Louis Lehot

Bar / Professional Activity

• Recognized, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the practice area of Venture Capital (2021-2025) and Startups and Emerging Growth (2025), 2025
• Named to NACD North California's 2024 Leadership Advisory Council, a group of key advisors and partners of NACD who will help shape the future of corporate governance within North California's board director community, 2024
• JD Supra, Reader's Choice Awards, Top Author - M&A, 2024
• Law360’s 2023 Mergers & Acquisitions Editorial Advisory Board to provide feedback on Law360's coverage and insight on how best to shape future coverage, 2023
• Selected as an Acritas Star, Acritas, 2021
• The Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel - Contributor, 2010 - 2022, 2010
• Former advisory board member, The Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange (SVDX)
• The Association of Corporate Counsel, Bay Area Corporate and Securities Law Committee
• American Bar Association, Business Law Committee, Subcommittee on Negotiated Acquisitions
• The French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, Chamber of Commerce
• New York Bar, 2001
• California Bar, 2006

Representative Clients

• Riverwood Capital, 2024
• Bhuma (no code dev ops), 2024
• Wine Access, a Norwest Ventures portfolio company, 2024
• OpenLight Photonics, a fabless silicon photonics designer, 2024
• ARCHIMED, a global private equity health care specialist, 2024
• Matterport, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTTP), 2024
• STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM), Technip, Rhodia, Orange and many more
• Sanpower Group Co., Ltd.—Provided buy-side acquiror counsel to Sanpower in its acquisition of Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a transaction valued at approximately $900 million. Sanpower Group Co., Ltd., is one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in China, 2017
• SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRF)
• Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX)
• Hanwha Q Cells (NASDAQ: QCELLS)
• CHC Helicopter—CHC Group Ltd.—CHC Helicopter is a global helicopter services company, specializing in transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms, civilian search and rescue and air medical evacuation services, and helicopter maintenance repair and overhaul. Headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, CHC operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries in the world. Served as issuer counsel in an NYSE IPO in 2014 and advised on a subsequent convertible preferred stock offering to Clayton Dublier and Rice as well as on high-yield bond issuances, 2014
• Kerensen—Served as sell-side M&A counsel to Kerensen in its acquisition by Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the largest CRM company in the world, 2015
• CSR plc—CSR plc, sold to Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). CSR is a UK-based designer and developer of silicon and software for the consumer electronics market. Represented SiRF Technologies, Inc., in its sale to CSR plc (UK) and then represented CSR in multiple acquisitions and investments prior to its sale to Qualcomm (San Diego), 2015
• Docea Power—Served as sell-side M&A counsel to Docea Power in its acquisition by Intel Corporation, the global public semiconductor company listed on the NASDAQ stock market, 2015
• 99 Taxis—Represented SoftBank in making a significant round of growth equity financing in Brazil's leading ride-sharing company. Negotiated the sale of 99 Taxis to Didi, the China-based ride-sharing company, in an all-share transaction at a significant multiple, 2018
• Tecan Group AG—(SIX: TECN)—Tecan Group AG is a Switzerland-based global provider of automated laboratory instruments and solutions. Represented Tecan in its acquisition of Speware Corp. and numerous transactions, 2016
• Penn National Gaming, Inc.—(NASDAQ: PENN)—Penn National Gaming, Inc. is a diversified owner and manager of gaming facilities in the United States and Canada, many of them under the Hollywood Casino brand. Provided buy-side acquiror counsel to Penn in its acquisition of Rocket Games, Inc., a leading developer of social casino games based in San Francisco, California, 2016
• StackStorm—Provided sell-side counsel to StackStorm in its acquisition by Brocade, a public semiconductor company now a subsidiary of Broadcom, 2016
• Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR)—Represented Juniper Networks in its acquisitions of AppFormix, Inc.; Aurrion, Inc.; and Cyphort, 2017
• Avnet—(NASDAQ: AVT)—Avnet, Inc., is a distributor of electronic components headquartered in Phoenix. Represented Avnet in buy-side M&A in the acquisitions of Solera and Dragon Innovation and in corporate ventures (e.g., investments into FIT, Otava and many more), litigation, regulatory affairs, intellectual property and more, 2017
• DoubleBeam—Served as outside general counsel to the company, enabled numerous financings, and provided sell-side M&A counsel to DoubleBeam in its sale to Verifone, a global public fintech and payment processing company, 2018
• Brioche Pasquier, S.A.—A multi-billion dollar French baked goods company with global operations. Represented Brioche Pasquier in its acquisition of Galaxy Desserts, Inc., of Richmond, California, and have served as its outside general counsel for a decade, 2021
• Centric Software—Represented Centric, a Silicon Valley-based global enterprise SaaS PLM company (backed by venture capital firms Oak Investments and Fund Capital), in the sale of a majority stake to Dassault Systems SE, a French public company listed on Euronext Paris, in a cash and stock deal, 2018
• Dasan Zhone—(NASDAQ: DZSI)—Represented Dasan Zhone, a provider of telecommunications networking equipment headquartered in Oakland, California, in its acquisition of KEYMILE, a leading solution provider and manufacturer of telecommunication systems for broadband access, 2019
• Semarchy SAS and Semarchy, Inc.—Represented the intelligent data hub company in its sale to Providence Strategic Growth, the growth equity arm of Providence Equity Partners, 2020
• Binatone Global—Represented Binatone in buy-side M&A (acquisition of companion products division of Motorola Mobility and Kaishei from BCGDV) as well as in negotiating rounds of investment, among other matters. Based in Hong Kong, Binatone Global has been creating leading-edge consumer electronics for more than 60 years, 2021
• Affiliates of the Samsung Group—Provided counsel to affiliates of the Samsung Group to deploy, manage and harvest capital from corporate venturing investments in electronics, biotech, biometrics, semiconductors, composite materials, mobile, fintech, adtech, consumer internet and security sectors, 2021
• 174 Power Global—174 Power Global is the renewable energy power generation and development affiliate company of Hanwha Group, a leading South Korean chaebol. Represented affiliates of Hanwha as buy-side and sell-side M&A counsel, advising on corporate venturing investments, project development, sale of projects, and joint venture. Served as co-counsel for 174 Power Global in its joint venture with an affiliate of French energy conglomerate Total in January of 2021, 2021
• Doc.ai—Acted as legal advisor to doc.ai in its acquisition by Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, 2021
• CBRE Group—(NYSE: CBG)—Regularly represent CBRE Group, Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate platform, in its M&A program, as well as numerous corporate venturing investments, partnerships and other transactions for 15 years. Have served as buy-side acquiror counsel in more than 15 acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Floored.com, Forum Analytics, Brenner Real Estate Group, Capstone Financial, Skye Group, CAC Group, Fameco, KLMK Group, U.S. Equities, UCR, and many more real estate brokerages, asset management, product bolt-on and technology businesses, 2021
• SoftBank Vision Fund—Represented SoftBank, a growth capital and late-stage startup investment fund headquartered in London and focused on global AI trend companies, in making investments and bringing assets to market—Slack, Guardant Health, 99 Taxis, ScriptDash, Zymergen, 10x Genomics, Petuum, Fungible, Alto Pharmacy, Wag! and many others, 2021

