and Driver Contracts” – April 2010
  • Speaker: North Carolina Central School of Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society Conference – March 2010
  • Speaker: Charlotte School of Law – “Navigating Employment Law Potholes in the Motorsports Industry” – November 2009
  • Speaker: “Advertising Law in North Carolina: Privacy and Consumer Information: An Update,” CLE
  • Speaker: “Online Privacy: What You Know Could Hurt You,” at the Smart Moves in the  eBusiness Arena: Reducing Risks and Reaping Rewards Seminar, Greenville, NC
  • Speaker: “Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the European Union,” at the Information Technology Law Conference, Raleigh, NC
  • Panelist: Young Entrepreneur's Organization Presentation – “The Anatomy of a Merger and Acquisition Sale Transaction,” Charlotte, NC
  • Quoted in Charlotte Business Journal article “Pillowtex Legal, Accounting Fees to Total in the Millions”
  • Speaker: “The Ins and Outs of Outsourcing: Strategies and Best Practices for Profitable Results,” Charlotte, NC, with guest speaker, Senator Robert Dole.
  • Quoted in North Carolina Magazine article “Outsourcing: Contracting Out some Pieces of your Business May Make Sense – If you do your Homework.”
  • Quoted in Charlotte Business Journal article “Knowing Your Privacy Rights,” on various privacy related issues.
  • Speaker: Young Entrepreneur’s Organization Presentation – “Partnership Agreements, Joint Ventures, Business Continuity, and Keeping the Deal You Think You’ve Negotiated,” Charlotte, NC
  • Represented the motorsports industry in reorganizing their collective licensing rights and properties, and successfully closed multiple acquisitions, joint ventures and licensing transactions for trackside sales, production of die cast replicas and other types of licensed products.
  • Managed and negotiated hundreds of sponsorship, endorsement, licensing and distribution agreements with collective value exceeding a billion dollars.
  • Drafted, negotiated and managed multiple agency and representation agreements related to athletes and talent, and all types of production agreements, video and photography rights agreements, music, TV and radio commercial licenses, concerts and special events, location releases, joint branding initiatives, publication scripting and distribution agreements, SAG and AFTRA rights and rights of publicity issues.
  • Lead negotiator in the largest multi-billion dollar international outsourcing transaction at the time, relating to the outsourcing of the airline reservation business, the transfer of underground data centers, uninterrupted transition, service level compliance and complex revenue and expense credits.
  • Served as outside general counsel for a national production facilities provider in negotiating and managing relationships for the production and broadcast of sporting events with NBC, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports, CBS, ESPN, ESPN Regional Television, Fox Sports, The Golf Channel, NASCAR, National Hot Rod Association, NBC Sports, New York City Marathon, Turner Sports and USGA.
  • Represented numerous NASCAR drivers in various endeavors, including real estate investments, organization and operation of non-profit entities, aviation matters, publication and negotiation with Warner Books of a driver autobiography and other corporate matters.
  • Structured and successfully consummated various joint ventures between motorsports teams and suppliers for race team operations, engine services, and technology alliances, such as supplier and vendor agreements, engine, drive-train and 7-post leases, wind-tunnel testing agreements, and technology and manufacturing agreements.
  • Managed all types of competition related agreements, including athlete and team agreements, such as driver, pit crew, crew chief, employment, development, personal services agreements, and performance-based compensation and bonus arrangements.
  • Serve as general counsel for various non-profit entities, private charities, and public foundations, including The Dale Earnhardt Foundation and MANA Nutrition.
  • Advised clients on all legal and administrative compliance for flight operations, aircraft, financing, securitization, FAA regulations, charter certification processes, audits, sales and purchases of aircraft, charter operations, fuel purchases and maintenance agreements.
  • Represented client in structuring and consummating nine consecutive reverse triangular mergers followed by drop down of assets into public shell and a simultaneous initial public offering of the merged company.
  • Represented private client in sale of significant real property investments, followed by forward and reverse qualified 1031 exchanges.
  • Represented national wholesale tire distributor in multi-year, successive roll-up acquisitions of regional competitors throughout the country, and in the development and licensing of proprietary retail software products.
  • Served as outside general counsel to Los Angeles production and movie company in establishing corporate structure, production agreements, actor agreements, copyrights, and structuring equity offering which raised the necessary capital to produce and distribute the film.
  • Represented national engineering, design and government contractor in a bid to acquire military housing and developments project assets out of bankruptcy and the acquisition of the construction development and engineering division of one of its largest competitors.
