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Securities And Capital Markets

Underwriting Agreement

Drafting underwriting agreements for securities offerings is an intensive process requiring meticulous attention to SEC compliance, indemnification provisions, and market-standard terms. Securities attorneys spend 6-8 hours coordinating representations and warranties, closing conditions, greenshoe options, and indemnification clauses while ensuring consistency with registration statements and prospectuses. The complexity of capital markets transactions leaves little room for error or omissions.

Automation ROI

Time savings at a glance

Manual workflow12 hoursAverage time your team spends by hand
With CaseMark15 minutesDelivery time with CaseMark automation
EfficiencySave 32.5x time with CaseMark

The Problem

Drafting underwriting agreements for securities offerings requires extensive knowledge of federal securities laws, market practice, and complex indemnification structures. Attorneys spend 10-15 hours crafting these critical documents, coordinating multiple provisions across representations, covenants, closing conditions, and termination rights while ensuring SEC compliance and protecting all parties' interests.

The CaseMark Solution

CaseMark automates the creation of comprehensive, market-standard underwriting agreements tailored to your specific offering structure. Our AI generates complete agreements with proper party identification, purchase terms, over-allotment options, detailed representations and warranties, indemnification provisions, and all required closing conditions in minutes, not hours.

Key benefits

How CaseMark automations transform your workflow

Generate complete underwriting agreements in 12 minutes vs. 6+ hours manually

Ensure SEC compliance with built-in representations, warranties, and closing conditions

Automate greenshoe options, indemnification clauses, and contribution provisions

Maintain consistency across registration statements, prospectuses, and underwriting docs

Reduce risk of omitted provisions or non-standard terms in capital markets transactions

What you'll receive

Header and Parties
Purchase and Sale of Firm Shares
Over-Allotment (Greenshoe) Option
Closing Details and Payment Terms
Company Representations and Warranties
Underwriter Covenants
Conditions to Closing
Indemnification by Company
Indemnification by Underwriters
Contribution Provisions
Lock-Up Agreements
Governing Law and Miscellaneous

Document requirements

Required

  • Company Information Sheet
  • Offering Terms Sheet
  • Registration Statement Details

Optional

  • Selling Stockholder Information
  • Prior Underwriting Agreement
  • Underwriter List
  • Lock-Up Party List

Perfect for

Securities attorneys at law firms representing issuers or underwriters
Corporate counsel at companies preparing for public offerings
Investment banking legal teams managing IPO transactions
Capital markets partners at large law firms
In-house securities lawyers at financial institutions

Also useful for

This workflow is applicable across multiple practice areas and use cases

Corporate Finance98% relevant

Corporate finance transactions frequently require underwriting agreements for debt offerings, convertible securities, and other capital raising activities beyond traditional IPOs.

Underwriting agreements are core documents in all types of securities offerings and capital raising transactions, making this workflow essential for corporate finance practitioners handling public and private placements.

Financial Services85% relevant

Financial services attorneys advising broker-dealers, investment banks, and other financial institutions need underwriting agreements for regulatory compliance and transaction documentation in securities offerings.

Financial services regulation heavily overlaps with securities law, and institutions in this sector are frequently parties to underwriting agreements requiring SEC compliance and regulatory oversight.

Loan And Financing78% relevant

Underwriting agreements are used in syndicated loan transactions and debt securities offerings where financial institutions underwrite and distribute securities or loan participations.

The structure of underwriting agreements, including representations, warranties, indemnification, and closing conditions, directly applies to complex financing transactions involving multiple lenders or underwriters.

Private equity and venture capital firms use underwriting agreements when portfolio companies conduct public offerings or when funds themselves raise capital through securities offerings.

PE/VC practitioners regularly guide portfolio companies through IPO processes and need to draft or review underwriting agreements as part of exit strategies and capital raising activities.

Frequently asked questions

Q

What information do I need to provide to generate an underwriting agreement?

A

You'll need basic company information (legal name, jurisdiction, capitalization), offering details (security type, number of shares, pricing, underwriting discount), and registration statement information (SEC file number and status). If selling stockholders are involved, you'll also need their details and share allocations. CaseMark uses this information to generate a complete, customized agreement with all standard provisions.

Q

Does the agreement include over-allotment (greenshoe) option provisions?

A

Yes, CaseMark automatically includes comprehensive over-allotment option provisions allowing underwriters to purchase additional shares (typically up to 15% of firm shares) to cover over-allotments. The agreement specifies exercise periods, pricing, notice requirements, and separate closing procedures for option shares, all customized to your offering structure.

Q

Are the indemnification provisions compliant with SEC requirements?

A

Absolutely. CaseMark generates robust indemnification and contribution provisions that comply with SEC guidance and current market practice. The agreement includes mutual indemnification between the company and underwriters, carve-outs for information furnished by each party, contribution provisions with proportionate liability, and procedures for notice, defense, and settlement of claims.

Q

Can I customize the closing conditions and termination rights?

A

Yes, while CaseMark provides comprehensive market-standard closing conditions (legal opinions, comfort letters, officer certificates, no material adverse change) and termination rights (market disruption, material adverse change, force majeure), you can easily modify these provisions to match your specific deal requirements and negotiated terms.

Q

How does CaseMark handle lock-up agreement provisions?

A

CaseMark automatically includes detailed lock-up provisions requiring directors, officers, and principal stockholders to execute lock-up agreements for a specified period (typically 180 days). The agreement includes standard exceptions for estate planning and charitable transfers, company covenants not to issue additional shares, and provisions for representative waiver rights and transfer agent instructions.