Transactions

•  Represented Matterport, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTTP), a global leader in 3D digital twins and artificial intelligence for the real estate industry, in its pending acquisition by CoStar Group for an estimated equity value of approximately $2.1 billion, including a pending second request from the Federal Trade Commission, 2024
• Represented Transgrid Energy in the acquisition of industrial scale renewable energy assets, 2024
• Represented Wine Access (Norwest portfolio company) in its sale to Full Glass Wine Co., 2024
• Represented Bhuma, an AI-enabled no-code devops business backed by First Rays Venture, Westwave, Neotribe and The AI Fund in its sale to IBM, 2023
• Represented Archimed, a leading global healthcare private equity fund, in the buyouts of skincare platform Cellese and wound irrigation platform Irrimax, 2024
• Represented New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in multiple seed and Series A investments, including as the lead investor in a seed round for integration platform Fizz, 2023
• Advised Tenacity Venture Capital in multiple investments, including in a Series A investment in Kapital, a small-business lender in Mexico City, in a USD 25 M financing round, 2023
• Represented Hanwha Impact Partners as a lead investor in the USD 121 M Series C funding round for Cellarity. Also represented Hanwha in late-stage biopharma investments in Tessera Therapeutics, Valo Health, and Nido Biosciences for a collective value of USD 480 million., 2023
• Represented LG Technology Ventures, a venture capital investment arm of the LG Group, In its investment as a lead investor in the Series A financing of Venti Technologies, 2023
• Represented Riverwood Capital, LLC in multiple investments, including as an investor in Alation in its USD 123 M Series E funding, 2023
• Represented Cortical Ventures, a venture capital investment firm focused on investing in AI companies, in multiple VC investments, including in a USD 50 M Series B Round for Weaviate, an infrastructure startup whose technology is essential for companies building generative AI tools, 2023
• Represented TCG Crossover in multiple matters, including as lead investor in the successful, oversubscribed EUR 130 million cross-over financing for Abivax, a phase 3 clinical-stage biotechnology company listed publicly listed on Euronext Paris, 2023
• Represented global private equity health care specialist ARCHIMED in its acquisition of a majority stake in Cellese, a developer of innovative topical dermo cosmetics sold under the AnteAGE brand name and Irrimax, a market leader in anti-microbial wound irrigation solutions, 2024

Pro bono / Community Service

• Home of Hope, Advisory Board, 2022

Educational Background

• J.D., cum laude, Boston College Law School 2000
• BSFS, cum laude, International Law, Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, 1994
• CEP, honors, International Relations, Sciences Po Strasbourg, 1993 (Louis is fluent in French)
• Bishop O’Dowd High School, 1990

