The Legal 500

Within Technology: transactions, Fenwick & West LLP is a second tier firm,

Fenwick & West LLP represents clients across the technology spectrum in transactional matters including financing, licensing and IP work and big-ticket M&A. Key business sectors include life sciences, clean tech, internet-based business and social media, SaaS, gaming, software and hardware. In 2010, the M&A practice, led by David Healey in Silicon Valley and Douglas Cogen in San Francisco, acted on 105 acquisitions valued at over $10.6bn. The group frequently acts on the most high-profile deals in the technology space, advising acquiring and target businesses. Recent highlights include advising longstanding client and serial acquirer Cisco Systems in five acquisitions and IT security, and representing backup provider SonicWALL in its $717m acquisition by an investor group led by Thoma Bravo. Semiconductors and cleantech are important sources of work and the group is recognized for its e-discovery expertise. The fact that it does not offer the same international reach as some of its competitors has not prevented it from acting in some of 2010’s most prominent deals, with Cogen representing ArcSight. in its $1.5bn acquisition by Hewlett-Packard. An impressive client list includes Amazon.com, Apple, Cisco Systems, Electronic Arts, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Netflix, Symantec and Twitter.

Within M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m), Fenwick & West LLP is a third tier firm,

Fielding offices from West Mountain, San Francisco, Seattle and Boise, Fenwick & West LLP has a premier national technology M&A practice. The practice has acted as counsel in connection with some of the largest life sciences industry mergers including Agilent Technologies’ $1.5bn acquisition of Varian, Ocular Sciences’ $1.2bn acquisition by The Cooper Companies, and Connetics’ $930m acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories. The team has also advised in many of the most important strategic mergers of software companies, including: Macromedia’s $3.4bn merger with Adobe Systems; VERITAS’ $3.4bn acquisition of Seagate Software; MySQL’s $1bn acquisition by Sun Microsystems; and Intuit’s $1.35B acquisition of Digital Insight. Douglas Cogen and David Healy lead the group. Cogen’s experience includes more than 65 deals for Cisco Systems. In life sciences deals, he advised in Neoforma’s $210m acquisition by Global Healthcare Exchange. Healy has had primary responsibility for business transactions ranging from $20m to over $3bn. His deals include: Exodus’ $2.1bn acquisition of Global Crossing’s Web hosting business; the sale of Opsware to HP in a $1.6bn cash tender offer; a $2.5bn off-shore joint development and manufacturing agreement for Dell; eBay’s sale of its Skype communications unit in a deal valuing Skype at $2.75bn to an investor group that included Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz; and the $875m acquisition by Rational of Pure Atria. Gordon Davidson is a partner in the corporate group and chairman of the firm. Davidson advises high technology companies, including networking, computer software and electronics companies, as well as clean technology and life sciences companies.

Within Venture capital and emerging companies, Fenwick & West LLP is a second tier firm,

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.

Within Domestic tax: West Coast, Fenwick & West LLP is a second tier firm,

Fenwick & West LLP is a leader in technology and life sciences sector legal service provision, and the excellent tax practice supports other departments in advising hi-tech businesses at all stages of development, from start-up to spin-out, through restructuring and M&A transactions. David Forst heads the tax department of some 20 attorneys which boasts a client base including several major corporations. James Fuller and Ron Schrotenboer are recommended. Adam Halpern provided tax advice to mobile video software and services Qik when it was acquired by Skype for an undisclosed consideration in January 2010, and to online specialty retailer Quidsi on its acquisition by Amazon.com. Clients include Amyris, Asthmatx and Axolotl.