  • Negotiated and successfully consummated a “bet-the-business” international distribution relationship with a scientific research and development company on behalf of a biotechnology client.
  • Served as primary outside general counsel for seven years for Fortune 20 banking institution in all commercial contract matters, advised chief privacy counsel on US and international privacy issues, and managed international outsourcing of critical bank functions to offshore vendors.
  • Represented stored energy supplier in reorganization and merger transactions with regional energy supplier.
  • Successfully negotiated the sale of a client’s chemical patent rights through a structured bid process.
  • Served as a primary outside counsel to the largest national home improvement store in drafting, structuring, negotiating and managing hundreds of vendor, technology, licensing, manufacturing, distribution, purchase, outsourcing, development, joint marketing, software and operational agreements. Successfully negotiated multi-million dollar settlement in favor of client under a disputed licensing relationship.
  • Represented client related to the development and sale of enzyme technologies to U.S. Government to be used in military paint applications which deactivate nerve agents, and managed all investment offerings for the client.
  • Represented the largest train operator in the U.S. in the outsourcing of its train logistics business to IBM.
  • Represented a mortgage company in various refinancings, recapitalizations and equity restructurings and regulatory issues.
  • Represented domestic subsidiary of German client in the carbon fiber business in its acquisition of a competitor and joint venture transaction.
  • Managed sale of leading MICR ink and printer manufacturer to private equity investor.
  • Represented international textile client in consummating a technology license agreement for the exclusive license of a competitor’s technologies, the marketing and distribution of products incorporating such technologies, and cross-manufacturing and supply relationships between the competitors.
  • Managed all aspects of the client’s acquisition of numerous golf course developments and construction contracts, and financing thereof.
  • Represented a corrugated metal manufacturer in the sale of its multi-state corrugated metal business to a private equity investor, and carried interest of selling shareholders.
  • Managed numerous software, supply chain management and logistics contracts for an international leading overnight carrier.
  • Represented client in sale of its food service business to a competitor, and represented manufacturer of Chinese food products in the sale of its business to private equity investors.
  • Represented California-based semiconductor supplier in various commercial relationships and technology partnerships.
  • Structured and closed a technology licensing agreement between manufacturers of structural grid technologies for constructing concrete wall systems
  • Represented leading online health information provider in numerous corporate, M&A and contract matters, including handling its divestiture of a suite of subsidiaries and a multi-million dollar termination, settlement and migration services relationship with its service provider.
  • Represented a top five U.S., public software license manufacturer in a merger transaction with major public competitor.
  • Served as outside general counsel for national portrait studio in real estate, employment and multiple rounds of preferred stock capital raises.
  • Represented largest realtor and home search online database provider in relationships and transactions with affiliated national and local brokers, members and appraisers; assisted client in successfully reaching a multi-million dollar settlement among numerous competitors and online multiple-listing services providers.
  • Represented North Carolina based REIT in mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, corporate governance issues, purchase and management of real estate asset holdings, and ’34 Act filings.
  • Advised client in the successful merger of its Gold’s Gym franchise, and represented client in the acquisition of numerous Five Guys Restaurant franchises.
  • Represented German client in the purchase of its U.S. manufacturing facility.
  • Represented a national electronics brand in the sale of its U.S. and Canadian-based business to an equity investor.
  • Successfully structured and negotiated an outsourcing transaction between two regional banks for various loan servicing obligations and provided state and federal regulatory advice related thereto.
  • Served as part of a multi-disciplinary team representing the court-appointed examiner in the Enron bankruptcy case to investigate and trace fraud through Enron’s use of special purpose entities.
  • Represented USGA related public company in going-private transaction.
  • Represented Australian-based company in its acquisition of U.S. public competitor.
  • Structured, drafted, revised and negotiated the technology license, marketing, transfer, support and distribution agreement for the development of ruggedized computer electronics for aircraft and military vehicle applications.
  • Served as primary regulatory counsel on applicable state and federal laws relating to usury, financing and factoring issues related to client offering factoring services for real estate commissions.
  • Represented public telecommunications client in merger with public competitor.
  • Represented U.S. subsidiary of German-based textile company in the purchase of U.S. and Mexican textile businesses and the simultaneous sale of a division of the acquired business to its German competitor, and in all international supply and development agreements.
  • Served as outside general counsel to derivative trading firm, providing advice and structuring regarding preferred stock offerings.
  • Lead counsel on public debt exchange offering for major restaurant chain holding company.
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