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) investment is an increasingly used strategic tool that enables large corporations to make minority investments in startups that will complement and expand their existing products or services. This type of investment can be highly beneficial as it can provide strong financial returns, as well as access to innovation, without the time and heavier expense load of in-house research and development (R&D) projects. While many would think that an eventual merger, acquisition, or other type of M&A transaction would be the end goal of CVC investment, a recent analysis by PitchBook indicates that despite elevated CVC activity over the past 10 years, it has not resulted in much M&A. According to their data, from 2014 to 2024, CVC has made up more than 46% of total VC deal value and 21% of deal count. However, despite having invested a vast amount of capital, very little of this investment has translated to acquisitions.  , Author, Where is corporate venture capital headed in 2025, and will it lead to more M&A?, Foley Ignite, 2025
• PrintShare by EmailShareBack to topAs we launch into the next quarter century, there is much speculation about what the future holds for private equity (PE) as an asset class and driver in dealmaking. Momentum started to pick up in 2024 with the Fed announcing a series of interest rate cuts, and there was a sense of increasing certainty with the Presidential election now behind us. Now, everyone is eager to see what the new year will hold. PitchBook analysts have released their 2025 US Private Equity Outlook, examining the trends that could redefine the market. One of the most interesting is the significant shift they are expecting in the IPO landscape this year. Their analysts are looking at the potential for PE-backed companies to capture 40% of all the IPO capital raised on major US exchanges this year. That would be a nearly 10% jump from the decade average, as well as a change in investor preferences., Co-Author, The Outlook for US Private Equity in 2025, Foley Ignite, 2025
•  It should come as no surprise that venture capital (VC) investors are drilling down into startups building businesses with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the core. New data from PitchBook actually shows that AI startups make up 22% of first-time VC financing. They note that $7 billion of first-time funding raised by startups in 2024 went to AI & machine learning (ML) startups (this is according to their data through Q3 of 2024)., Co-Author, Drilling Down into Venture Capital Financing in Artificial Intelligence, Foley Ignite, 2025
• Yes, indeed! What Brad Garlinghouse of Ripple Labs called “Gensler’s reign of terror” ended with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s resignation upon President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Paul Atkins, who has co-chaired the Token Alliance, spoke of the need for a “change of course” at the SEC and will be given charge of the SEC when he is confirmed as its new Chairman. While the greatest deliberative body takes time to exercise its constitutional role of advice and consent, President Trump and Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda are moving ahead at lightning speed, each taking action in the first week of the new administration. The long-awaited paradigm shift in regulation for digital assets is here and the market likes what it sees, with Bitcoin now trading near an all-time high and the total market capitalization of digital assets topping the US$3 trillion mark. Projects are once again being funded in—and development teams are returning to—the United States.   The day after his inauguration, President Trump signed an Executive Order, Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Finance Technology, aiming to “support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy.” This comes on the heels of a newly announced Crypto Task Force at the SEC, dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for digital assets, including “crypto” assets., Co-Author, Is the Future of Digital Assets in the United States Bright Again?, Innovative Technology Insights, Innovative Technology, Blockchain & Digital Assets, 2025
• Back to topFoley & Lardner LLP recently co-hosted a webinar with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) to discuss how a new presidential administration and evolving state-driven regulations are effecting boardrooms. A summary of that discussion can be found below.Featured Speakers:  – Christine Gorjanc, Board Director– Ed Burbach, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP– Patrick Daugherty, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP– Louis Lehot, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP (Moderator)– Christopher Swift, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP– Jessica Lochmann, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP  The Changing Regulatory Landscape: SEC and Antitrust DevelopmentsThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and antitrust authorities are undergoing significant shifts under new leadership. Changes will impact capital markets, digital assets, and corporate governance. Below is an overview of key regulatory insights and what they mean for company leadership., Author, New Opportunities and Challenges for Board Directors, Foley Ignite, 2025
• There was much hope going into 2025 that we would see a rebound in the IPO market after a bit of a drought over the past few years. We left the uncertainty of the election behind us, and good news on the inflation and interest rate fronts were fueling a sense of hope that 2025 was going to be a great year for the IPO market. However, at almost three months into the new year, it is looking like that rebound might be delayed a little longer, Auth, A Delay in Exit Plans, Foley Ignite, 2025
• Cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2025 will be shaped by tumultuous economic, legal, and regulatory change. Driven by the new U.S. administration’s dramatic shift in policies and priorities, developments that once took months to unfold are now likely to impact the political and market conditions in a matter of weeks or even days.  Although cross-border investment into the United States will still present opportunities as the year unfolds, foreign investors contemplating U.S. acquisitions or strategic investments are likely to encounter new technical, regulatory, political, and even cultural challenges. These challenges will vary depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the deal.  For example, the recent imposition of new U.S. tariffs is likely to reshape global supply chains and disrupt operations relying on them.  Investors also need to consider potential review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) – especially in cases impacted by the ongoing U.S.-China trade war and the potential transfer of critical technologies.  Together with new U.S. antitrust review standards, state legislation restricting foreign real estate sales, and other sector-specific requirements, the net result is a radical shift in U.S. investment and industrial policy. , Co-Author, Weathering the Storm: Key M&A Considerations for Foreign Investors Entering the U.S. Market, Foley Ignite, 2025
• As the slowdown in dealmaking continues, both buyers and sellers are left to consider their options moving forward during this period of extreme uncertainty and market volatility. To put the current slowdown in perspective, EY had previously forecasted M&A activity to rise by 10% this year.[1] However, they recently adjusted that outlook, saying the M&A market entered a “watchful phase” in February of this year. Their data shows a downturn in the number and total value of deals of more than $100 million. The volume of those deals dropped by 5.9 percent YoY and 19.5 percent from just January of this year, and combined deal value also fell 53 percent YoY and 34 percent from January. Whenever we see this kind of significant pause in dealmaking, buyers typically have the advantage, but not always. There are certain dynamics that can vary based on industry, the nature of the assets, and, of course, macroeconomic factors. Below, we look at the balance of power between buyers and sellers during a slowdown and how each side can best position themselves for success when conditions improve., Author, The Dealmaking Slowdown: A Time for Startups to Prepare, Foley Ignite, 2025
• This year is off to a bumpy start in terms of dealmaking. A multitude of factors, including tariff-a-geddon, supply chain disruption, stubbornly high long-term interest rates (not coming down as expected), deregulation (not yet commenced, much less bearing any fruit), and an increasingly volatile stock market, have together summarized in the now ubiquitous term “market uncertainty” and have slowed the pace of dealmaking significantly. The impact of market uncertainty has been especially pronounced in the Private Equity (PE) space. In this context, PitchBook analysts have revised their outlook for the PE landscape for the balance of 2025. Their new US PE Pulse report highlights the fast evolving picture for PE in 2025 in the face of what they term “meaningful macroeconomic threats.” In just December of 2024, their expectation was for stronger exit opportunities, along with some challenges related to capital deployment as the projection was for valuations to rise. They have now reversed that position, with an expectation of tougher exit conditions, coupled with more attractive capital deployment as sellers become more motivated., Co-Author, An Updated Outlook for Private Equity in 2025, Foley Ignite, 2025
