Karen E. Silverman

Among the most influential businesswomen in the Bay Area, Silverman has deservedly earned a reputation as the go-to lawyer for national and multinational companies around the world seeking counsel on navigating the complexities of securing quick approvals for complex mergers and acquisitions.

Silverman has her finger on the pulse of a disparate array of industries from technology to media to health care by way of leading multibillion-dollar, global mergers and acquisitions transactions for industry leaders.

"For a long time now, many of the deals that we engage on have implications not only in the U.S. but around the world," she said. "That could be everything from a transaction the Federal Trade Commission is taking a close look at to managing questions at a lower level or a lighter touch for other kinds of deals."

The key to facilitating these types of deals is understanding not only the antitrust technical issues but understanding the primary motivation behind the transaction, according to Silverman.

The veteran attorney of more than 25 years spends much of her time talking to the businesspeople behind the products and services for insight into the industry.

"When we're pushing a deal forward or advocating for a transaction, we're doing it in the most accurate and most resonating way and in order to do that, you have to understand where it's coming from," she said. "It really requires you to get into the weeds and policy."

Silverman refers to what she does as mostly an applied art with theoretical aspects.

"If it doesn't move my client's objective forward, it doesn't help much," she said. "That's really the connection."

Silverman, who is currently serving on the firm's finance committee after serving a five-year stint as managing partner for the San Francisco office, recently facilitated Amazon's acquisition of the doorbell-camera startup, Ring Inc., for $1 billion in February.

Shortly before that, she represented DaVita Inc. in the sale of its medical group practice to Optum Inc., a leading health services company, for nearly $5 billion.

"Experience helps you see the landscape clearer in the sense that you can recognize patterns but also the idiosyncrasies," she said. "You can unearth the sorts of arguments that are powerful when you're translating what a regulator needs to understand."

-- Winston Cho