The Legal 500 > United States > United States > Venture capital and emerging companies

‘Michael Esquivel and his team are top notch in every way – from responsiveness to client needs to expertise relevant to our business as we grow. They are excellent partners around our table.’

‘Michael Esquivel and team: Ryan McRobert, Miriam dela Cruz-Rice, Noah Johnson, and Shawn Lampron on the corporate team are always available and ready to help, anytime, anywhere, when I need them. That knowledge is exceedingly reassuring and makes them all stand out for me, as one team. But beyond that, their expertise is reassuring, as it means they (we!) are always in a strong position versus the other side of the table.’

‘Very in the know on tech – who matters, what to expect, and what’s going on. Very good at personal relationships with founder and company. Capable of supporting huge enterprises with their own legal teams, and first time founders who are totally lost.’

‘Intimate understanding of the players and how we can expect things to go. Good understanding of my business stakeholders and creative at getting us to a solution. Practical – not a third party adviser but someone who actually thinks through what the company cares about and helps make it happen.’

‘The closeness of the partner and their interest in the actual business and well being of all major actors.’

‘Michael Esquivel and Stefano Quintini. Both go above and beyond and both are best in class.’

‘The team is absolutely at the top of their game. Fenwick’s extensive client base, from the Fortune 500 to cutting edge innovative tech companies, means that they are involved in many of the newsworthy transactions that occur in their unique backyard – Silicon Valley.’

‘I firmly believe in the adage that you hire lawyers not firms. Without the expert practitioners at Fenwick the firm would not be able to build the solid client relationships. What is clearly evident is the “service culture.” Not only do they say they they will handle a matter right away, they actually do it. Our corporate partner at Fenwick is Sam Angus. My needs often require immediate assistance by my outside counsel. It is that service orientation that I respect and rely on in Sam.’

‘Fenwick’s corporate and venture capital practice is filled with extraordinarily experienced attorneys. Michael Esquivel has seen and done it all. His knowledge and judgment are unparalleled.’

‘Michael Esquivel is one of the quickest legal minds I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He has incredible depth of experience, is up to date on what’s “market” in the venture-backed world, and brings an ethical lens first to every decision.’

‘Fenwick has a very knowledgeable team about corporate law, stock compensation, and privacy. They are very responsive and work quickly when requested.’

‘The corporate team understands well how to provide legal counsel to startups.’

‘Mark Stevens has decades of experience coupled with intelligent, strategic thinking. Patrick Grilli is practical, hardworking, and a great partner of the company.’

‘The Fenwick team is attentive, understands our business, and gives us practical advice that makes sense for our growth stage. I particularly appreciate how much broad knowledge they have about the VC and M&A markets, so I can feel confident about the terms we are getting compared to our peers.’

‘It feels like a true business partnership, not just a transactional relationship. I feel they understand our priorities and do their best to get us what we need at a high value. I also appreciate the diversity of our Fenwick teams, across multiple dimensions; this reflects our in-house team and aligns with our culture and values.’

‘Goodwin gives a new meaning to “full-service.” In addition to covering the entire ‘legal stack’ they go deeper into their advice and support than any other firm we have ever worked with.’

‘Every person we have ever engaged with was incredibly knowledgeable and very detail oriented. They are also always on time with their work and you never have to chase them like we do with other firms.’

‘Most of our engagement has been with Bill Schnoor. In addition to proactively asking about our needs, Bill has made the best introductions to co-investors, LPs and angel investors that are aligned with our investment strategy. No other lawyer has EVER made the high quality intro’s that Bill has made to our firm.’

‘I have worked with more than 10 firms in the last 20 years and I have been the most satisfied with DLA Piper’s work. DLA Pipers has always assembled the right team to work on our projects. Whether the team members are from one office or cross different continents, DLA Piper’s teams have always worked seamlessly and delivered the top-notch results for us in the last 10 years.’

‘I have worked with Curtis Mo and his team on many projects in the last ten years and have been very impressed with Curtis’s insights in market terms and abilities to get the best results for us. Curtis has always been able to evaluate the facts and circumstances, and give his honest opinions. Today, Curtis is not only an advisor to our company, he is also an important asset of our company.’

‘Despite DLA’s large size, the service provided feels like that of a small boutique firm – but with benefits! By that I mean my company received highly personalized service and incredible turn-around times (as if they were a small firm with few clients) and yet whenever we needed deep expertise on obscure issues or in far flung geographies – we got that too. I will add that we were among their smallest clients – but they never made us feel any less important or our work any less of a priority.’

‘As a 20-year in-house attorney, I often struggle with outside lawyers who tend to be more theoretical and less practical than those of us internal to the corporation – and therefore their advice is only partially valuable. Trent Dykes breaks this mold. He is such a savvy and practical lawyer and it makes getting to the right answer a breeze. He is also brilliant, tireless and down to earth. His calm demeanor and sense of humor made working on even the most painful and frustrating of projects more fun and enjoyable. I cannot say enough about him as a lawyer and highly recommend him.’

‘Curtis Mo is a very experienced lawyer with very strong commercial judgment. His team is experienced and encompasses many disciplines that are vital to our investment program. The experience gives us comfort vs. other less experienced professionals when dealing with corporate venture work.’

‘Curtis Mo is the key differentiator here. He is responsive, gives decisive and commercial advice.’

‘Amazing market knowledge, very hands on approach and incredible technical legal skills.’

‘The L&W team have deep knowledge and understanding of the markets their clients are in, but at the end of the day what is so valuable about working with them is their dedication to their craft — they are incredibly technical and thoughtful lawyers.’

‘I’ve worked with Latham on a variety of start-ups including initial licensing through financings and ultimately M&A. Great people who are extremely responsive.’