• When considering the most critical components of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), parties typically focus on deal structure, legal due diligence, and financial modeling. While important to getting a deal done, this focus often overlooks the importance of the human element in successful M&A. Deloitte data shows that 30% of failed M&A transactions can be attributed to cultural integration issues as the root cause. Deloitte also points to the loss of key talent, as well as a lack of engagement among employees, as factors that can cause significant issues during the integration process. Deloitte makes an important point that it might be financials that drive the initial M&A decision, but the human focus is key to lasting success. Below, we look at what can go wrong during deal negotiations and integration and the essential role leadership can play in creating a much smoother process and setting the stage for long-term success, Co-Author, The Human Factor in M&A Transactions, Foley Ignite, 2025
• After two decades practicing law in Silicon Valley and five formative years working on cross-border deals in Europe, I’ve come to appreciate the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in how merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions are structured on either side of the Atlantic. For buyers and sellers on opposite sides of the divide, these can be the difference between a smooth closing and a deal that gets lost in translation. Below, we look at the key distinctions between U.S. M&A deal terms (sourced from SRS Acquiom) and European M&A deal terms (sourced from CMS), personal insights from the trenches, and practical takeaways for buyers and sellers trying to structure and execute cross-border transactions., Author, Lost in Translation: Key Deal Points in European vs. U.S. M&A Transactions, Foley Ignite, 2025
• Having done a deep dive into PitchBook’s H1 2025 VC Tech Survey, not to mention living and breathing the state of venture with my clients who are in market for capital, I wanted to share my thoughts about how investors appear to be recalibrating their approach to technology startups. They are not responding with panic, but rather making the adjustments necessary to strategically move forward. The PitchBook report includes responses from 32 venture capital investors and offers a snapshot into just how the industry is shifting. Some of the key takeaways from this report are below., Author, Investor Insights: An Overview of PitchBook’s H1 2025 VC Tech Survey, Foley Ignite, 2025
• As we pass the midpoint of 2025, it’s timely to look back at what we saw in the first half and reassess the road ahead.  Were our predictions from the beginning of the year on the mark, or did we get it wrong?  What do we think now? In a word, we got it all wrong.  To say that the first half saw massive volatility and unprecedented uncertainty would be an understatement, or worse, a star appearance from “Captain Obvious.”  Venture capital investment started euphorically and was then stunned by a machine gun fire of presidential orders, waves of tariffs not seen in a century, active war, heightened Cold War, and societal upheaval. This was all topped off by one big “beautiful” bill to permanently extend certain tax cuts, make some other new temporary tax cuts, and crystallize the new administration’s budget priorities. As we kick off the summer, we are in a new paradigm, and we are just beginning to understand what it means., Co-Author, Looking Back and Looking Forward: Where Are We in Venture Capital Mid-2025?, Foley Ignite, 2025
• Silicon Valley is built on the promise of innovation, but for the better part of the past three years, the innovation economy has been in a coma. It all started with runaway inflation triggering the biggest hike in the price of money in a century.  The era of “zero interest rate policy” and “quantitative easing” is over. The cost of capital suddenly got expensive, lending became hard to come by, and valuations took a hit. Then came geopolitical uncertainty, with hot and cold wars erupting between nuclear weaponized states and actors. The IPO markets were shut down and regulators closed the market from technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A).  Fiscal and tax policies were in question, and unpredictable regulatory enforcement ensued. Then came “Liberation Day,” and the end of nearly a century of free-trade policies, leaving markets as uncertain as the cost of manufacturing.  The impact to the innovation economy has been a dramatic decrease in the raising of new venture capital (VC) funds and their deployment, as VC investors have been unable to distribute proceeds to investors, leaving slim pickings for startups looking for funding. But it wasn’t all bad news, as the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI has driven the fastest consumer adoption of new technology in the history of mankind, and the speed of automation is radically disrupting the cost of everything, unleashing a paradigm shift in how we live, work, and play.  While the first set of factors worked to shut down the innovation markets, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and the promise of artificial general intelligence (AGI) has redirected capital flows to businesses building the infrastructure of the new frontier. As we look forward to the second half of 2025, with clarity restored to U.S. fiscal and tax policy, a downward rate cut bias at the Federal Reserve, some relaxing of regulatory enforcement, and the potential resetting of terms of trade, there is reason for optimism for the innovation economy no matter your politics. , Author, Charting the Path Back to the Good Life: Unblocking the Innovation Markets in 2025, Foley Ignite, 2025
• The IPO market is showing encouraging signs of recovery in 2025, with 201 companies going public year-to-date compared to 225 for all of 2024. While deal volumes are increasing and aftermarket performance is strong, average deal sizes remain smaller than historical norms. Key sectors including AI, fintech, crypto, and defense tech are driving investor interest, supported by favorable regulatory and political tailwinds., Author, Is an IPO Window Opening for H2 2025?, Foley Ignite, 2025
• As we come to the midpoint of Summer 2025, the tech industry continues to lay off staff, as big tech companies implement strategic workforce reductions. These layoffs are the result of the quick and efficient integration of artificial intelligence (AI), as firms restructure, phasing out roles in the process. Additional factors include cost-cutting initiatives, operational streamlining, and performance-based cuts targeting underperforming employees. According to Layoffs. fyi, 159 tech companies laid off approximately 80,000 workers as of July 17, 2025. This follows a 2024 trend where at least 95,000 U.S.-based tech workers lost jobs, per Crunchbase data.  Amid frozen funding rounds and startup pivots, a familiar deal structure is gaining traction: the acquihire. For startups stuck between seed and Series A funding, an acquihire, where the company is acquired specifically for its talent rather than its products or revenue, offers an alternative exit to an IPO or scaling. , Author, The Rise of "Acquihiring" in a Post-Layoff Tech Sector, Foley Ignite, Artificial Intelligence, Innovative Technology, 2025
• The lazy days of summer seem to be behind us as merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is getting a jump start. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal cites late July/early August as having “the highest-volume week for mergers and acquisitions for U.S. companies since 2021, according to LSEG.” This is an unexpected, but welcome boom in a typically a slow time of year.  Anecdotally, I can share that as a practicing lawyer in the Silicon Valley these past 6 weeks, like many of my colleagues, it seems like every time I look up, another 30 emails have refilled my inbox, and it’s a race to keep up.  This flurry of activity is due to the cloud of uncertainty starting to clear. In addition to the economy remaining relatively stable and keeping a recession at bay, there is also hope that the Fed could lower interest rates in September, and some trade deals are moving forward. This is all coupled with the fact that deals are actually going through in this administration which seems to be more focused on finding a way forward instead of shutting them down from the start., Author, Will the Late Summer M&A Rebound Continue into Fall?, Foley Ignite, 2025
• What is the Impact for Silicon Valley Innovation? Acquihires have been a part of Silicon Valley for quite some time now. Larger tech companies come in and acquire startups mainly for their talent, as opposed to their products or technology. However, starting with ex-FTC chair Lina Khan’s subpoenas to big tech companies probing their prior unreported small acquisitions, big tech companies were frozen out of the M&A market since early 2021. As new AI startups were formed, they couldn’t exit and had trouble raising follow-on rounds of capital.  Then, starting with Microsoft’s licensing deal with Inflection AI, we saw a new kind of “acquihire” designed to circumvent the regulatory shutdown.  Whereas traditional acquihires resulted in return of capital to startup investors and founders, now there is a new trend taking shape in Silicon Valley. Major players in big tech have begun hiring away top AI talent in what the WSJ has termed the “reverse acquihire.”  These aren’t acquisitions of the startup or the entire team to acquire talent, but rather a poaching of their founders and AI researchers, sometimes packaged with small dollar licensing of the startup’s technology, but which does not result in return of meaningful capital to investors.  So, what happens to the remaining business? While this provides big tech with an alternative to bring in the talent they need, it also means that AI leaders and top talent are leaving their companies behind, creating what CNBC calls “zombie startups.”, Author, Big Tech Looks to AI Startups to Secure Talent, Foley Ignite, Artificial Intelligence, Innovative Technology, 2025
