General Counsel to Startups & Public Companies Since 2006

The core of my work consists of day-to-day legal support at all levels - from counseling on board and shareholder matters, to advising HR directors, managing vendor and channel partner relationships and negotiating sales and services agreements. At some point, your company's legal interests scale beyond the time/ability of any single CEO or CFO to manage effectively. Using multiple outside counsel becomes burdensome and inefficient. As a single point of contact on legal matters, your general counsel will screen the the issues, map out the strategy and ensure your goals are acheived just as its legal interests are protected.

I spent the hey-day years of the Internet bubble-bust cycles in Seattle as VP, General Counsel to a venture capital group with $800M in capital under management. From A rounds to D rounds, pay-to-play to cram downs. I've been on both sides of the table. This is not taught in law school - you've got to cut your teeth with raw experience. Let me put that experience to work for you. If your' a founder, don't let the larger law firms get your business just to steer you toward the same VCs they've worked with for years, then tell you the deal terms they've offered are "market" - get truly independent legal counsel.

Not all growth is organic. A large part of my practice involves taking that teaser deck on a shiny new target from your investment banker or biz dev team and turning it into a larger part of next quarter's consolidated revenue. Whether its a financially-driven investment or a strategic equity placeholder on a promising new tech vendor, I'll help you craft the deal terms, scope your diligence and bring it to closing.

Shopify or Magento? Whatever your digital marketing strategy and e-commerce platform, if you're an online retailer of any scale, you'll need experienced legal counsel at each point of contact in the product flow - suppliers, warehousers and fulfillment service providers know their business well and how to protect their bottom line. Not all risk is allocated fairly, make sure your contracts accurately and fairly reflect yours.

My e-commerce practice is a natural extension of my retail experience. I've counseled independent beverage manufacturers, large coffee franchise chains, apparel brands and restaurants.

For many clients, access to new technologies is the prime driver of acquisitions. Others just need strategically structured licenses to take that technology to new markets or expand their service offerings. I started my licensing experience in the 500-attorney worldwide legal department of a Fortune 500 company. There's really no other way to learn this area of law. They don't teach it in law school - you either have complex commercial licensing experience, or its obvious to opposing counsel that you don't. I do, and I bring it to every transaction on your behalf.

They say war is just politics by other means, and now litigation has become just another business strategy. For many companies, the thought of managing a lawsuit or arbitration is a deterrent to protecting your lawful interests. As your general counsel, I will form the team of experts you need, where and when you need them. Let me organize your internal and external resource, filter the issues to effectively direct the legal services, and bring you the actionable decision points. Some things are worth fighting, but do it smartly.

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