‘I have the pleasure to work with Cheston Larson (partner) and Chris Geissinger (associate) on corporate matters and Chris Hazuka (partner) on licensing.’

‘The team’s depth of experience is incredible, from structuring, capital raises and navigating multi-jurisdiction transactions. The team were also invaluable in M&A transactions and I consider the LW practice my firm’s GO TO General Counsel.’

‘John Chory is our Advisor for all issues related to Capital Raising. Dan Hoffman is also a terrific advisor and unbelievable hard worker, understands and simplifies very complex problems. Morgan Brubaker is one of the most astute contracts lawyers I have ever worked with.’

‘Emily Taylor is a terrific attorney who is highly creative and business-minded.’

‘We conduct our operations globally. This made Hogan Lovells a unique fit given their strong government and regulatory capability (e.g.  government contracting, etc.), Silicon Valley / tech presence and experience, and truly global capability.’

‘Nate Gallon was the lead partner on the deal, and Derrik Forshee the senior associate (now Counsel). Both were everything you would expect of large firm lawyers. Extremely responsive, always available (the deal was very active through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years), high leverage from brief conversations, very technically capable and experienced, etc. In no areas were either of them lacking.’

‘Nate navigated the complex corporate governance waters masterfully, remaining a trusted and balanced source by all parties, while driving the deal forward. He and Derrik also did very well with the non-standard and complicated mechanics that came into the deal, and in the modifications necessary to preserve or recast them in the context of the go forward combined company. This was not in any way, shape, or form a plain vanilla M&A deal.’

‘They are very knowledgeable in the startup and venture space.’

‘Steve Cohen and each and every one of his colleagues have provided extraordinary service.’

‘When it comes to corporate, finance, M&A and technology transactions, Tom Knox has seen it all. Tom has excellent judgment and a keen ability to cut to the heart of the matter and deliver succinct, practical advice. Dan Kahan also has great judgment and is a whiz with spreadsheets, quickly grasping the economics of even the most complex transaction structures and distilling the salient features in order to provide insightful advice.’

‘Tom Knox and his team have a world of experience in supporting venture backed technology companies.’

‘Tom and his team bring a unique combination of exacting domain expertise with a practical sensibility for board and other dynamics unique to venture backed businesses.’

‘Working with King And Spalding has been a fantastic experience. They handle all requests with uttermost professionalism. The team has very experienced individuals who ensure that they do what is best for their client. They are available when you need them and they provide service with a smile.’

‘Laura Bushnell has the expertise and knowledge to guide a start-up through the various stages of financing and growth. My organization has worked with Laura and her wonderful team (Susan Morasci and Carolyn Nguyen) who helped us with 2 rounds of financing. They ensured that the rounds were closed on time and they handled the paperwork well to make the whole process seamless.’

‘GT has an excellent reputation and all the resources needed to represent you well in complex transactions. When needed, expertise in specific fields tends to be available at short notice. My primary contact is Stanley “Stash” Jacobs, who has always done an excellent job on matters small and large, including complex M&A & fund raising.’

‘Super strong commercial sense and ability to look at the legal situation from the perspective of the customer. Worked with numerous legal firms. Greenberg Traurig is by far the best in terms of quality. They are true partners. Excellent velocity. Highest possible quality.’

‘The Katten team is incredible in their intelligence, knowledge, attention to detail and willingness to work above and beyond to get complicated deals done in short timeframes. And to do this with positivity and incredible results… every time.’

‘The team brought new individuals to our last project, all of whom brought the expertise and talent we have come to expect.’

‘Jeff Patt leads our legal team and never misses a beat. He knows the right people to bring in at the right time. He is incredible. Fabiola Valenzuela and Erin England worked with Patt on our last project and they were both incredible. The amount of detail that must be managed between us, the lawyers on the other side, was daunting. And they did it day in and day out without breaking stride. Katten hires great people I must say.’

‘Katten offer a broad variety of expertise and assures that the interests of their clients are well protected, trying also to balance what is reasonable and what not due to the vast experience they have. They are very responsive and up to speed, always available and very respectful with the other party interests, which helps in negotiations.’

‘Jeff Patt understands our needs and expectations and makes the bridge with all other colleagues of Katten involved in different areas of expertise. I have worked with many US firms as counterpart and I would not replace Katten with any of them at this point of time.’

‘Katten’s venture capital and emerging companies practice differentiates itself with its deep transactional experience, efficient approach to a transaction given its size and complexity and demonstrated ability to stay current with respect to new developments in the market. While other firms we deal with across the table often seem to take a protracted approach to a transaction, Katten always approaches things with an appropriately calibrated practical lens given the specifics of the deal.’

‘Katten’s VC and emerging companies team also demonstrates the ability to seamlessly bring in other subject matter experts to address other relevant topics (e.g. SEC filings, lender compliance) as required. Over the past five years that I have been dealing with him, our primary partner (Jeffrey Patt) has demonstrated the ability to guide and develop and outstanding group of diverse associates. Jeff’s responsiveness and practical approach to moving things forward are what I value most about working with him. He brings a wealth of transactional experience and perspective to bear but also stays abreast of new developments in the market (with SBA guidance around the PPP program this year, for example). His approach is flexible and he calibrates his suggestions based on the magnitude of the deal and the relevant issues.’

‘Mark Wood from the Corporate Securities Practice has been another valuable resource at the firm. Given the significant increase in announced reverse mergers between SPACs and private companies this year, we’ve had need for expertise in the agreements and SEC issues surrounding these transactions. Mark’s transactional experience and expertise in SEC-related issues has been invaluable to us as has his responsiveness and willingness to accommodate our needs on short notice.’