• Silicon Valley continues to be a leader in driving global innovation, with Silicon Valley startups accounting for over half of venture capital (VC) investment last year according to Crunchbase data. But to better secure its future influence and status as the leading tech hub, it must address some critical challenges that pose a threat to innovation and growth.  While the region is still a leader in artificial intelligence (AI), biotech, and frontier technologies, without addressing some critical issues, Silicon Valley could risk its standing as the premier global innovation hub. , Author, The Future of Silicon Valley: Examining the Six Biggest Issues Impacting Innovation and Growth, Foley Ignite, Artificial Intelligence, Innovative Technology, 2025
• Key Takeaways “DExit” Movement: There is a widely-reported trend of companies reincorporating out of Delaware into states like Texas, Nevada, and Florida due to recent Delaware court decisions affecting director protections and compensation packages.  Legislative Responses: Delaware has responded with new statutes to clarify and codify rules around controlling shareholders and board decision-making, but the long-term impact depends on judicial interpretation.  Texas Business Innovations: Texas has introduced business courts, codified the business judgment rule, and allows companies to set ownership thresholds for shareholder litigation, aiming to provide more certainty and innovation for corporations.  Review Incorporation Strategy: Board and legal teams should assess current state of incorporation and evaluate potential benefits and risks of moving to Texas, Nevada, or Florida, considering recent legislative and judicial changes. , Co-Author, DExit: Why Some Companies Are Leaving Delaware, Foley Corporate Governance Update, 2025
• Various economic and industry experts have been speculating that we could start to see a pick up in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity over the next few months and as we enter 2026. Goldman Sachs is anticipating that 2026 could be a record-breaking year for M&A, predicting deal flow of about $3.9 trillion next year and continuing for the following years. Much of this speculation has been just that – and in many cases hard to predict due to an abundance of outside factors.  But as we look past 2026, there is a strong expectation that between now and 2030, there will be a surge M&A activity in the pharmaceutical and other related biotechnology industries due to something more solid and predictable – a looming patent cliff which could result in the loss of hundreds of billions of revenue by leading pharmaceutical companies., Co-Author, Will the Next Patent Cliff Further Spur M&A Activity and What Does That Mean for Companies Right Now?, Foley Ignite, 2025
• Key Takeaways:  SPACs have evolved through four distinct phases: From the speculative chaos of SPAC 1.0 to the celebrity-fueled boom and bust of SPAC 3.0, the market has now entered SPAC 4.0 — a more disciplined era marked by stronger governance, longer timelines, and performance-based incentives. These reforms aim to raise the success rate of SPAC deals to 40-50%. Past failures highlight the risks of hype over fundamentals: High-profile collapses like Nikola, Lucid Motors, and WeWork underscore the dangers of taking pre-revenue or structurally flawed companies public too early. Weak due diligence and speculative projections were common threads in these failures. SPAC 4.0 offers a more sustainable path, but legal risks remain: New SEC rules and market discipline have improved SPAC structures, but litigation and enforcement risks persist. Sponsors must prioritize transparency and readiness for shareholder scrutiny to succeed in this new environment, Co-Author, SPAC 4.0: From Spectacular Failures to a Disciplined Renaissance, Foley Ignite, Innovative Technology, 2025
• The capital markets landscape of 2025 represents both continuity and change from historical norms. While traditional IPOs remain important for establishing public currency and achieving liquidity, the proliferation of alternative financing mechanisms provides companies with unprecedented flexibility in accessing capital. The technology, clean energy, and life sciences sectors each face distinct challenges and opportunities. Technology companies must demonstrate sustainable business models and paths to profitability. Clean energy firms benefit from policy support but require patient capital for long development cycles. Life sciences companies must carefully consider the timing of capital raises around clinical and regulatory milestones. Looking forward, successful navigation of capital markets will require sophisticated understanding of products, careful preparation across multiple workstreams, and strategic timing of market entry. Companies that invest in readiness, maintain flexibility in structure selection, and execute with experienced advisors will be best positioned to capitalize on improving market conditions., Author, State of Capital Markets for Public Companies: A Comprehensive Look at the Technology, Clean Energy, and Life Sciences Sectors in 2025, Foley Ignite, Technology, Clean Energy, Life Sciences, 2025
• Last week, we gathered on a rooftop in San Francisco for the Sidebar Summit – IPO Summit: Silicon Valley Edition, where technology leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs shared perspectives on the path to public markets. From fireside chats with a founding leader of Facebook and an NBA super agent to panels featuring leading VCs, world class entrepreneurs and advisors across law, finance, and government, the evening centered on one question: What does it take to go public in 2025? Our conversations echoed themes from Foley’s newly published IPO Playbook: Navigating Capital Markets in 2025, a comprehensive guide to the new era of IPO readiness and public company transition. The report highlights how market resilience, disciplined pricing, and operational preparedness are driving a resurgence in public offerings. With over 70 IPOs in the SEC queue and tech and fintech deals leading the way, the message is clear: be ready, be flexible, and move quickly when the window opens., Author, Reopening the IPO Window: Insights from the IPO Summit — Silicon Valley Edition, Foley Viewpoints, 2025
• On October 2, 2025, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) released its most recent updates to its model legal documents to reflect recent legal developments, market practices and regulatory priorities. The NVCA model legal documents (the “NVCA Docs”) remain the industry benchmark for venture financings in the U.S and have only become ubiquitous over the last five years in financing transactions – where they are commonly the starting point or benchmark for Company financing documents in such transactions.  Due to such widespread adoption, any updates to such documents can carry significant ramifications for start-up companies and VC investors alike. The most recent updates refresh the NVCA agreements to reflect an evolving regulatory environment, investing principles and landscape, and introduce new alternatives and key updates, including around tranched financings, national security compliance, and corporate governance. For founders and investors, the practical takeaway is that these changes are designed to make diligence faster, representations more accurate and re-allocate risk where there is heightened uncertainty. We unpack three areas that founders and investors should be aware of., Co-Author, Breaking Down the October 2, 2025 NVCA Updates to the Model Legal Documents: What Founders and VCs Need to Know, Foley Ignite, 2025
•  There is a sense of optimism in the air as we enter the final stretch of 2026. The Fed finally issued the first rate cut we have all been waiting for, and we have seen a flurry of activity on the IPO front, as well as merger and acquisition (M&A) activity picking up. As we look to 2026, Private Equity (PE) investors are hopeful this trend will continue, although there are still roadblocks to overcome., Co-Author, A Look at the US Private Equity Market in Q3, Foley Ignite, 2025
• There has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the current artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as well as the potential for a bust reminiscent of the end of the dot com era. AI continues to predominate venture capital (VC) investment, with KMPG recently reporting that “VC investors continued to double down on AI in Q3’25, with companies developing AI models and platforms attracting many of the largest funding rounds of the quarter.” And this is showing no signs of slowing down. While experts can debate whether we are in an AI bubble that could burst, unlike the boom cycles we have experienced in the past, this time, investors are becoming more selective. AI startup formation will no doubt continue its surge as we move into 2026, but funding will become even more concentrated among those companies that can demonstrate a real product-market fit and a credible plan for legal rights and regulatory compliance, Co, Three Trends That Will Define AI in 2026, Foley Ignite, Artificial Intelligence, Innovative Technology, 2025
