Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati: Difference between revisions

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{{For|the college radio station in [[Port Huron, Michigan]]|WSGR}}
{{Infobox Law Firm
{{Infobox Law Firm
| firm_name      =
| logo                      = [[Image:Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati_logo.gif|200px]]
| firm_logo      = [[File:Wsgr-logo.PNG|240px]]
| headquarters             = Palo Alto; CA
| headquarters   = [[Palo Alto, California]]
| num_offices               = 15
| num_offices     = 15
| offices                  =
| num_attorneys   = 698
| num_attorneys             = 800
| num_employees   = 1567 (As of 03/01/2016)
| num_employees             = 1567 (As of 03/01/2016)
| practice_areas = Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Antitrust, and Regulatory
| practice_areas           = Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Antitrust, and Regulatory
| key_people     = [[Larry Sonsini]]
| established              =
| revenue         = $735 million (2015)
| key_people               = Larry Sonsini
| date_founded    = 1961
| revenue                   = $735 million (2015)
| founder        =
| profit_per_equity_partner =  
| company_type    = [[professional corporation|P.C.]]
| billable_hours            =  
| homepage        = {{Official website|http://www.wsgr.com/}}
| website                  =  
| dissolved      =
| nalp_profile              =  
| nickname                  =  
}}
}}
{{Law Firm Pay Scale
| year            = 2017
| salary_1st_year = 180
| bonus_1st_year  =
| salary_2nd_year = 190
| bonus_2nd_year  =
| salary_3rd_year = 210
| bonus_3rd_year  =
| salary_4th_year = 235
| bonus_4th_year  =
| salary_5th_year = 2360
| bonus_5th_year  =
| salary_6th_year = 280
| bonus_6th_year  =
| salary_7th_year = 300
| bonus_7th_year  =
| salary_8th_year = 315
| bonus_8th_year  =
| salary_9th_year = 325
| bonus_9th_year  =
}}{{For|the college radio station in [[Port Huron, Michigan]]|WSGR}}
'''Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati''' ('''WSGR''') is a [[law firm]] in the [[United States]] that specializes in business, securities, and [[intellectual property]] law. The firm's Chairman, [[Larry Sonsini]], is well known as an attorney and advisor to technology companies.<ref>{{cite news|
'''Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati''' ('''WSGR''') is a [[law firm]] in the [[United States]] that specializes in business, securities, and [[intellectual property]] law. The firm's Chairman, [[Larry Sonsini]], is well known as an attorney and advisor to technology companies.<ref>{{cite news|
last=Rivlin|
last=Rivlin|

Revision as of 03:34, September 30, 2017

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Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati logo.gif
Headquarters Palo Alto (CA)
Number of Offices 15
Number of attorneys 800
Number of employees 1567 (As of 03/01/2016)"(Asof03/01/2016)" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 1567.
Practice Areas Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Antitrust, and Regulatory
Key People Larry Sonsini (?)
Annual Revenue $$735 million (2015)"$" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 735. million
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Pay Scale
(all numbers in thousands of dollars)
First year salary180
Second year salary190
Third year salary210
Fourth year salary235
Fifth year salary260
Sixth year salary280
Seventh year salary300
Eighth year salary315
Ninth year salary325
Tenth year salary
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonus

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR) is a law firm in the United States that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. The firm's Chairman, Larry Sonsini, is well known as an attorney and advisor to technology companies.[1]

WSGR provides legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, as well as the venture capital firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance them.[2] The firm's clients operate in a range of technology industries, including the biotech,[3] communications,[4] digital media,[5] energy,[6] financial services,[7] medical devices,[8] mobile,[9] semiconductor,[10] and software[11] sectors.

Among the firm's clients are Amazon.com,[12] Autodesk,[13] Expedia,[14] Google,[15][16] Hewlett-Packard,[17] HTC Corporation,[18] Juniper Networks,[19] LinkedIn,[20] Mylan,[21] Netflix,[22] Tesla,[23][24] Twitter,[25] and Salesforce.com.[26] The firm also represents companies in new, fast-growing sectors of the technology economy, including Box,[27] Flipboard,[28] Invuity,[29] Juno Therapeutics,[30] Mesoblast,[31] MINDBODY,[32] OnDeck Capital,[33] Solar City,[34] Square,[35] Sunrun.[36] and InWith Corp[37].

Core areas of experience include antitrust,[38] corporate, finance, governance, intellectual property, litigation, privacy, regulatory, and tax.

Locations

The firm's headquarters are on Page Mill Road in Palo Alto, California, as a part of the Stanford Research Park.

In total, the firm has offices in ten major cities in the U.S., including Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; New York City; Palo Alto, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, Delaware. Outside of the United States, it has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, China; and Brussels, Belgium.

History

WSGR was founded in 1961 as McCloskey, Wilson, Mosher & Martin in Palo Alto, California, with attorney Pete McCloskey and attorney John Arnot Wilson being two of the first named partners. Wilson was a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School's class of 1941, which included Supreme Court jurists Byron White and Potter Stewart as well as former President Gerald Ford.[39] Since its launch, the firm concentrated on the representation of emerging technology companies and venture capitalists. For example, in 1969, the firm helped form Mayfield Fund, one of the first major venture capital firms. In 1970, John B. Goodrich joins the firm. Larry Sonsini and Mario Rosati joined in 1966 and 1971, respectively. In 1978, the firm takes on the name it has had since: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC.

In 1980, WSGR represented Apple Inc. in its much-publicized IPO. The firm was also involved in representing companies in the semiconductor industry, like LSI Logic, Altera, Cirrus Logic, Lattice Semiconductor, and Cypress Semiconductor. These companies were among those that helped Silicon Valley earn its name.

