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Michael Nordtvedt
Partner
Corporate
Seattle
Palo Alto

D206-883-2524

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  • Extensive Corporate and Securities Experience

    Michael specializes in corporate and securities law, including general corporate representation, public offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions.

  • Wide Range of Clients

    He represents public and private technology, medical device, and life sciences companies at all stages of growth, in addition to investment banks and VC and private equity firms.

  • A Leader in His Field

    Michael is consistently recognized among the top practitioners in his field by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.

Michael Nordtvedt currently leads the capital markets practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and is a partner at the firm’s Seattle and Palo Alto offices, where he focuses on the representation of public and private technology, medical device, and life sciences companies through all stages of their growth, as well as investment banks and venture capital and private equity firms.

Michael specializes in corporate and securities law, including general corporate representation, public offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions. He also has considerable experience in counseling companies on complex governance, securities laws and disclosure issues. Michael frequently represents investment banks in their underwriting transactions and he also has broad transactional experience representing venture capital and private equity firms. Throughout the course of his career he has had responsibility for structuring and negotiating in excess of $40 billion in public and private financing transactions, for both companies and investment banks.

Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Michael practiced in the corporate group at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and Menlo Park, California. Michael also served in the United States Navy as an engineering officer aboard USS Lake Champlain (CG57), as executive and weapons officer aboard USS Monsoon (PC4), and at the Pentagon as an action officer responsible for international technology transfer issues.

Experience

Michael Nordtvedt currently leads the capital markets practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and is a partner at the firm’s Seattle and Palo Alto offices, where he focuses on the representation of public and private technology, medical device, and life sciences companies through all stages of their growth, as well as investment banks and venture capital and private equity firms.

Michael specializes in corporate and securities law, including general corporate representation, public offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions. He also has considerable experience in counseling companies on complex governance, securities laws and disclosure issues. Michael frequently represents investment banks in their underwriting transactions and he also has broad transactional experience representing venture capital and private equity firms. Throughout the course of his career he has had responsibility for structuring and negotiating in excess of $40 billion in public and private financing transactions, for both companies and investment banks.

Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Michael practiced in the corporate group at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and Menlo Park, California. Michael also served in the United States Navy as an engineering officer aboard USS Lake Champlain (CG57), as executive and weapons officer aboard USS Monsoon (PC4), and at the Pentagon as an action officer responsible for international technology transfer issues.

Focus Areas
Recent Insights
Alerts
SEC Proposes Significant Registered Offering Reforms to Increase Public Market Access
On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or Commission) announced proposed rule and form amendments that would substantially revise the framework for registered securities offerings by U.S. public companies. The proposal is intended to facilitate capital formation by broadening access to short-form registration, expanding offering communications flexibility, and reducing certain procedural burdens associated with registered offerings, while maintaining robust investor protections.
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Alerts
SEC Proposes Streamlining Filer Status Framework and Broadening Availability of Scaled Disclosures
On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or Commission) announced proposed rule and form amendments that would streamline the existing filer status framework and extend many of today’s scaled disclosure requirements and accommodations to a significantly larger portion of reporting companies. The proposal is intended to better align disclosure and compliance obligations with issuer size and maturity while preserving core investor protections. The Commission estimates that approximately 81 percent of reporting companies would qualify for scaled disclosure under the proposal, although large accelerated filers would continue to represent the majority of the U.S. equity market capitalization.
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Recent Events
Speaking Engagements
IPO Readiness 2026 Webinar with Deloitte and J.P. Morgan
Join Wilson Sonsini, Deloitte, and J.P. Morgan for an exclusive webinar, “IPO Readiness 2026: The New Bar for Life Sciences & Health Care,” designed for C-suite and decision makers from life sciences and health care companies, investors, and entrepreneurs.
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Affiliated Programs
Circle|Summit 2026
Wilson Sonsini is proud to sponsor The Circle and MUFG’s exclusive leadership retreat, a two-and-a-half day program designed for influential CFOs from growth-stage and newly public companies. 
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