
Insights from our friends at Taft
A full-service law firm known for assisting entrepreneurs across the HeartlandOur Mission: to Advance Yours
At Taft, delivering outstanding legal performance to help clients succeed is what drives and motivates our more than 600 attorneys every day. The firm practices across a wide range of industries, in virtually every area of law. With a proven track record of experience since 1885, the firm offers breadth and depth of legal expertise coupled with a trusted business perspective to help our clients, big and small, regionally, nationally and internationally, reach their goals.
The firm has eleven offices in seven states: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Delaware, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.; Denver, Co.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Northern Kentucky; and Phoenix, Ariz. In addition, the firm has established China and Japan practices based in the United States.
Venture Capital and Emerging Companies
Attorneys in Taft’s Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice focus on representing both venture capital funds and venture-backed companies from coast-to-coast in some of the most active industries, including information technology, life sciences, energy/cleantech and social and digital media. We ensure that each client works with an engaged team that is familiar with its industry, business objectives and market issues. We are able to combine our deep market knowledge with strong industry relationships to provide practical, business-oriented counsel designed for the needs of venture capital funds and emerging growth companies.
Venture Capital Services
Our attorneys remain actively engaged with our venture fund clients through the entire venture capital growth cycle: from fund formation, new money investments, follow-on and secondary financings and refinancings to IPOs and strategic and exit transactions, supporting our clients as they pursue portfolio company investments. We represent every stage of fund managers and sponsors, including structuring and forming:
- Venture Capital Funds (seed through late-stage)
- Angel Groups
- Accelerators/Incubators
- Corporate VC Groups
- Funds of Funds
- Family Offices
Our services include negotiations with investors; regulatory and tax planning and compliance; general partner entity and management company structuring and governance; compensation and incentives programs; and portfolio company due diligence, SEC filings and interaction, investment and ongoing oversight.
Emerging Company Services
Our attorneys represent a multitude of high growth companies across a broad range of industries in every stage of development. We have participated in hundreds of millions of dollars in venture fund transactions on behalf of our emerging growth clients.
We are ever-evolving with the needs of our emerging growth clients as they progress from start-up through exit or IPO. Our attorneys are skilled at counseling on the basics (e.g., formation, financings, equity incentive arrangements, labor and employment, governance issues and intellectual property protection), and we play an active, strategic advisory role in the operations of our emerging growth clients. In essence, we serve as a “virtual” general counsel, partnering with management to think through and help execute their growth and fundraising strategies on their path to success. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide cost-efficient and practical solutions with the flexible terms that high-growth companies desire.
Technology
Attorneys in Taft’s Technology group represent businesses on a broad range of issues relating to the ever-changing world of technology. Our multidisciplinary team combines extensive knowledge of the law with practical experience in the regulatory environment and the business concerns and risks that technology companies face on a daily basis.
Taft clients range from early-stage technology start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies across many industries and with a range of technology needs. Our skills and experience have enabled us to assist those clients grow by proactively assessing risks and responding to threats. Many of our attorneys have prior industry experience as engineers, scientists and industry consultants.
Our team provides both traditional representation and consulting services in the following areas:
Commercial Contracts
Our experience in commercial contracts helps both tech companies and companies with tech issues negotiate online contracts, such as SaaS agreements, SLAs, website terms and conditions, cloud storage agreements, tech transfer and licensing agreements.
M&A
Our transactional M&A attorneys assist tech companies through valuation, sale/IPO, monetization of IP portfolios, NDAs, IP and tech representations and diligence, and FTC regulation of e-commerce.
Data & Crisis Management
Our attorneys can assist with data management and crisis management. Our team is experienced in incident response plans, data breaches, emergency injunctions (DTSA, CFAA), regulatory litigation (FTC, FCC) and sophisticated litigation. Several of our lawyers hold the highest certifications in privacy and data security, including the Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and the Certified Information Privacy Professional designation for the United States (CIPP/US) and other jurisdictions.
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Meredith Sugar
Partner / Columbus, Dayton
Robert W. McDonald
Partner / Cincinnati
Scot Ganow
Senior Counsel / Dayton
Devin Spencer
Associate / Columbus
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