The Legal 500

Silicon Valley titan Cooley LLP is known, along with rival Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, for handling the greatest volume of venture financings in the US. The firm has a leading biotech and life sciences practice. In 2010, it represented Cypress Bioscience on its $255m sake to Ramius and Royalty Pharma. Beyond the medical devices and biotech industry, the firm has successfully created a wide ranging venture capital and emerging company practice. This includes IT and a rapidly expanding clean technology practice. In 2010, the firm advised Compellent on its $960m acquisition by Dell. The firm also recently represented the underwriters on LinkedIn’s proposed initial public offering (IPO). It has an impressive record in growth company IPOs. On the clean technology front, the firm further enhanced its credentials in 2010 through the recruitment of Washington DC partners Thomas Amis and Nik Patel from Alston & Bird LLP. Amis has become co-chair of the clean energy and technologies department, alongside the highly reputed James Fulton in Palo Alto. Silicon Valley remains the firm’s focal point, but it is rightly regarded as a Californian giant with a growing reputation in Washington DC and Northern Virginia, as well as in the key growth company market of Boston, where it has successfully become one of the leading names in life sciences. Major clients include Adobe Systems, Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, eBay, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Quest Software, Redpoint Ventures and Venrock Associates. Other key partners include Palo Alto-based head of the venture capital practice Craig Dauchy, head of the technology transactions department Adam Ruttenberg, and the seasoned emerging growth companies and venture capital specialist Mark Tanoury, who has a ‘great reputation’.

From its Silicon Valley headquarters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is recognised throughout the world for its mighty practice, which continues to represent some of the most successful names in this sector. It has taken a number of companies from the start-up stage to becoming a worldwide giant, and has worked for many of the leading venture funds, including Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Pacific Biosciences, Luxim, Corefino, Apple, Google and Sun Microsystems. While Silicon Valley remains its headquarters and spiritual home, it has built a formidable national practice, with particular strength on the West Coast through its additional offices in Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego, while its Austin (Texas), Washington DC and New York offices are also making considerable progress. On the global front, it has an intense focus on China, and in 2010 launched a new office in Hong Kong, to work alongside its well-established Shanghai branch. The firm also enhanced its life sciences and clean technology practices in 2010, when Michael Rabson rejoined the firm’s Palo Alto office after a spell as general counsel and senior vice president of Cytokinetics. Founding partner Larry Sonsini is the grandee of the growth market and continues to represent many Silicon Valley headquartered companies that have become global giants. Palo Alto-based chief executive officer Steven Bochner is also widely commended within the entrepreneurial and venture capital community. Jeffrey Saper is another senior name who has worked on a number of landmark deals, while David Segre has a ‘great reputation’, and founding partner of the Austin office Paul Tobias is a ‘great guy’ and a ‘great lawyer’.

DLA Piper LLP is in the ascendancy, having recruited the highly reputed Curtis Mo from WilmerHale’s Palo Alto office in 2010. Mo has a wealth of emerging company clients and venture fund relationships. This ‘game changing’ move now gives the firm genuine credibility in Silicon Valley, and an even more solid national and global footprint. The firm is now considered a leader in clean technology (particularly solar energy), software and internet, while life sciences and biotech is another key area. Clean technology is a global focus of the firm and it clearly benefits from having a potent energy practice in Houston. Clients find its ‘global footprint’ a compelling factor, and praise its ‘very strong attorneys’, who are ‘hard working’, ‘extremely responsive’, ‘cost-efficient’ and ‘well-attuned to the market place’. Aside from the aforementioned Mo, the firm has a vast array of senior talent including Austin and Palo Alto-based Paul Hurdlow, renowned for his expertise in the software, semiconductor and gaming industries, and Austin managing partner Jim Montgomery. The firm now has a major market share of venture financings in the San Diego region, with Randy Socol and David Young to the fore. Other lead partners include Seattle’s John Steel, Atlanta-based Jeffrey Leavitt and Jeffrey Lehrer in the Northern Virginia office. Venture fund clients include Ignition Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, and Northern Lights Capital Partners. Growth company clients include national and global phenomenon Groupon, WhaleShark Media, Scivantage, and new start-up Smooth Stone.

