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Rhoda_Margaret 3082-2024_Roc_WebReady

Margaret K. Rhoda

She/Her/Hers
Partner
  • Rochester
  • 585.231.1267

Maggie is a pragmatic attorney who becomes part of her client’s team to solve complex problems with solutions tailored to fit her client’s needs.

Maggie advises public companies ranging from micro-cap companies to companies with market capitalizations in the tens of billions of dollars on compliance with periodic disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws and related corporate governance matters. She has served as outside corporate secretary for public companies and as a trusted counselor in the boardroom. Maggie has also assisted start-up and micro-cap private companies and investment banks in successfully raising capital in compliance with federal and state securities laws and FINRA regulations.

Maggie has embedded with management teams to quarterback projects, provide legal support and manage securities law and Nasdaq or NYSE compliance for critical events such as:

  • initial public offerings and uplistings;
  • executive succession planning;
  • board declassification and other governance enhancements;
  • follow-on offerings, including traditional registered offerings, PIPEs, CMPOs, registered direct offerings, and ATMs;
  • resale offerings of public company shares;
  • annual and special meetings of shareholders;
  • mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions;
  • a third-party tender offer and go-dark process following a go-private merger;
  • a shareholder meeting to approve the recapitalization of a public company’s equity structure; and
  • implementing poison pills.

Before joining Harter Secrest & Emery, Maggie practiced as a real estate capital markets associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in Chicago, IL, with a particular focus on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and mergers and acquisitions.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for:
    • Financial Services Regulation Law
    • Securities/Capital Markets Law
    • Securities Regulation
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021-2025
  • Recipient, Up and Coming Lawyers Award, The Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal’s Legal Excellence Program, 2024
  • Proskauer’s Golden Gavel Award for Pro Bono Service
  • DePaul University College of Law
    • Associate Editor, DePaul Law Review, Volume 64
    • Order of the Coif

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in many confidentially marketed public offerings and registered direct offerings ranging from $2 million to $110 million
  • Issuer counsel in PIPE transactions up to $100 million
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in initial public offerings, uplists and follow-on offerings
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in registered at-the-market offerings
  • Issuer counsel in subordinated note offerings and exchanges ranging from $8 million to $35 million
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in private placement offerings in a variety of industries, including biotechnology, entertainment, food service, fintech, investment management, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and software

NEWS

PRESENTATIONS

  • Co-Presenter, “The 2026 Governance Outlook: Key Issues for Boards, Advisory Boards, and Corporate Leaders,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Central & Western NY Chapter, July 21, 2026

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York

EDUCATION

  • DePaul University College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
  • The University of Notre Dame, B.A., with honors

Maggie is a pragmatic attorney who becomes part of her client’s team to solve complex problems with solutions tailored to fit her client’s needs.

Maggie advises public companies ranging from micro-cap companies to companies with market capitalizations in the tens of billions of dollars on compliance with periodic disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws and related corporate governance matters. She has served as outside corporate secretary for public companies and as a trusted counselor in the boardroom. Maggie has also assisted start-up and micro-cap private companies and investment banks in successfully raising capital in compliance with federal and state securities laws and FINRA regulations.

Maggie has embedded with management teams to quarterback projects, provide legal support and manage securities law and Nasdaq or NYSE compliance for critical events such as:

  • initial public offerings and uplistings;
  • executive succession planning;
  • board declassification and other governance enhancements;
  • follow-on offerings, including traditional registered offerings, PIPEs, CMPOs, registered direct offerings, and ATMs;
  • resale offerings of public company shares;
  • annual and special meetings of shareholders;
  • mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions;
  • a third-party tender offer and go-dark process following a go-private merger;
  • a shareholder meeting to approve the recapitalization of a public company’s equity structure; and
  • implementing poison pills.

Before joining Harter Secrest & Emery, Maggie practiced as a real estate capital markets associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in Chicago, IL, with a particular focus on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and mergers and acquisitions.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for:
    • Financial Services Regulation Law
    • Securities/Capital Markets Law
    • Securities Regulation
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021-2025
  • Recipient, Up and Coming Lawyers Award, The Daily Record and Rochester Business Journal’s Legal Excellence Program, 2024
  • Proskauer’s Golden Gavel Award for Pro Bono Service
  • DePaul University College of Law
    • Associate Editor, DePaul Law Review, Volume 64
    • Order of the Coif

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in many confidentially marketed public offerings and registered direct offerings ranging from $2 million to $110 million
  • Issuer counsel in PIPE transactions up to $100 million
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in initial public offerings, uplists and follow-on offerings
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in registered at-the-market offerings
  • Issuer counsel in subordinated note offerings and exchanges ranging from $8 million to $35 million
  • Issuer and underwriter counsel in private placement offerings in a variety of industries, including biotechnology, entertainment, food service, fintech, investment management, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and software

NEWS

PRESENTATIONS

  • Co-Presenter, “The 2026 Governance Outlook: Key Issues for Boards, Advisory Boards, and Corporate Leaders,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Central & Western NY Chapter, July 21, 2026

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York

EDUCATION

  • DePaul University College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
  • The University of Notre Dame, B.A., with honors

Rhoda_Margaret 3082-2024_Roc_WebReady
Margaret K. Rhoda