Folake Ayoola

Folake Ayoola is a partner in the firm's Capital Markets and Public Company Advisory practices. Drawing on more than a decade of experience at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, she brings specialized expertise in SEC regulatory and compliance matters to her work advising companies, boards of directors, underwriters, investment funds, and financial sponsors. Folake's practice focuses on securities regulatory matters, capital markets transactions, and corporate governance, including SEC reporting and compliance requirements, public and exempt securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, going-private transactions, ESG matters, and NYSE and Nasdaq compliance issues.

Folake is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, New York, and Texas.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Folake served in various capacities at the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance. As Special Counsel, Folake regularly led the SEC's disclosure review of companies across numerous industries, including technology, life sciences, real estate, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies. Folake advised on several novel disclosures and transactions, including SPAC and de-SPAC transactions, REIT spinoffs, innovative pricing methods in registered offerings, the first real estate marketplace lending offering under Regulation A, and the first bitcoin investment fund to become a public company providing reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. She also spent time working in the Office of Chief Counsel's Shareholder Proposal Task Force.

Folake participated in various disclosure-related projects and provided substantial assistance on the Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative to help modernize the public company reporting regime, including the legal and accounting requirements of SEC filings. As Senior Counsel in the Office of Assessment and Continuous Improvement, Folake was part of the team that built the office from the ground up and completed evaluations and assessments of the Division's filing review outcomes. Folake was a Co-Chair of the SEC's Women's Committee and the Chair of the Promotions and Retention Sub-Committee of the SEC's Diversity Council where she led the implementation of the SEC's mentoring program. In 2020, she was awarded the Chairman's Award for Excellence.

Prior to joining the SEC, Folake practiced at the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and the Houston office of Baker Botts LLP.

Folake has been named a Recommended Lawyer by the Legal 500 US for her work in Corporate Governance. Folake was also recognized as a top 25 Corporate Finance and Capital Markets Attorney for 2025 by Attorney Intel.

• Co-Author, “Standards of Practice for Investor Relations – Disclosure,” NIRI, June 2023