Silicon Valley-based Fenwick & West LLP is principally located on the West Coast with further offices in San Francisco, Seattle and Boise (Idaho), but the firm’s workload is genuinely national and international in nature, thanks to clients such as Facebook and Twitter, and venture capital and private equity names such as Elevation Partners, Warburg Pincus and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The firm is frequently engaged in headline and seminal deals in the growth enterprises and venture capital arena. In 2010, it advised content control and network security company SonicWall on its $717m acquisition by an investor group led by Thomas Bravo. Much of the firm’s work is on the company side and historically in the IT sector, but has diversified into digital media, clean technology and alternative energy, and life sciences and biotech. The firm’s full-service approach is also frequently in evidence, with departments such as intellectual property and litigation being pivotal to the firm’s success in these sectors. The firm is awash with senior talent with some 30 partners that are dedicated to early-stage growth companies. Celebrated chairman Gordon Davidson has a ‘stellar reputation’, and chair of the corporate division Richard Dickson is equally impressive. Ted Wang is a leader in the digital media industry, and his clients include Facebook, Groupon and Twitter. Mark Stevens also represents a number of digital media clients, as well as venture capital and private equity funds.

Goodwin Procter LLP successfully built-out its West Coast practice in March 2010 with the hire of leading figure Anthony McCusker and Craig Schmitz from Gunderson Dettmer LLP, and up-and-coming partner Caine Moss from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to its Silicon Valley office. The Boston-based firm is now genuinely strong on both the East and West Coast and has dramatically enhanced its connections to influential venture funds and entrepreneurs. The firm also maintains a leading funds formation practice in Silicon Valley. It consolidated its leading position in its Boston heartland when it recruited Christopher Austin, the former head of technology and venture capital at Ropes & Gray LLP. The firm now has over 160 lawyers who handle early-stage, venture and technology deals. It represents over 500 emerging companies and entrepreneurs, and 200 venture capital and private equity firms. The firm has an unrivalled national life sciences practice, as well as being strong in healthcare, IT, internet and digital media. Clients include Braemar Energy Ventures, Sequoia Capital, VantagePoint, Spark Capital, Evergreen Solar, Rapid7 and Oasys Water. The firm recently advised Integrated Diagnostics in its $30m Series A Convertible Preferred Stock financing, and simultaneous acquisition of Homestead. Clients regard the firm as ‘first class’ and ‘best in the business’ and praise its ‘expertise’, ‘knowledge’, ‘precision’ and ‘execution’. Boston’s John Egan and Bill Schnoor co-lead the practice, alongside Silicon Valley’s Anthony McCusker.

Despite losing Anthony McCusker and Craig Schmitz to Goodwin Procter LLP in March 2010, Gunderson Dettmer LLP still maintains a senior echelon, featuring founding partners Robert Gunderson, a big name venture capital attorney, and Scott Dettmer, a well known venture and IT lawyer. The firm was created to serve the emerging growth company market and now represents over 1,200 technology companies at every stage of development. Although closely associated with Silicon Valley where it is headquartered, the firm has invested heavily into its national network, with further offices in Boston, New York and San Diego. It recently worked on Alimera Sciences’s IPO, advised on the sale of five companies to Google, and acted on the sale of companies to Areva, Apple, Dell and Microsoft. Amongst these deals, it represented ITA Software on its sale to Google, Sentillion on its sale to Microsoft and Scalent on its sale to Dell. Notable further clients include Ariba, Selectica, Qlik Technologies, Alimera Sciences, Foursquare and Tweetdeck. Other key partners include New York’s Kenneth McVay, Silicon Valley fund formation specialist Steven Franklin and Asia transaction expert Bennett Yee.

