John is a corporate and commercial contracts lawyer who advises companies and investors at all stages, from initial structuring to exit. He is experienced in a range of domestic and international transactions, including financings, acquisitions, commercial agreements, strategic alliances, employment matters, and general corporate advisory.
John’s clients include companies in the software (including SaaS), technology, entertainment, health and wellness, energy, clean energy, manufacturing, consumer products, and services industries.
John often represents the “smaller” company in transactions opposite the larger corporation or private equity firm. However, his clients are myriad, including several publicly-traded Latin America-based corporations and foreign law firms, which he advises on U.S. legal matters, and high-net-worth individuals and families, which he advises on personal investments. He is licensed to practice law in Washington and Texas.
John is based on Bainbridge Island, Washington, but frequently travels to Austin, Texas to visit clients. John is fluent in Spanish and serves clients worldwide.
Before starting his own firm in 2015, John was a corporate partner and co-chair of the international practice group at a 200-lawyer firm in Austin, Texas.
John has extensive experience advising entrepreneurs and investors regarding company structuring and formation, including entity selection, dual-class equity structures, and founder and employee equity issuances. He has also assisted many companies with LLC to Delaware corporation conversions.
John helps companies structure, negotiate, and issue securities in early-stage financings, including convertible debt, Simple Agreements for Future Equity (Safes), warrants, and preferred equity. John created the Safe for LLCs to enable LLCs to raise capital using that instrument. He also frequently represents LLCs in financing and other transactions with private equity funds.
John assists companies with a wide range of employment issues, from employee onboarding to incentive plans, including offer letters, invention assignment and confidentiality agreements, executive employment agreements, equity incentive plans (including phantom equity), and short-term and long-term bonus incentive plans.
John advises buyers and sellers on mergers and acquisitions, with a preference for transactions ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. In the past five years, he has assisted clients with acquisitions having a value of over $60 million.
John drafts and negotiates commercial agreements for business on a daily basis, including SaaS, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, consumer products, sales representative, joint venture, and entertainment. Having served as lead counsel to one of the world’s largest music festivals, John has special expertise in drafting and negotiating agreements for festivals and other special events, including sponsorship, sponsorship sales, livestream, event promotion, marketing, and ticketing.
Representing Clients Worldwide
USA
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Texas
- Washington
Mexico
- Cancun
- Mazatlan
- Mexico City
- Monterrey
- Oaxaca
- San Miguel de Allende
- Torreon
Australia
- Brisbane
- Melbourne
- Sydney
Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro
- Sao Paulo
Canada
- Toronto
England
- London
France
- Paris
- Toulouse
Iceland
- Reykjavik
Japan
- Tokyo
Nicaragua
- Redonda Bay
Peru
- Lima
Slovakia
- Bratislava
Spain
- Madrid
Venezuela
- Caracas