Sep. 22, 2016
Lawrence W. Sonsini
See more on Lawrence W. SonsiniWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC
As house counsel to Silicon Valley, Sonsini helped Google Inc. incorporate in 1998 and represented Steve Jobs for almost 30 years personally and during his time at Apple Inc., Pixar Animation Studios and NeXT Inc. On Sept. 1, Sonsini celebrated 50 years of practicing law with the firm. "In September 1966, there were fewer than five lawyers here," he said. "I was the first hire. I took leadership in the late '70s and built the firm to 750-plus lawyers and 14 offices. I trace my history along with that of some of my clients."
Sonsini's recent deals maintain the tech tradition of mergers and acquisitions. He is part of the team advising Yahoo Inc. and its board of directors in its July acquisition by Verizon Communications Inc. for $4.8 billion. He is advising NetSuite Inc. in its $9.3 billion acquisition by Oracle Corp., announced July 28. He advised FEI Co., a leader in high-performance electron microscopy, in its May acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for $4.2 billion. Also in May, Sonsini advised Tesla Motors Inc. in its $2 billion public offering of common stock, with about $1.4 billion to be sold by the company with the remaining shares to be sold by CEO Elon Musk. In April, he advised Cypress Semiconductor Corp. in its $550 million acquisition of Broadcom Ltd.'s wireless internet of things business and related assets. Also in April, he advised Abbott Laboratories in its $25 billion purchase of heart device maker St. Jude Medical Inc.
"I'm proud to say I was one of the first to pioneer the idea of dedicating a law firm to serve technology growth enterprises," Sonsini said.
Those enterprises have taken note of Sonsini's work. On June 7, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View launched its Exponential Center, devoted to capturing the heritage of entrepreneurship and innovation in Silicon Valley. Sonsini was an honoree at gala festivities alongside Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, Fairchild Semiconductor co-founder Jay Last, early tech investor Arthur Rock, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers chairman John Doerr and tech marketing guru Regis McKenna. There were special tributes for the late Intuit CEO Bill Campbell and Intel co-founder and CEO Andy Grove.
"My earliest notable deal was when I took public in 1969 a Palo Alto company called Behavioral Research Laboratories," Sonsini said. "That same year, I helped Tommy and Wally Davis launch the Mayfield Fund, one of the earliest venture capital firms in the Valley." Sonsini added that he's not entirely comfortable looking back. "I'm focused on what's happening tomorrow," he said.
— John Roemer
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