Latham & Watkins LLP remains closely attuned to its West Coast roots and the growth enterprise and venture capital market. With its strength in Silicon Valley, Southern California and its national and international network, it represents clients from their inception as venture-back start-ups through to becoming established global brands. The firm has a particularly strong record in advising growth enterprises on their public offerings. In 2010, the firm advised on 13 out of 46 venture-backed IPOs in the US, equating to some 25% of the entire market. This includes the IPOs of biofuel and pharmaceutical company Codexis and digital media company Demand Media. The firm also advised OncoMed Pharmaceuticals on its landmark strategic alliance with Germany’s Bayer Schering Pharma. The firm remains particularly active in technology, life sciences and clean technology. A further illustration of its global power was its advice on three clean technology IPOs by Chinese companies during 2010. China Ming Yang Wind Power Group listed on the New York Stock Exchange, while Trony Solar Holdings Company and China Suntien Green Energy Corporation listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Silicon Valley partners Alan Mendelson and Patrick Pohlen are co-chairs of the emerging companies group, with the former recommended for life sciences work and the latter leading the way in the clean technology sector. Other key clients include venture funds Benchmark Capital, CMEA Ventures, Skyline Ventures and VantagePoint, and growth enterprises Adobe Systems, OpenTable.com, Yahoo! and Facebook.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP represents six of the top ten tech companies in the US, including Oracle, Cisco, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Worldwide it represents some 800 growth enterprises. Clients commend the ‘outstanding service’, ‘great responsiveness’, ‘technical expertise’ and ‘good business judgment’ of the team. The firm has a burgeoning IPO practice on behalf of emerging growth companies, closing the offerings of SemiLEDs and SodaStream in 2010. It is also at the forefront of the clean technology sector with Silicon Valley-based Mitchell Zuklie ‘well regarded in the clean technology space’ and ‘often seen as the go-to guy for these kind of companies’. The clean technology practice includes clients such as AltaRock, BrightSource Energy, LS9, Nanosolar and OPOWER. The firm has also represented investors in clean technology transactions including Applied Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Standout deals included First Solar’s $285m acquisition of NextLight Renewable Power and Recurrent Energy’s $305m acquisition by Sharp. Much of the practice is centred in Silicon Valley where Don Keller heads the national corporate group. Fellow Silicon Valley partners John Bautista and Alan Talkington, who is ‘really spectacular’, are also recommended.

WilmerHale has a leading practice on the East Coast, particularly in the key growth enterprise market of Boston and nearby Waltham. On the West Coast, it was hit by the departure of key partner Curtis Mo to DLA Piper LLP in 2010, but retains a solid presence there and has a global business that few of its direct rivals can match. Clients highlight the ‘responsiveness’, ‘breadth of expertise’ and ‘experience’ within the team. The ‘top notch’ firm delivers a ‘level of service’ that is ‘of the highest quality’. The firm is widely recognised for its expertise in life sciences and biotechnology, while clean technology (including biofuels) is a growth area for the practice. Clients include A123 Systems, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, ActiFio, Airvana, Casa Systems, MPM Capital and Khosla Ventures. In 2010, the firm advised leading clean technology focused venture capital firm Khosla Ventures on ten financing transactions including for Calera Corporation (green cement), Gevo (biofuels), Nordic Windpower (utility-scale wind turbines), Seamicro (energy efficient data centers), Skybox and Stion (solar photovoltaics). Chair of the venture capital group Michael Bain is based in Waltham. Amongst the team is Boston-based IT, software and internet expert David Westenburg, who is commended for his ‘responsiveness’, ‘excellent client service’, ‘incredible knowledge’ and ‘unparalleled experience’. Boston-based life sciences specialist David Redlick is also recommended, as is Silicon Valley’s Peter Buckland.

