Tariq Adawi

Tariq Adawi leads a corporate practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, startups, and strategic transactions. Tariq leverages a practical, results-driven approach to advise companies at every stage from formation and capital raises to exit planning and post-acquisition integration.

Tariq represents buyers and sellers across the lower middle market, including family-owned businesses, founder-led companies, private equity sponsors, and public companies. His M&A work includes deal structuring, drafting and negotiating complex purchase agreements, and due diligence strategy. He also counsels clients on joint ventures, divestitures, and corporate restructurings with an emphasis on aligning legal strategy with business objectives and timelines.

As outside general counsel to numerous companies, Tariq partners with management and legal teams on day-to-day operational matters as well as critical, high-stakes issues. He focuses on clear communication, practical risk management, and closing transactions efficiently and on time. His industry experience spans asset management, automotive, aviation, energy, food and beverage, hospitality, manufacturing, private equity, real estate, retail, software and technology, sports and entertainment, and transportation.

In addition to transactional work, Tariq advises on corporate governance, compliance, and risk management, helping clients maintain good standing and position themselves for growth. He is known for simplifying complex issues and delivering straightforward guidance to business owners, founders, and executives alike.

Tariq was named a Colorado Rising Star by Thomson Reuters from 2020–2022. Before joining Davis Graham, he practiced at a boutique corporate firm in Denver. As a former founder, Tariq co-founded a technology start-up in which he co-invented, designed, and patented a method to gamify social media content in a mobile application format. Earlier in his career, he founded a design and web development consultancy alongside the Slashthree International Art Collective. Tariq’s firsthand business experience informs his practical approach to legal advice.

Tariq earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri. In law school, he was a national champion of the Intellectual Property LawMeets® Negotiation Competition and was consistently recognized on the Dean’s List.

Tariq currently oversees Davis Graham’s involvement in the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s Nonprofit Match Program. He previously served as a member of the Steering Committee for the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s Nonprofit Legal Audit Clinic, which pairs Colorado nonprofits with teams of diverse attorneys providing pro bono services. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the West Denver chapter of Trout Unlimited and co-led the Bloedel-Adawi Pupilage Group of the Minoru Yasui American Inn of Court. Tariq has been admitted to the General Counsel Mentor Program, a two-year initiative that offers networking and professional development opportunities for attorneys with diverse backgrounds.

Certifications

• Prompt Engineering for Law – Vanderbilt University

 Affiliations and Civic Engagements 

• General Counsel Mentor Program
• Nonprofit Match Program, Colorado Lawyers Committee
• Nonprofit Legal Audit Clinic, Colorado Lawyers Committee, Steering Committee (Past)
• West Denver Chapter, Trout Unlimited, Board of Directors (Past)
• Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (Past)
• Colorado Attorney Mentorship Program (Past)
• American Inns of Court, Minoru Yasui (Past)
• American Inns of Court, Colorado Intellectual Property (Past)