PRIVATE EQUITY/VENTURE CAPITAL

The private equity and venture capital markets present both great opportunities and significant challenges for investors and businesses. Duane Morris attorneys understand and navigate these markets with our clients, whether they are private equity or venture capital funds, emerging or established businesses, or entrepreneurs.

The core of our approach is to thoroughly understand our client's vision and provide the legal services and solutions to help achieve that vision. With a wealth of legal experience across a variety of industries, Duane Morris provides a full range of corporate, finance and business advisory services to our clients. We have experienced practitioners in many areas such as intellectual property, domestic and international tax, anti-trust, ERISA, corporate governance, employment, technology, environmental and real estate as well as highly regulated areas such as healthcare, life sciences, securities and energy. Our practice is very diverse, making us well equipped to handle virtually any legal issue that our clients face.

At Duane Morris, our long history in the private equity and venture capital markets givesour attorneys the knowledge to guide clients from a legal perspective and the experience to analyze the most effective business strategies at every stage of their growth. We work with clients to not only spot opportunities but to avoid common missteps and plan effectively for likely developmental issues through smart structuring and tax-advantaged approaches. Our experience encompasses all sides of the transaction: from debt to equity, from investment to realization and from buying to selling.

For entrepreneurs, early stage companies and developing mid-sized companies, Duane Morris attorneys provide a wealth of guidance and counsel to help them balance the need to raise capital with preserving their long term business goals and flexibility. We fully understand the private equity and public markets and when it is appropriate for a business to access capital from those markets. We regularly advise our clients on timing, structure and the appropriate type of capital to access when they are seeking funding. We have helped our clients through all stages of the business cycle, including start-up, venture financings, debt financings, going public, strategic growth, changes in the business model, going private, M&A, bankruptcy and distressed asset transactions. Our focus is on our client's vision and goals and our aim is to help our clients create value and opportunity. We appreciate the difference between helping our clients simply raise capital and helping our clients find the right investors, with the right relationships, to partner with to grow the business.

This level and depth of experience enables us to leverage for our clients our working relationships with top-tier lenders, investment banks, private equity funds, venture capital firms and their portfolio companies, emerging and middle-market companies and individual investors and entrepreneurs. Duane Morris' extensive industry experience is complemented by its presence in cities across the United States, giving our lawyers keen insight into many local and regional markets, as well as access to national and international markets that only a large, international law firm can provide.

Entrepreneurial Spirit and Business Orientation

The Harvard Business School, in its 2006 case study on the firm, reported that Duane Morris itself "valued an entrepreneurial, business-oriented focus" in running the firm and that many clients recognized a kinship. The case study went on to say that this resonates with clients because they not only could see Duane Morris' entrepreneurial spirit, but also could also see that the firm understands that money is not an abstraction. Because Duane Morris' business orientation, as an organization it understands what it is to lose money and to make money, this helps our lawyers put themselves in our clients' position when business decisions need to be made. We believe that only when client and counsel are able to share the same strategic vision can the best business results be achieved.

In our work with clients in the private equity landscape, our lawyers are trusted, strategic advisors, not merely transaction-driven plumbers. Duane Morris' substantial know-how, deal flow, relationships and entrepreneurial inclination helps us to be nimble, agile and creative on behalf of our clients. Unlike some lawyers, we do not try to outshine our clients, despite the fact that we offer our clients the same skills, experience and reach as firms that are even larger. New clients are sometimes surprised when they learn the extent of our private equity/venture capital work, expressing that we are larger players in the space than they were aware.

Private Equity

Duane Morris attorneys have extensive experience representing private equity funds, investment banks, financial institutions, foundations and individual investors in connection with their legal needs. Our private equity clients range from large institutional funds and corporate investors to individual angel investors, so we have developed a significant breadth and depth of experience with the varied transactional, regulatory and business issues arising in connection with fund formations, investments, portfolio management and M&A.

Venture Capital

Our venture capital group has served as counsel to numerous venture capital funds and companies who are venture backed or seeking venture investment and has considerable experience in structuring venture capital and other equity and mezzanine investments. We advise our clients in all aspects of their businesses, including intellectual property, contracts, transactions, tax, labor and employment, immigration, international operations and regulatory issues. Our daily and intimate involvement with venture capital funds, angel investors and emerging companies allows us to provide sound business advice as well as solid legal counsel on varied and complex issues. We are actively involved with our clients and have helped numerous companies raise venture capital financing.

For additional information, please contact George J. Nemphos or any of the practice members referenced in the Attorney Listing.