John W. Lee

Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary @ Accel Entertainment

About

Senior legal executive with more than 20 years of progressive experience leading legal functions for growth-oriented organizations, including publicly-traded companies and family-owned private enterprises. I serve as a pragmatic, commercially grounded business partner to executive leadership and boards, advising across commercial contracting, M&A, corporate governance, dispute resolution, financing, regulatory compliance/data privacy, and employment matters. I run legal operations with discipline—building scalable processes, managing outside counsel strategically, and translating complex legal issues into clear, actionable business guidance. My experience spans highly regulated, multi-state operating environments and service-driven businesses, including gaming, education, edtech, retail, professional services, and real estate. I am particularly focused on aligning legal strategy with enterprise growth objectives while managing risk thoughtfully and efficiently.

Country

United States

City

Greater Chicago Area

Industry

Law Practice

Skill

Contract Negotiation, Privacy Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Governance, Due Diligence, Corporate Law, Outsourcing, Legal Research, Joint Ventures, Commercial Litigation, Private Equity, Mergers, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Legal Writing, Litigation Management, Dispute Resolution, Employment Law

Experience

Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary

Accel Entertainment

2023-1 - Present · 3 yrs 9 mos

Greater Chicago Area

Assistant General Counsel/VP Corporate Development

Accel Entertainment

2021-1 - 2023-1 · 2 yrs 1 mo

Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary

Follett Software

2014-6 - 2020-12 · 6 yrs 7 mos

Greater Chicago Area

Coordinate strategic M&A legal activity, serve as lead attorney for the preK-12 education business unit and member of its executive management team, support the retail business unit, address data privacy/regulatory compliance matters, oversee subsidiary corporate structure and evaluate corporate best practices.

General Counsel and Secretary

First Industrial Realty Trust

2012-7 - 2014-5 · 1 yr 11 mos

Chicago

Responsible for the legal function of a publicly-traded REIT, including ensuring compliance with SEC and NYSE regulations, managing litigation, coordinating public capital and debt financing transactions with Finance, implementing governance best practices, liaising with and presenting to the board of directors, overseeing outside counsel relationships and supporting operations.

Associate General Counsel - Consulting

Aon

2010-10 - 2012-6 · 1 yr 9 mos

Greater Chicago Area

Managed legal team aligned with the U.S. Consulting business, including the investment consulting, health/benefits insurance brokerage, and retirement actuarial practices, and functioned as divisional general counsel supporting the varied legal needs of the Consulting business, including contract negotiation, updating customer agreement templates, ensuring compliance with financial regulations, new product analysis, E&O management and various global initiatives.

M&A/Securities Counsel

Aon

2010-3 - 2010-9 · 7 mos

Greater Chicago Area

Responsible for all legal aspects of strategic acquisitions, prepared Exchange Act filings and addressed general corporate matters, including governance issues.

Associate

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

2000 - 2010 · 10 yrs

Chicago

Represented public and private clients, including private equity funds, on mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, governance and general corporate and securities matters.