•  After three challenging years, Venture Capital (VC) funding is finally on the upswing according to data from Q3 of this year. KPMG’s Q3’25 Venture Pulse Report data shows global VC investment in Q3 totaling $120.7 billion across 7,579, deals making it the fourth consecutive quarter of “robust global growth.” With investor sentiment improving and exit windows opening again, VC investment is making a comeback., Author, What’s new in venture capital? Update on Q3 2025 Venture Capital Trends, Foley Ignite, Venture & Growth Capital, 2025
• Foley & Lardner LLP has been a strong supporter and the exclusive law firm sponsor of TEDAI since the beginning. Along with notable CEOs, founders, professors, and other industry leaders, Foley attorneys participated on three separate panels spanning the technical, economic, and governance aspects of AI’s next frontier. Across these three sessions, one message emerged clearly: the next wave of AI growth will hinge not only on compute power and capital, but on how effectively we align technology with human, environmental, and ethical systems.  The article includes key takeaways from the panels.  , Co-Author, Key Insights from TEDAI 2025, Foley Viewpoints, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing Infrastructure & Solutions, Innovative Technology, 2025
•  There is some good news in the healthtech space, with PitchBook’s new Emerging Tech Research showing a rebound in venture capital (VC) funding for the sector. Startups in this space raised an impressive $3.9 billion in Q3 of this year. While this was a bit lower than the previous two quarters, it was enough to move the YTD total ahead of 2024 values. According to PitchBook, this signals a strong rebound for healthtech. The article includes key takeaways from the report., Co-Author, A Look at Current Healthtech VC Trends, Foley Viewpoints, Venture & Growth Capital, 2025
• Foley & Lardner, Protiviti and SS&C Intralinks recently hosted an event in Foley’s Silicon Valley office at Palo Alto Center. Moderated by Foley partner Louis Lehot, the session titled “Ready for Anything: Preparing for IPOs, SPACs, and Unexpected Capital Market Shifts,” brought together industry leaders: JD Fay (ex-CFO, Matterport, de-SPAC’d and then sold to CoStar Group), Dan Angus (Managing Director, Nasdaq), and Andrea Vardaro Thomas (Managing Director, Protiviti). Their combined experience provided a roadmap for companies facing the volatile and rapidly shifting capital markets of 2026., Co-Author, Foley Event Key Takeaways- Ready for Anything: Preparing for IPOs, SPACs, and Unexpected Capital Market Shift, Foley Viewpoints, 2025
• The 2026 outlook for market activity is cautiously optimistic amid ongoing challenges. Private equity firms are shifting to more hands-on, creative strategies to unlock liquidity in aging portfolios, with increased use of AI, continuation vehicles, and alternative financing as traditional exit avenues remain challenging. AI is dominating industry focus, but its impact on cost reduction is limited; regulatory uncertainty and overinvestment have created both innovation and new risks, signaling that adaptation to a dynamic “new normal” is key for 2026., Co-Author, 2026 Outlook: AI, IPOs, and the New "Normal" in Venture & Private Equity, Foley Viewpoints, Artificial Intelligence, 2025
• The article covers the evolution of board evaluations, what modern evaluations need to uncover, best practices in execution, role of third-party facilitators, size of company and readiness, skills matrices that actually drive decisions, culture (the leading indicator), where AI fits, and final thoughts. Resources are offered., Author, The Next Era of Board Evaluations, Foley Viewpoints, 2025
• PE firms are moving to sell portfolio companies on an accelerated timeline in 2025 after years of much longer hold cycles. PitchBook data shows 13% of PE-backed exits this year involved companies held less than three years. Buyout firms must prioritize maximizing returns, while preserving the long-term trajectory of the company at the same time., Co-Author, “The Rush to Exit: PE Firms Pick Up the Pace in 2025,”, Foley Viewpoints, 2025
• As the web further decentralizes based on blockchains, we are seeing new technology business models, particularly in the ecommerce sector, incorporate digital tokens into transaction flows by using digitally native tokens as a medium of payment for transacting on the platform. , Co-author, The Law of Tokenomics, Revisited, VentureBeat, 2022
• On October 4, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill No. 390, amending California’s Automatic Renewal law (”ARL”). The existing ARL was originally passed on January 1, 2010, as part of a regulatory effort by the California legislature to “end the practice of ongoing charging of consumer credit or debit cards or third-party payment accounts” without first obtaining the consumer’s explicit consent for ongoing shipments or deliveries of service. The ARL applies to businesses that sell and offer subscription services or products on an automatic renewal or continuous service basis to California consumers. Taking effect on July 1, 2022, the amended ARL includes new cancellation and notice requirements for subscription-based products and services and will augment the already-stringent California law. , Co-author, Updated California automatic renewal law: what businesses need to know, Westlaw Today, 2021
• As financial markets wrap up the year 2021 and launch into 2022 at warp speed, the “DeFi” world has a new star called the “DAO.” Decentralized finance, short-handed as “DeFi”, refers to peer-to-peer finance enabled by Ethereum, Avalanche, Solana, Cardano and other Layer-1 blockchain protocols, as distinguished from centralized finance (CeFi) or traditional finance (TradFi), in which buyers and sellers, payment transmitters and receivers, rely upon trusted intermediaries such as banks, brokers, custodians and clearing firms., Co-author, DeFi and the DAO: How the Law Needs to Change to Accommodate Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, LegalTech News, 2021
• The Metaverse could have virtual creations by avatars and AI aspects built into them. If such innovations are deemed AI creations and not human creations, they may not be allowed certain types of intellectual property protection., Co-author, Live, Work and Play in a Legal Metaverse: Preparing for a New Online Existence, IP Watchdog, 2021
• With the growing interest from consumers and asset managers, investors as well as entrepreneurs interested in digital assets, we have created this checklist for monetizing items with unique artistic content characteristics through nonfungible tokens (NFTs)., Co-author, A Checklist of Legal Considerations for the NFT Marketplace, Crunchbase, 2021
• As the virtual world explodes with data, ‘containers’ are the paradigm by which they are growing., Author, Navigating the Legal Cloud: How to Manage Data and Intellectual Property with Cloud Orchestration Platforms, IP Watchdog, 2021
• Since late 2019, when the special purpose acquisition corporation, or SPAC, returned to the public markets with a new twist, a circus of activity has breathed new life into the markets for privately-held emerging growth companies, forcing open a large window for public exits not seen in decades. In this “SPAC 2.0 boom,” sponsors of SPAC vehicles first raised large pools of blind capital in the public markets and then struck deals to buy emerging growth companies for ~10x the cash raised plus rollover equity and a second pile of cash in the form of a PIPE, Author, Meet the new SPAC circus ringleader: the PIPE investor, Westlaw Today, 2021
• It should come as no surprise that tech giants are already all in and building in the metaverse. Games’ Fortnite, Microsoft’s Minecraft, Facebook’s Horizon, and many more are contributors., Author, Looking into the future of a legal metaverse?, VentureBeat, 2021
• Data has become the fuel that drives major portions of the modern economy, and many tech companies depend on that fuel. But the increased importance has made these troves of data more attractive targets to hackers and other bad actors. With the current trend toward digital transformation and the importance of data in machine learning, sensitive information increasingly resides on third-party cloud servers, introducing additional security risks. Even locally stored data could be at risk—including potential breaches or careless or malicious employees. Any breach of data, whether locally or at the cloud level, can cause significant disruption to business operations., Co-author, How to Limit Your Data Liability, LegalTech News, 2021
• There has been a huge wave in investment in educational technology businesses since the outset of the pandemic, which continues to scale up. The first half of 2021 saw over $3.2 billion invested in US EdTech startups compared to $2.2 billion in all of 2020. Globally those numbers are even more impressive, with $18.8 billion in investment from private investors to EdTech companies in the first half of this year, according to market research firm Metaari. You don’t have to look far to see the incredible investment pouring into this sector, as well as the flurry of M&A and IPO activity., Co-author, Increasing investment in EdTech scaling beyond the pandemic, Westlaw Today, 2021