Morgan Lewis has a strong presence on both the West and East Coast, through its key offices of Princeton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Palo Alto. The firm has a particularly fine record in life sciences and energy (including clean technology). It also has a leading funds formation practice. Clients praise the firm’s ‘strong business acumen’, its ‘excellent’ response times, and for being ‘sensitive and adaptable to the needs of the client in a particular situation’. Clients acknowledge the firm’s ability to ‘grasp the key business drivers’ in a given deal and ‘translate that understanding into legal strategies and positions that both advance the client’s interests and contribute to successful transactions’. Firm-wide, it represents more than 800 emerging business and technology clients and has amounted nearly $5bn in venture financings since 2006. Recent highlight deals include advising Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited on its IPO, and representing Better Place on a $350m venture financing, one of the largest clean technology investments ever made. Active clients also include CGT Semiconductor, SanDisk, Autonomy, Octagon, Profectus Biosciences, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Care Capital and Valeritas. Princeton and Philadelphia partner, and co-manager of the emerging business and technology practice, Steven Cohen is ‘very bright’, ‘agile’ and ‘adept at integrating the client’s business needs into the proper legal framework’. Co-manager of the department and Palo Alto partner Thomas Kellerman is responsible for many of the firm’s most noteworthy recent deals, while Philadelphia’s Stephen Goodman is recommended for emerging technology and life sciences work companies. Pittsburgh-based Eric Kline is also a prominent name.

With a massive presence in California and considerable credibility nationally and internationally, Morrison & Foerster LLP is a key player in the emerging company and venture capital sector. The firm is consistently applauded for its work in the technology and life sciences environments. The firm worked on four of the top five medical device venture financings in the first half of 2010, including the $64m financing of Intuity Medical and the $44.5m financing of TearScience. Clients praise the ‘very valuable and good counsel’, and the ‘very responsive’, ‘timely’ and ‘knowledgeable’ attorneys. The firm provides an ‘excellent service’ thanks to its ‘industry experience’ and ‘business acumen’, which are ‘second to none’. Clients recognise the genuine full-service approach of the practice, delivering ‘first rate’ and ‘top notch’ advice across the firm. In past three years, the firm completed nearly $2bn in venture financings. Lead partners include Jay de Groot in San Diego, Palo Alto-based head of the West Coast team Suzanne Graeser, who is ‘absolutely great’, ‘more than a lawyer’, and ‘very responsive’, Palo Alto’s Stephen Thau, Susan Mac Cormac, who head the life sciences and clean technology departments respectively, and Palo Alto’s Timothy Harris, who is a recognised expert in high-technology. The ‘extremely knowledgeable’, ‘experienced’ and ‘responsive’Charles Katz heads the East Coast team from the Northern Virginia office.

With its headquarters in Los Angeles, O’Melveny & Myers LLP naturally has a more intense focus on the West Coast emerging company and venture capital environment. Even so, it is one of few firms that have successfully transported a powerful practice to the East Coast. The firm has a particularly fine record in IT, software and internet advice. Its success in this sector is illustrated by the number of key clients that have risen from start-up status to major global brand. Led by Silicon Valley-based Steve Tonsfeldt, the firm represented Yahoo! on its acquisition of Citizen Sport and its purchase of online publishing platform Associated Content in 2010. Tonsfeldt also led the team that advised Slide on its $228m acquisition by Google, while fellow Silicon Valley partners Paul Sieben and Warren Lazarow represented Like.com on its sale to Google. Other clients include Insight Venture Partners, International Game Technology, Microsemi and Western Digital. Life sciences expert Sam Zucker is also recommended.

The ‘exceptional’ Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is ‘responsive’, ‘proactive’ and provides a ‘first class service’. Having deep roots in the San Francisco and Bay Area, the firm is ‘in-tune’ with the needs of fast-growing tech businesses and is ‘knowledgeable’, ‘effective’ and ‘cost effective’. Much credit for the firm’s leading credentials should go to eminent technology specialist Jorge Del Calvo, who heads the venture capital practice. Clients include Genius.com, Tilera, Coulomb Technologies and IDG Ventures. The firm recently represented Genius.com on its Series D financing and Tinera on its Series C financing. The firm has also represented IDG Ventures on a sequence of deals. Over the years, the firm has worked on a number of IPOs on behalf of growth enterprises. It is particularly well-known for its work in the semiconducor, biotech, internet and communications sectors. Other key partners include Tom Thomas in Palo Alto, Northern Virginia partner Craig Chason, Ronald Fleming, who is ‘very strong on legal elements as relates to business issues’ and ‘very effective in helping us achieve favorable terms’ in New York, San Diego’s David Snyder and Christian Salaman, who is ‘young and energetic’ and ‘has the skills and knowledge of a much more experienced attorney’.

