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Steve E. Bochner
Partner Emeritus
Corporate
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  • Silicon Valley Veteran

    Steve worked on many of the most successful IPOs in Silicon Valley, including Dropbox, ForeScout, Square, and Twitter. He served as lead counsel for many of Silicon Valley's iconic public companies, including Autodesk, Genentech, NetApp, and Quantum.

  • Market and Community Leadership

    Steve is a former CEO of Wilson Sonsini. He served as a senior advisor to the SEC and Nasdaq, and as a member of the IPO Task Force, responsible for IPO-related provisions of the JOBS Act, including confidential submissions and testing-the-waters. Steve served two terms on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He also served as a lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Law and has guest lectured at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools.

  • A Recognized Practitioner

    Steve was recognized as a "Lawdragon Legend," having been recognized for more than a decade in the Lawdragon 500, and was noted as having advised "many of the world's most famous and transformative companies in IPOs and other transactions."

In his more than 44 years of experience practicing corporate and securities law until his retirement in 2026, Steve Bochner served as lead counsel for many of Silicon Valley's most prominent companies, assisting them in venture capital, public offering, and merger transactions valued in the billions of dollars. He represented numerous start-up companies, as well as major venture capital and investment banking firms. Steve worked on many of the most successful IPOs in Silicon Valley, including for companies such as Dropbox, Forescout, Medallia, Square, and Twitter, and worked with other industry-leading companies, including Autodesk, Genentech, FireEye, NetApp, and Quantum.

From 2009 to 2012, Steve served as the chief executive officer of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. During his tenure as CEO, the firm achieved record financial results and completed a number of significant strategic initiatives, including opening offices and expanding operations in Beijing, Hong Kong, Brussels, and Delaware. Steve has served several terms on the firm's board of directors, and also served in various other management positions at Wilson Sonsini, including as chair of its Compensation Committee.

From 2012 to 2018, Steve served two terms as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's board of directors.

From 2002 to 2009, Steve was a lecturer on corporate and securities law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he designed and taught the "Venture Capital and IPO Law" course. He also has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Steve has published many articles in the areas of securities law, disclosure, and governance. He is also the former chairman of the advisory board of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business.

Steve served as one of two attorneys on the IPO Task Force, which presented a report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on improving access to the capital markets for emerging growth companies. He was extensively involved in designing the IPO-related provisions of the JOBS Act of 2012, which drew upon the IPO Task Force's recommendations and was adopted by Congress with broad bipartisan support.

From 2015 to 2017, Steve served as the chair of the executive committee of the Northwestern Securities Regulation Institute in San Diego, where he was a frequent speaker. He currently serves as a member of the Institute's executive committee. In addition, he was a frequent speaker on a variety of securities law topics for the Practising Law Institute (PLI) and was co-chair of PLI's Annual Institute on Securities Regulation in New York City from 2007 to 2011.

From 1996 to 2011, Steve served on the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council, including as chair and co-chair. The council is responsible for making recommendations to the Nasdaq board on policy and rule changes related to issuer listing standards. In particular, Steve was extensively engaged in the development of Nasdaq's rules with respect to corporate governance reform and other listing standards. Steve is a former member of the board of directors of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco.

In 2005, Steve was appointed as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission's advisory committee on smaller public companies. This select committee was charged with evaluating the current securities regulatory system relating to governance, disclosure, financial reporting, internal controls, and capital formation for smaller public companies, including the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The SEC advisory committee's final report was delivered to the SEC on April 23, 2006. Steve served as chairman of the governance and disclosure subcommittee of the SEC advisory committee. Many of the advisory committee's recommendations have since been adopted as proposed and final rule changes by the SEC.

Steve was ranked and recognized as a leader in corporate and securities law in various publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers USA, California's Daily Journal, and Super Lawyers. In 2018, he was selected as one of 31 top attorneys in the "Lawdragon 500: The Legends" list in acknowledgement of his inclusion in the "Lawdragon 500" list in 10 editions. In particular, the publication noted that Steve had advised "many of the world's most famous and transformative companies in IPOs and other transactions."

Experience

In his more than 44 years of experience practicing corporate and securities law until his retirement in 2026, Steve Bochner served as lead counsel for many of Silicon Valley's most prominent companies, assisting them in venture capital, public offering, and merger transactions valued in the billions of dollars. He represented numerous start-up companies, as well as major venture capital and investment banking firms. Steve worked on many of the most successful IPOs in Silicon Valley, including for companies such as Dropbox, Forescout, Medallia, Square, and Twitter, and worked with other industry-leading companies, including Autodesk, Genentech, FireEye, NetApp, and Quantum.

From 2009 to 2012, Steve served as the chief executive officer of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. During his tenure as CEO, the firm achieved record financial results and completed a number of significant strategic initiatives, including opening offices and expanding operations in Beijing, Hong Kong, Brussels, and Delaware. Steve has served several terms on the firm's board of directors, and also served in various other management positions at Wilson Sonsini, including as chair of its Compensation Committee.

From 2012 to 2018, Steve served two terms as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's board of directors.

From 2002 to 2009, Steve was a lecturer on corporate and securities law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he designed and taught the "Venture Capital and IPO Law" course. He also has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Steve has published many articles in the areas of securities law, disclosure, and governance. He is also the former chairman of the advisory board of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business.

Steve served as one of two attorneys on the IPO Task Force, which presented a report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on improving access to the capital markets for emerging growth companies. He was extensively involved in designing the IPO-related provisions of the JOBS Act of 2012, which drew upon the IPO Task Force's recommendations and was adopted by Congress with broad bipartisan support.

From 2015 to 2017, Steve served as the chair of the executive committee of the Northwestern Securities Regulation Institute in San Diego, where he was a frequent speaker. He currently serves as a member of the Institute's executive committee. In addition, he was a frequent speaker on a variety of securities law topics for the Practising Law Institute (PLI) and was co-chair of PLI's Annual Institute on Securities Regulation in New York City from 2007 to 2011.

From 1996 to 2011, Steve served on the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council, including as chair and co-chair. The council is responsible for making recommendations to the Nasdaq board on policy and rule changes related to issuer listing standards. In particular, Steve was extensively engaged in the development of Nasdaq's rules with respect to corporate governance reform and other listing standards. Steve is a former member of the board of directors of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco.

In 2005, Steve was appointed as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission's advisory committee on smaller public companies. This select committee was charged with evaluating the current securities regulatory system relating to governance, disclosure, financial reporting, internal controls, and capital formation for smaller public companies, including the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The SEC advisory committee's final report was delivered to the SEC on April 23, 2006. Steve served as chairman of the governance and disclosure subcommittee of the SEC advisory committee. Many of the advisory committee's recommendations have since been adopted as proposed and final rule changes by the SEC.

Steve was ranked and recognized as a leader in corporate and securities law in various publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers USA, California's Daily Journal, and Super Lawyers. In 2018, he was selected as one of 31 top attorneys in the "Lawdragon 500: The Legends" list in acknowledgement of his inclusion in the "Lawdragon 500" list in 10 editions. In particular, the publication noted that Steve had advised "many of the world's most famous and transformative companies in IPOs and other transactions."

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Wilson Sonsini Practices, Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Chambers USA Guide
The 2026 Chambers USA guide has recognized Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a leading law firm in 44 geography-specific practice categories and named 87 Wilson Sonsini attorneys among the best in their fields. This year, the firm received four new practice area rankings, including in the nationwide National Security and Capital Markets: Convertible Debt categories, and three improved practice area rankings.
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