• As we emerge from a global pandemic and return to robust economic growth, the cybersecurity industry is on fire, and venture capitalists are taking notice. While the industry has seen steady growth over the past decade, since 2019, industry expansion has accelerated at a breakneck pace. This is particularly true when you look at industry growth and investment in 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021. We look at what’s driving demand, dive into the life of a cybersecurity startup, examine target markets, and scan the horizon for signs of what’s in store for the future., Author, What to expect for cybersecurity investment as we emerge from the pandemic, Westlaw Today, 2021
• SPACs have had a fantastic run in the last year through the end of Q1 2021, rising from a total IPO count of 59 in 2019 to 248 in 2020 and a whopping 311 in just the first quarter of 2021.  Yes, the number of SPAC IPOs in the first quarter of this year exceeded the total of all of 2020.  But the number of new IPOs dropped sharply in April.  SPACInsider lists 85 SPAC IPOs in January, 96 in February, 109 in March, but only 13 in April.  While the SPAC market had been growing by 13% per month in the first quarter, April’s total showed a drop of 88% compared to March’s., Author, Are SPACs Dying Off? A Few Points to Consider about the Future of SPACs, VC List, 2021
• This year has seen a surge in investor interest in fintech startups. CB Insights1 reported that the first quarter of 2021 was the largest funding quarter on record for fintech, surpassing Q2 2018, which included Ant Group’s $14B funding round. Venture capital-backed fintech companies raised $22.8 billion across 614 deals in the first quarter of 2021, representing 15% growth in deal volume and 98% growth in capital, both measured on a year-over-year basis. Every continent saw growth., Co-author, Avoiding Legal Pitfalls to Capitalize on the 2021 Boom in Fintech, Data Driven Investor, 2021
• A few years ago, initial coin offerings (ICOs) were all the rage in the cryptocurrency world.  They offered many projects the ability to raise funds quickly and easily, but they also drew the scrutiny of regulatory agencies.  As I pointed out at the time, the regulatory landscape for ICOs was something of a Wild West, with multiple agencies claiming jurisdiction.  While the ICO market eventually cooled, the rise of NFTs demonstrates a similarly complicated relationship with existing regulations.  As we sketched out in our initial guide to legal issues in NFTs, the cost of non-compliance can be fatal.  With the benefit of more experience, we are sharing key considerations in building an NFT marketplace., Co-author, Designing NFT Marketplaces, Digital Connect Mag, 2021
• Combined with incubators and accelerators, a whole new definition and creative means of high-resolution fundraising for startups have evolved. The timing could not be better – with a global pandemic and geopolitical instabilities preventing travel or even face-to-face meetings., Author, A Critical Look at Equity Crowdfunding, ReadWrite, 2021
• The changes to taxation on capital gains and inherited wealth, combined with a higher tax rate on ordinary income, could raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government at a time when it is seeking funding for historic stimulus and infrastructure programs. But the changes to the way capital gains are taxed will change the incentives for those that deploy capital and work., Author, Venture capital in the headlights: How President Biden’s proposed changes to capital gains could impact the innovation economy, Westlaw Today, 2021
• Building a new company requires dedication and tenacity, but sometimes, even startups that show great promise do not work out.  Failure can happen for many reasons.  Sometimes startups misjudge their markets, and sometimes the markets are not ready for radical innovations.  But if you are facing a startup failure, you can still face it gracefully by projecting three areas into the future., Author, The art of the bellyflop—what to do when your startup is not working out, Startup Info, 2021
• The rapid virtualization of many business functions has had a number of unintended consequences. On the one hand, for startups and investors, virtual deal-making has become commonplace, which has changed the dynamics of raising capital and investing. One startup CEO noticed that compared to pitching in person, virtual deal-making had a heightened focus but found that “it allowed for more robust conversations and data sharing over a shorter period of time.”, Author, The future of virtual deal-making and the return to work, VentureBeat, 2021
• Speculating about the future can be a perilous undertaking. If predictions from the twentieth century were right, we would be cruising around in flying cars and living in moonbases or on remote planets by now. Putting those pre-21st century fantasies aside, don’t make the mistaking of looking backwards when driving forward. To survive the pandemic, circumstances forced companies to cut costs, get lean, leverage technology and remote workers, going forward it will be harder to bring workers back online and find new ones than it will be to raise growth capital. While the immediate past required companies to operate with technology and remote workers “in the “back” to survive, the immediate future will require them to bring workers back in the front., Author, Preparing for the future of work, Young UpStarts, 2021
• With the recent, highly publicized Coinbase and Roblox direct listings and the SPAC boom over the past year, alternatives to the traditional IPO are in the spotlight. It seems that more and more companies are looking for ways to bypass the IPO process and go public through these alternative methods.While these IPO alternatives are generally viewed as faster and cheaper methods to take a company public, there are, of course, many factors to consider when looking at any avenue to go public., Author, Examining the risks and benefits of IPO alternatives: direct listings and SPACs, Westlaw Today, 2021
• This year, digital assets have dominated the news. For example, cryptocurrency, which has been around for a while, attracted much new attention over the last year because of its growing value, validation from public figures like Elon Musk, and bitcoin offerings from respected financial firms like Morgan Stanley. But, while transferring a physical asset is a straightforward process, digital assets are more complex because the only way to access cryptocurrency is through a 64-digit passcode.  , Author, All digital assets go to heaven? Actually, purgatory, if you’re not careful, Digital Wealth News, 2021
• Despite AI's ubiquity across every technology and healthcare field, there is no comprehensive federal legislation on AI in the United States to date. The US Congress has nonetheless enacted and is considering several pieces of legislation that will regulate certain aspects of AI. The executive branch continues to adopt directives and rulemaking that will impact on the use of AI. In February 2020, the Electronic Privacy Information Center petitioned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct rulemaking concerning the use of AI in commerce in order to define and prevent consumer harms resulting from AI products. We expect other organisations and groups to increasingly pressure the FTC and other governmental agencies to establish regulations regarding AI use. Meanwhile, much of the governing legal framework is through the cross-application of rules and regulations governing traditional disciplines such as product liability, data privacy, intellectual property, discrimination and workplace rights. Self-regulation and standards groups also contribute to the governing framework., Co-author, Artificial Intelligence Comparative Guide, MONDAQ, 2021
• When the pandemic first hit the U.S. economy, many experts anticipated a decided pullback from comparatively risky investments like startups.  Crunchbase reported in March of 2020 that “If past cycles are any guide, we can expect a sharp startup funding slowdown in coming months.”  The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance concluded that “Investors and companies must be prepared to address and negotiate new or reemerging terms as investors seek to de-risk their investments and companies seek financing alternatives in response to rapidly changing market conditions.”  Counterintuitively, outside of the travel and hospitality sectors, 2020 failed to usher in the “black swan” moment that had been proclaimed.  As we move into spring in 2021, it feels decidedly 1999ish in technology, digital health and life science startups and investing., Author, Startup and venture-capital investing in the post-COVID era,” Startup.Info, Startup.Info, 2021
• In 2020, everything changed. Jobs were cut, businesses were shuttered, and too many people lost their lives. But the global pandemic also triggered a response that is creating new jobs, stimulating innovation, and forging new business models. The market for mergers and acquisitions has weathered the storm of COVID-19 and is surging into the second quarter of 2021 with all pistons firing, particularly in healthcare., Co-author, Healthcare Shines in M&A’s Major Comeback so far in 2021,” Healthcare Innovation, Healthcare Innovation, 2021