Though better known for its private equity work, Choate, Hall & Stewart continues to handle a high-volume of equity financings and growth equity deals for start-ups and growth enterprises. Technology and life sciences are its core sectors, with Stephen Cohen, Brian Lenihan and Thomas Murphy covering mainstream private equity deals, growth equity and classic venture capital financings. In 2010, the firm represented Summit Partners on a series of growth equity investments, including in Apocell, Wildfire Interactive, and Accedian Networks.

Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP confirmed its commitment to the emerging companies environment in 2010, by launching its Helping Innovators Thrive programme. It is this focus on the sector that leads clients to describe the firm as ‘excellent’ and ‘outstanding’, with one client awarding it ‘10/10 for expert counsel’. The firm has a particularly strong record in the life sciences and biotechnology environment. In 2010, the firm represented MPM Capital and New Enterprise in a Series A financing by Rhythm Pharmaceuticals. It also advised Cequent Pharmaceuticals on the issuance of Series A-1 preferred stock to existing investors and new investors. In addition, it advised Novartis Bioventures on a Series A investment in Euthymics Bioscience. Other clients include Battelle Ventures, Brightspark Capital, Fidelity Biosciences, Oxford Bioscience Partners and SV Life Sciences. Boston is the centre of the firm’s emerging company and venture capital practice where co-chair of the department Jim Barrett is commended for his ‘attention to detail’ and ‘management of the team’.

With a strong standing in life sciences, Foley Hoag LLP has created a broad practice that has embraced technology and clean technology with considerable success. In January 2011, the firm further enhanced its life sciences department by hiring Boston partner Hemmie Chang from Ropes & Gray LLP. Its emerging company and venture capital expertise is largely located in Boston and nearby Waltham. Clients include Soltage, Boston Community Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, AdAstra Venture, TVM Capital, Still River Funds and CommonAngels. David Broadwin heads the emerging enterprise center from the Waltham office, while Boston partner David Pierson leads the venture capital and emerging companies practice group.

Jones Day has made considerable progress in the venture capital and emerging companies space over the last ten years. Much of the growth has been in California, where the firm further enhanced its presence by hiring Tim Curry from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in 2010. Silicon Valley is its principle location for venture capital and emerging companies work, while San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Cleveland and Dallas also play anchor roles. The department is also backed by the firm’s large IP practice. Indeed, clients highlight the broad suite of services that the firm is able to supply, provided in a ‘practical’ and ‘cost effective’ manner. The team also ‘lacks the arrogance of many of its peers’. Key industry areas include software, internet, gaming, clean energy and life sciences. Standout partners include Dallas partner Stephen Fluckiger, Palo Alto’s Tim Curry, Robert Clarkson and renewable energy specialist Todd Johnson, and department head John Saada in Cleveland. Clients include Explorys, Primus Capital Fund, JumpStart, Adam Street Partners, and Maverick Capital for which Stephen Fluckiger advised on a series of deals in 2010.