For many years, the firm had only one office, in Palo Alto. In late 1998, the firm opened its first national office, in Kirkland, Washington, led by partner Patrick Schultheis. Within the next few years, the firm opened offices in Austin, Texas, San Francisco, Northern Virginia, New York, Salt Lake City, and San Diego.

Like other law firms representing start-up technology companies, WSGR accepted equity in its clients as a form of payment in return for deferral of fees, and also passed on stakes in its investment fund to associates and staff members as a means of retaining employees.[40]

In 1994, WSGR represented Netscape Communications in its IPO, in addition to representing several other companies that, like Netscape, were tied to the start of the Internet Age, including Infoseek, USWeb/CKS, and Inktomi. WSGR also began to lead the nation in the number of issuer IPO transactions, completing 37 IPOs in 1995 and 44 IPOs in 1997.

In 1999, when VA Linux went public, the firm reaped $24.5 million as the value of the 100,000 shares that the firm held ballooned in value. Other IPOs that enriched the firm because of its equity stake were those of Ask Jeeves, Google, and online grocer Webvan. With the downturn in the dotcom economy, however, WSGR had to make a number of adjustments; 100 support staff and 60 associates were laid off—about 10% of its attorneys. Good times returned in 2004 when the firm advised Google on its $2.7 billion IPO.

In 2005, WSGR launched an office in China and boosted its New York office. In 2006 the firm relocated its Northern Virginia lawyers to Washington, D.C., to be closer to government regulators.

In 2016, WSGR represented long-time client LinkedIn in their $26.2 billion acquisition by Microsoft, which represented Microsoft's largest ever acquisition.[41]

Notable people

In addition to numerous professors and partners, both at Wilson Sonsini and other firms, some of the more notable current and former Wilson Sonsini attorneys include:

References

  1. Rivlin, Gary A Counselor Pulled From the ShadowsNew York Times  (2006-07-30)
  2. Vault - About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, (2016)
  3. Ryan, Greg Life sciences law powerhouse Wilson Sonsini to open office in BostonBoston Business Journal  (Jan 13, 2016)
  4. Juniper Networks Prices $500 Million Offering of Senior Notes, (February 24, 2016)
  5. District Court Dismisses Lawsuit over Royalty Rates Against Muzak, (March 7, 2016)
  6. Amazon Web Services Announces New Renewable Energy Project in Virginia, (June 10, 2015)
  7. Renew Financial Raises $70 Million in Growth Capital, (February 11, 2016)
  8. Actus Medical Completes $75 Million Series C Financing Round, (March 22, 2016)
  9. Shanda Games Limited Completes $1.9 Billion Going-Private Transaction, (November 19, 2015)
  10.  Microchip Technology to Acquire Atmel,  (Jan 19, 2016)
  11. Industry Practices - Software,
  12. Amazon Web Services Announces New Renewable Energy Project in Virginia, (June 10, 2015)
  13. Autodesk Prices $750 Million Note Offering, (June 2, 2015)
  14. Expedia Obtains Significant Ninth Circuit Victory in Consumer Class Action, (May 24, 2011)
  15. WSGR Obtains First-of-Its-Kind Precedent on California's Automatic Renewal Law, (February 9, 2016)
  16. ITC Finds in Favor of Google in Patent Dispute, (July 7, 2014)
  17. Northern District of California Dismisses Shareholder Complaint Against Hewlett-Packard, (May 6, 2013)
  18. 2014 Chambers USA Guide Recognizes WSGR Practices, Attorneys for Excellence, (January 31, 2015)
  19. Ruiz, David Wilson Sonsini and Davis Polk work on Juniper Networks' $500 million note offerThe Recorder  (March 3, 2016)
  20. Coe, Erin Law360.com - California Powerhouse: Wilson Sonsini,  (June 10, 2015)
  21. Mylan Obtains Federal Circuit Victory in Celebrex Litigation, (June 23, 2015)
  22. Ninth Circuit Affirms Netflix Victory in Antitrust Class Action, (February 27, 2015)
  23. Kamping-Carder, Leigh Wilson Sonsini Reps Tesla In $178M IPO,  (June 15, 2010)
  24. Judge strikes claim on who can be declared a founder of Tesla Motors, (April 20, 2010)
  25. Twitter to Acquire Whetlab, (June 17, 2015)
  26. Salesforce.com to Acquire ExactTarget for $2.5 Billion, (June 4, 2013)
  27. Ruiz, David Box IPO Seen as a Hopeful HarbingerThe Recorder  (Jan 23, 2015)
  28.  California Powerhouse: Wilson SonsiniLaw360  (June 10, 2015)
  29. Invuity Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering, (June 18, 2015)
  30. Juno Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering, (December 18, 2014)
  31. Mesoblast Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering, (November 19, 2015)
  32. MINDBODY Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering, (June 18, 2015)
  33. Naso, Chelsea Small-Biz Lender On Deck Eyes $1.19B Valuation In IPO,  (December 4, 2014)
  34. WSGR Publication - The Clean Tech Report, (January 31, 2008)
  35. Square Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering, (November 18, 2015)
  36. Sunrun Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering, (August 5, 2015)
  37. Twitter,
  38. Phillips, Harry The Washington, DC antitrust bar, (April 14, 2015)
  39. Boris Feldman, John Wilson: Legal Entrepreneur, Yale Law School Panel on "Entrepreneurs in Private Practice", November 2005, https://www.wsgr.com/publications/pdfsearch/john_wilson.pdf
  40. Perry Piscione, Deborah (2013).Secrets of Silicon Valley. United States: Palgrave MacMillan. pp. 143–144.
  41. https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin-in-deal-valued-at-26-2-billion-1465821523
  42. http://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/Meet-the-Top-Ten-Lawyers-Here-are-the-Godfather-2618831.php

External links

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