Business Law   •    Litigation   •    Intellectual Property   •   Awards/Rankings
Pro Bono/Community   •    Firm Expansion

Business Law

Venture Capital:

  • Ranked No. 1 nationally for completing more than 750 private equity and venture capital deals in 2005—nearly twice that of any other law firm (Private Equity Analyst).
  • Represented more than 23% of issuer-side venture deals completed in the U.S. in 2005 (189 deals)—far more than any other U.S. law firm (VentureOne—based on firms with 20 or more financings).
  • Ranked No. 1 for number of information technology clients securing venture capital—130 deals (Venture Capital Analyst).

Public Equity:

  • Ranked No. 4 by proceeds raised as legal advisor to U.S. issuers of global equity in 2005 (Thomson Financial).
  • Ranked No. 4 by proceeds raised as legal advisor to U.S. issuers of equity & equity–related issues in 2005 (Thomson Financial).
  • Ranked No. 4 by proceeds raised as legal advisor to U.S. issuers of common stock in 2005 (Thomson Financial).
  • Ranked No. 4 of all U.S. law firms in 2005 for the number of PIPE issuer deals (18) (PrivateRaise.com).

Mergers & Acquisitions:

  • Named “Law Firm of the Year” in 2005 by M&A Advisor for outstanding achievements in advising clients on middle-market mergers and acquisitions.
  • In 2005, acknowledged in The Dallas Business Journal’s annual report "The Most Outstanding Mergers and Acquisitions in N. Texas” for representing Spatial Wireless in its sale to Alcatel. Specifically, the acquisition was named as the “Best Merger or Strategic Corporate Deal.” The transaction also tied nationally for the largest venture-backed M&A deal of the fourth quarter of 2004.
  • Ranked No. 6 by number of U.S.-announced M&A transactions in 2005—137 deals raising $21.2 billion (Bloomberg).
  • Ranked No. 7 by number of U.S. target M&A transactions completed in 2005—126 deals raising $14.3 billion (Thomson Financial).
  • Ranked No. 1 by number of technology and mid-market M&A deals (mergermarket).

Litigation

  • The most frequently hired securities litigation practice in the United States, ranked No. 1 in Securities Law360’s 2005 survey.
  • Recognized in IP Law Bulletin's survey of the highest IP litigation payouts of 2005 as “lead plaintiff firm” for the InterDigital Communications Corp. v. Nokia royalty dispute.
  • Recognized in IP Law & Business’ story “ITC Survey: The Fast and the Furious” among the “Most Mentioned Firms” involved in the ITC—with two mentions in the category of “Complainants' Counsel” and three in that of "Firms on Both Sides."

Intellectual Property

  • Ranked No. 1 by number of lawyers specializing in IP law in Silicon Valley (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal).
  • In 2005, the firm filed a total of 675 patents (550 U.S. and 125 foreign) and issued a total of 103 patents (44 U.S. and 59 foreign).

Awards/Rankings

Business:

  • Ranked the No. 1 corporate law firm in the Bay Area for the third year in a row, and No. 13 nationwide (Corporate Board Member, July/August 2005, “America’s Best Corporate Lawyers”).
  • Ranked No. 2 by San Jose Business Journal for firms specializing in employment law.
  • Ranked No. 1 in the “Technology” category of Vault's Prestige Rankings.

Diversity:

  • Ranked No. 4 in California Lawyer’s “California 50” list. The firm also received the top ranking for partner diversity: No. 1 with a percentage of 18% California partners of color.
  • Ranked No. 2 in the nation for diversity among firm partners in 2004; 14.9% of partners are members of an ethnic minority (Minority Law Journal).
  • Ranked No. 6 in the nation for diversity among attorneys in 2004; 20.9% of attorneys are members of an ethnic minority (Minority Law Journal).
  • Ranked No. 6 in the nation for percentage of Asian American attorneys in 2004; 14.4% of attorneys are Asian American (Minority Law Journal).
  • Honored by the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) for the firm’s diversity efforts. The firm is one of only three Bay Area firms to have met BASF’s 2005 goal of 12% diversity at the partnership level.
  • Awarded the grade of “A” by the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin and the Austin Black Lawyers Association in their “Annual Report Card” for our efforts to promote minority representation in the legal profession locally.

Pro Bono/Community

  • In 2005, the firm provided more than 22,000 hours—nearly 8 million dollars’ worth—of pro bono legal work.
  • The WSGR Foundation donated to nearly 120 different organizations.
  • The firm and its employees donated more than $450,000 to the American Red Cross and other relief agencies for world-wide relief efforts.
  • The firm and its employees continued their active involvement in the community donating time and money to important organizations such as 2005 Adopt-a-Family Program, Habitat for Humanity, The Race for the Cure, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Green Team, and many others.

Firm Expansion

  • Twelve new partners, effective Feb. 1, 2006, represent the diversity of the firm’s practice.
  • The firm’s litigation practice welcomed Gideon Schor to the New York office. Gideon’s practice will focus on securities litigation, compliance matters, white collar crime, and internal investigations.
  • On August 1, 2005, the firm announced plans for its first international office, with planned expansion into Shanghai, China. It also rehired partner Carmen Chang to bolster its Asia practice and help lead the effort into China.
  • Enhancing its life sciences expertise, the firm hired Esther Kepplinger, the former deputy commissioner for patent operations for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as director of patent operations.