• As summer 2020 progresses, the initial public offering (IPO) window is surprisingly wide open, and tech and life science companies are scrambling to get out before it shuts. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies shelved their IPO plans to shore up their operations, but as certain tech companies benefited from the shutdown or from the reopening that ensued, some companies pivoted back to the IPO process and are now rushing to take advantage. In July, FinTech phenom nCino had one of the most successful tech IPOs of all time, with a 195 percent increase in its first day of trading. An IPO is a crucial moment for a startup. It is a badge of honor when a company sells its shares to the public, or when it lists them on a national securities exchange. However, it comes with its share of costs. Below is some advice for going-public companies on how to best access the IPO window., Author, The return of the tech IPO, Financier Worldwide Magazine, 2020
• It’s a challenging environment we are in—and it is going to last awhile. Yet deals are still getting done. What are some things you can do to help boost your odds of success?, Author, M&A in the Era of Social Distancing – How Remote Work Affects Mergers & Acquisitions, Law.com's Legaltech News, 2020
• Personal rapport, trust, and confidence are critical ingredients of successful mergers, acquisitions and investment transactions, and building these elements is key. For deals to get done, dealmakers need to inspire trust and confidence in one another and the working group. With quarantines in place and face-to-face meetings out of the question, following are answers to frequently asked questions on how to negotiate transactions in the new “normal” successfully, Co-author, Negotiating Deals during the Pandemic, The Corporate Governance Advisor, 2020
• How are venture capital and other asset classes deploying funds to blockchain-based business models? What are the latest theses from investors as to why to invest in blockchain? How have blockchain-based businesses been affected by the global pandemic and economic crisis that ensued? How are they positioned to recover? The Blockchain Report 2020, released by research company CB Insights, reviews the blockchain and cryptocurrency landscape in 2019 while providing a window into 2020 with the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, regulatory and enforcement bodies are standing firm in their mission to protect investors based on the existing statutory and regulatory frameworks, that were not written in contemplation of distributed ledger technologies., Author, Blockchain Legal and Market Trends: 2020 & Beyond, Fintech Weekly, 2020
• In recent years, the world has seen a gold rush of private companies rushing to go-public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition corporation, or “SPAC.” This article will attempt to answer why. We will also clarify what it means for entrepreneurs, what it costs, why it matters, and who will be disrupted. Finally, we will look for some market indicators to watch out for., Author, Amidst a global pandemic, why are so many companies rushing to go public via the SPAC, despite producing lower returns for investors?, Medium, 2020
• Both the hardware and algorithms have a long way to go until they grace our environments. Quantum computing is not an unattainable innovation, though—it is real enough and, therefore, reachable enough to merit consideration of implications now., Author, Bring on the Qubits: How the Quantum Computing Arms Race Affects Legal, Law.com's Legaltech News, 2020
• In Q1 2020, venture capital firms deployed over $4.0 billion of fresh capital into 148 deals for artificial intelligence companies. The data shows that strategic and financial investors are looking for companies that are combining emerging, connected and smart technologies to digitally transform their industry., Author, Four Artificial Intelligence Technologies to Lead the Global Economy Out of the Pandemic, IP Watchdog, 2020
• As you consider board service, do your due diligence. It is wise to learn as much as you can about the organization beforehand. Male or female, if you are a prospective board member, here are some considerations to enhance your chances of landing that position., Author, INSIGHT: Interested in Joining a Corporate Board? Do Your Due Diligence, Bloomberg Law, 2020
• Before you enter a venture capital fundraising round, you want to make sure you have what it takes to succeed. Is your founding and leadership team strong and reliable, do you have a viable product, do you have quantifiable revenue, is your customer base targeted with a strategy for growth? While these concerns used to be addressed post-Series A fundraising, competition is steep and venture capital investors expect a company to have a clear vision and business development strategy. If there is any indication your company is not ready, don’t bother. You often get only one shot at impressing an investor so you need to make it count., Author, 8 Questions to Ask Before Raising Your First Round of Venture Capital, BuzzFeed, 2020
• Author, “What The Presidential Race Means For Big Tech, Silicon Valley,” Law360 (March 3, 2020)
• Author, “Looking for A Lawyer? Choose wisely, your business is at stake, says Louis Lehot,” Medium (February 5, 2020)
• Author, “Building the Perfect Pitch Desk,” Medium (February 10, 2020)
• Author, “Running an Effective Board of Directors,” Medium (February 13, 2020)
• Author, “Guide to Raising Your First Round of Venture Capital,” VC List (February 17, 2020)
• Author, “Early stage financing,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (April 6, 2020)
• Author, “8 Questions to ask before raising your first round of venture capital,” BuzzFeed (March 21, 2020)
• Author, “How to build the perfect pitch deck,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (March 23, 2020)
• Author, “INSIGHT: Interested in Joining a Corporate Board? Do Your Due Diligence,” Bloomberg Law (March 24, 2020)
• Author, “How to raise venture capital,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (March 31, 2020)
• Moderator, “M&A Term Sheets 101,” (July 14, 2020)
• Panelist, “Startup Management through the Crisis,” (April 15, 2020)
• Author, “When and how to incorporate,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (April 13, 2020)
• Author, “Running an Effective Board Meeting,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (April 22, 2020)
• Author, “Four Artificial Intelligence Technologies to Lead the Global Economy Out of the Pandemic,” IP Watch Dog (May 14, 2020)
• Panelist, “Accelerated Startup Academy,” (June 16, 2020)
• Co-author (with Broc Romanek), “Negotiating Deals during the Pandemic,” The Corporate Governance Advisor (July/August 2020)
• Author, “M&A in the Era of Social Distancing – How Remote Work Affects Mergers & Acquisitions,” Law.com’s LegalTech News (July 21, 2020)
• Author, “Blockchain Legal and Market Trends:2020 & Beyond,” Fintech Weekly, (September 29, 2020)
• Author, “Bring on the Qubits:  How the Quantum Computing Arms Race Affects Legal,” Legal Tech News (August 19, 2020)
• Author, “Going global,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (September 9, 2020)
• Author, “Founder Equity,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (September 16, 2020)
• Co-author, “Capitalization Tables and Pro formas,” #AskaSiliconvalleylawyer (September 23, 2020)
• Co-author, “Stock options 101,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (September 24, 2020)
• Co-author, “How has negotiating an M&A transaction changed during the pandemic,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (September 29, 2020)
• Author, “Amidst a global pandemic, why are so many companies rushing to go public via the SPAC, despite producing lower returns for investors,” Medium (September 28, 2020)
• Author, “The return of the tech IPO,” Financier Worldwide Magazine (September 2020)
• Author, “Founder Equity,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (September 16, 2020)
• Author, “Basics of Venture Capital,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (October 7, 2020)
• Author, “How to engage an accountant,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (October 8, 2020)
• Co-author, “How to build an advisory board,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (October 13, 2020)
• Moderator, “Privacy Policy 101,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (October 20, 2020)
• Panelist, “US Market Entry for Startups,” DrakeStarTalks (November 13, 2020)
• Moderator, “A Silicon Valley Take on AI Adoption,” #Askasiliconvalleylawyer (December 3, 2020)
• Panelist, “Garage to Global:  In-House Warrior,” Corporate Counsel Business Journal (January 10, 2021)
• Panelist, “Startup Venture Trends 2021,” 4thly Accelerator (February 1, 2021)

Honors

• Listed in Chambers for Startups & Emerging Companies , Chambers, Chambers.com, 2025
• Listed in Chambers for Venture Capital for the fifth consecutive year, Chambers, Chambers.com, 2025
• Listed in Chambers USA - Leading Equity and Debt Capital Markets, Chambers USA, 2016
• Recognized by The Legal 500 US in the fields of mergers & acquisitions/corporate and commercial, The Legal 500 US
• Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers, 2021
• Selected as an Acritas Star, Acritas, 2021
• Named an advisory board member, Silicon Valley Directors' Exchange (SVDX), Silicon Valley Directors' Exchange, in partnership with Stanford Law School

Industry Groups

• AI-Artificial Intelligence
• Analytics
• Big Data
• Clean Energy
• Cybersecurity
• Enterprise SaaS
• Internet Of Things
• Life Sciences
• Machine Learning
• Quantum Computing
• Technology

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