| Biography | Ralf Boer is a partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, where he served as chairman and CEO of the firm (2002-2011) and as a member of the firm's Management Committee (1992-2011). In addition, he is a past chair of the firm's Business Law Department and of the International Practice. Mr. Boer is a member of the Transactional & Securities Practice and the Automotive Industry Team. Mr. Boer's areas of practice include transnational and domestic mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations and international business transactions. He focuses his practice on clients from and transactions in Europe, and is fluent in German. Mr. Boer practiced for the firm in Frankfurt, Germany from 1975 to 1976. Mr. Boer's international business law activities are extensive. He is a member of the board of directors of Fiskars Corporation (Helsinki, Finland), listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. He also serves as general (outside) counsel for numerous European clients. In the U.S., Mr. Boer is a member of the board of directors of Plexus Corp., a NASDAQ-listed company, and is chair of Plexus' Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. He was a member of the board of directors of Exide Electronics Group, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina until its acquisition by BTR plc in 1998. Mr. Boer has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in corporate law, international trade and finance law, and mergers & acquisitions law and has been named 2012 Milwaukee International Trade and Finance Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Boer is listed in Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for Business. He has also been selected for inclusion in the 2006 - 2008, and 2011 lists for Wisconsin Super Lawyers®. Born in Berlin, Germany in 1948, Mr. Boer is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (B.A., cum laude, 1971), and of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (J.D., magna cum laude, 1974). He was elected to the Order of the Coif and was note and comment editor, Wisconsin Law Review, 1974. He is co-author of the German "Labor/ Management Relations Act/Betriebsverfassungsgesetz," Frankfurt, 1977 and 1983, and author of numerous legal articles. In 1999, Mr. Boer was named Knight, First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland, awarded by the President of the Republic of Finland. (Also at Chicago, Illinois Office) |