McDermott Will & Emery LLP covers the key emerging company markets with considerable assurance. Established teams in Boston, Silicon Valley and San Diego have enabled the firm to make significant progress in this sector. The firm represents both investors and issuers in investments ranging from seed and first round venture financings to later stage investments. The firm has a particularly standout record in healthcare and life sciences, energy (including renewables and alternative energy), and technology and internet. It has a 20-lawyer team in California, covering north and south, while the Boston office has a long-established record of advising start-ups emerging from the technology community surrounding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Clients include Advanced Bionics Holding, Akela Pharma, Artemis Capital Partners, Healthways, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Plaxo, SV Life Sciences and Verifier Capital. Amongst a long list of standout transactions, the firm advised SV Life Sciences and Bain Capital on their control investment in The Corner Pharmacy. Key partners include Silicon Valley-based Mark Mihanovic and Kyle Guse, and Peter Townshend in San Diego. In Boston, Mark Stein is ‘always available’, a ‘problem solver’ and ‘very business savvy’.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. has a strong focus on life sciences, technology, digital media and telecoms. In December 2010, it advised Mission Ventures and Columbia Capital Equity on its $12m Series C financing of Access 360 Media. Amongst a number of high-profile life sciences transactions, it represented Dicerna Pharmaceuticals on two Series B financings, including one of $25m. While much of the firm’s expertise is on the East Coast, principally Boston, it has made progress on the West Coast, through its offices in Palo Alto, Los Angeles and San Diego. Boston-based chair of the biotechnology practice Jeffrey Wiesen has an excellent reputation, as does fellow Boston partner and co-chair of the venture capital and emerging companies group Lewis Geffen.

Gibson Dunn is more of an investor side practice, with a particularly fine record in the gaming, medical device, clean technology and energy sectors. While many of its clients are based in the US, it frequently represents foreign investors, including a number from the Middle East. Much of the practice is centered in California. In Los Angeles, Bradford Weirick is to the fore, while in Palo Alto, Gregory Davidson and the immensely experienced Joseph Barbeau, have excellent practices. Recent highlight deals include advising Investcorp Technology Partners on taking an equity stake in CSIdendity. It also represented Rustic Canyon Ventures in its Series B investment in cloud-based video game producer Gaikai. On the energy side, it advised Mighty River Power on its $400m investment in Hudson Ranch Power. It has also completed a number of investments in solar companies.

K&L Gates has a considerable national practice, but remains closely associated with the Northwest, thanks to the immense record of the Seattle office. It continues to act for a number of prestigious emerging enterprises, some of which have become global names. It also represents a number of influential venture capital investors. The firm is also known for its cross-border and international practice, while established presences in key growth enterprise markets such as Orange County, Austin, Boston and Silicon Valley, further enhance its reputation. Seattle partners David Tang, who manages the firm’s Asia operations, Matthew Topham, Chris Visser and the immensely experienced Scott Greenburg are all highly recommended.

Lowenstein Sandler PC has exploited the growth of venture capital in the New York metro area. The firm is well entrenched in the venture capital arena and has a growing presence in Silicon Valley, where Kathi Rawnsley, a former acting general counsel of Intel Capital, is building the firm’s profile. The office was further enhanced by the arrival of Matt Kirmayer from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. in November 2010. Outside of the US, the firm has completed deals in China, Australia, UK, Canada France, India and Latin America. Standout deals for the firm in 2010 included its advice to Investor Growth Capital on a clean technology investment worth in excess of $100m. Clients include Charles River Ventures, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, ABS Ventures, Flybridge Venture Capital, Insight Venture Partners, LLR Partners, Intel Capital, First Round Capital and Velocity Interactive Group. The well-connected Edward Zimmerman in New York is chair of the firm’s tech group.

Atlanta-based Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP has an established practice in the dynamic emerging company sector in the Southeast region of the US, but has built a genuine national reputation. The technology practice accounts for a significant proportion of the firm’s business. Clients include Quofore, FX Bridge Technologies Corporation, FTRANS Corp, and River Cities Capital Funds. John Yates, David Calhoun and Ed Hirsch all have excellent reputations.

The ‘excellent’ Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is particularly strong in the technology and media sectors. While the firm represents some venture funds, it principally acts for emerging companies. The firm acts for a number of cable television channels as well as film production companies. M&A has been more prevalent for the practice of late, through Los Angeles-based David Sands and San Diego’s Michael Umansky, who is ‘always the smartest attorney in the room’, ‘has unparalleled understanding of corporate law’, ‘a great negotiator’ and ‘very detail-oriented’. The potent Californian practice is also strong in Santa Barbara and Orange County. The team recently advised Bison Capital Equity Partners in relation to its investment in Fyfe Group. The firm also has a strong production and production finance practice, and represented Legend Films in connection with a Series E1 financing, as well as a large convertible note and warrant financing.