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Donna M. Petkanics
Partner Emeritus
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  • Experienced Corporate Law Attorney

    Donna's practice focused on the representation of growth companies, with a particular emphasis on corporate and securities issues. She represented clients in numerous corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and joint ventures.

  • Broad Range of Clients

    She represented private and public companies across a variety of industries, including telecommunications, internet infrastructure, networking, life sciences, computer software and hardware, clean technology and energy, and electronics.

  • Extensive Firm Management Experience

    Donna served as managing director of the firm, on the board of directors, and on the Policy Committee, and as chair or co-chair of the Compensation, Hiring, and Nominating Committees.

  • A Recognized Practitioner

    Among other honors, Donna was named a “Woman Leader in Technology Law” by The Recorder, recognized as a “Woman of Influence” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and listed in Northern California Super Lawyers.

Donna Petkanics was a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Her law practice focused on the representation of growth companies, with a particular emphasis on corporate and securities issues. She represented both privately held and public companies across a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, internet infrastructure, networking, life sciences, computer software and hardware, clean technology and energy, and electronics. Donna represented companies in many types of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and joint ventures. She also counseled clients starting new businesses with respect to general corporate matters and protection of their intellectual property.

During her tenure at the firm, Donna served in a number of management positions, including managing director from 2000 to 2006; member of the firm's board of directors and Policy Committee; chair of the Compensation Committee; and co-chair of the Hiring Committee and Nominating Committee. She served on the board of directors of the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation from 2000 to 2010.

Prior to attending law school, Donna was a staff economist in the Executive Office of the President during Jimmy Carter's administration and also worked for the House of Representatives. She began practicing at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1985.

Experience

Donna Petkanics was a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Her law practice focused on the representation of growth companies, with a particular emphasis on corporate and securities issues. She represented both privately held and public companies across a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, internet infrastructure, networking, life sciences, computer software and hardware, clean technology and energy, and electronics. Donna represented companies in many types of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and joint ventures. She also counseled clients starting new businesses with respect to general corporate matters and protection of their intellectual property.

During her tenure at the firm, Donna served in a number of management positions, including managing director from 2000 to 2006; member of the firm's board of directors and Policy Committee; chair of the Compensation Committee; and co-chair of the Hiring Committee and Nominating Committee. She served on the board of directors of the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation from 2000 to 2010.

Prior to attending law school, Donna was a staff economist in the Executive Office of the President during Jimmy Carter's administration and also worked for the House of Representatives. She began practicing at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1985.

Recent Insights
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises PacBio on Omniome Acquisition, Private Placement and Intended Collaboration Expansion with Invitae
On July 20, 2021, Pacific Biosciences of California (PacBio), a leading provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Omniome, a San Diego-based company developing a highly differentiated, proprietary short-read sequencing platform capable of delivering high accuracy. Upon closing of the acquisition, PacBio will be uniquely positioned as the only company with both highly accurate long-read and short-read sequencing platforms. The company also announced two other transactions: a private placement for aggregate proceeds of approximately $300 million in connection with the proposed acquisition, and an intent to expand a multi-year collaboration with Invitae Corporation to develop a production-scale high-throughput HiFi sequencing platform to include the sequencing technology developed by Omniome.
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Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Pacific Biosciences on $900 Million Investment from SoftBank
On February 10, 2021, Pacific Biosciences, a leading provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, announced that SB Management, a subsidiary of Softbank Group Corp., will make an investment of $900 million in convertible senior notes to support the company’s future growth initiatives.
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Recent Events
Speaking Engagements
Private Company Compensation Panel
Wilson Sonsini is pleased to partner with J.Thelander Consulting, New Enterprise Associates and J.P. Morgan Private Bank to provide a first look at the results from the Thelander 2021 Private Company Compensation Survey. The session will highlight specific data on base salary, bonuses, founder and non-founder equity for executive and staff level positions – all specified by company stage and industry. The panel will provide exclusive insights and analysis on the data presented and marketplace trends.
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Speaking Engagements
LaunchBio - Larger Than Life Science: Compensation Confidential - Mergers and Acquisitions Edition
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to sponsor LaunchBio’s Larger Than Life Science Series: Compensation Confidential - Mergers and Acquisitions Edition. This session gives a first look at the results of the Thelander 2020 Private Company Mergers & Acquisitions Survey, which will provide market data on earn-outs, carve-out plans, alternative financing vehicles due to coronavirus and employees returning to the office. In addition, insights will be shared on best practices for year-end compensation planning including salary increases, size of option pools and what it all means for companies.
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