Larry Sonsini

Last updated
Larry Sonsini
Bornc. 1941 (age 81–82)
Rome, New York
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley (B.A., J.D)
Occupation Lawyer

Larry Sonsini (born c. 1941) is an American lawyer specializing all aspects of corporate law. He is senior partner and founder [1] of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, an international law firm in business and intellectual property law.

Contents

In 2006, Sonsini w descasribed by Fortune as "the most influential and well-connected lawyer in the industry." [2] In 2021, Sonsini was chosen to serve as chair of the board of trustees at Santa Clara University. [3]

Early life and education

Sonsini was born to Lawrence and Mary Sonsini, and moved from Rome, New York to California in 1949, when Sonsini was eight years old. The family ultimately settled in Van Nuys. During high school, Sonsini played on his school's football team. [4]

Sonsini received his B.A. degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963. [5] Sonsini studied law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where he graduated and received his J.D. degree from in 1966. [6] During law school, Sonsini became interested in business law, and had initially planned to move to New York City to pursue his career. He ultimately chose to stay in Northern California on the advice of his securities law professor. [4]

Career

Sonsini started out counseling semiconductor companies including Cypress Semiconductor, National Semiconductor and LSI Logic. He later counseled hardware firms such as Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, Silicon Graphics and Seagate Technology and software companies such as Novell, Sybase, WordPerfect and VMware. He has also worked for Google, Netscape and YouTube. [2] He has served as an advisor to many of the key figures in Silicon Valley history, including Steve Jobs, and the principals of Google and Hewlett-Packard.

In 2006, he was called to testify in front of a subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to answer questions about an investigation by Hewlett-Packard into leaks from its board of directors, in which it was alleged that private detectives hired by the chairperson illegally obtained private phone records of some of the company's board members. [7] (He was never accused of any wrongdoing in the matter).

Sonsini was recognized for his commitment to education in Silicon Valley at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation's September 2012 Pioneers & Purpose event. He was honored with the Pioneer Business Leader Award, which is awarded to individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in business and education.

Personal life

As of 2006, Sonsini has three children and five grandchildren. [4] His son Pete Sonsini joined venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates in 2005, and now is a general partner of the firm and head of its enterprise practice group. [8] [9] Another son, Matthew W. Sonsini, is married to Lisa Sobrato Sonsini, the daughter of billionaire real estate developer John A. Sobrato. [10]

Sonsini became chair of the board of trustees for Santa Clara University in 2021. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silicon Valley</span> Technology hub in California, United States

Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley. San Jose is Silicon Valley's largest city, the third-largest in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States; other major Silicon Valley cities include Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Cupertino. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world, according to the Brookings Institution, and, as of June 2021, has the highest percentage of homes valued at $1 million or more in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Hewlett</span> American engineer

William Redington Hewlett was an American engineer and the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Packard</span> American electrical engineer

David Packard was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board of HP. He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1971 during the Nixon administration. Packard served as president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) from 1976 to 1981 and chairman of its board of regents from 1973 to 1982. He was a member of the Trilateral Commission. Packard was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988 and is noted for many technological innovations and philanthropic endeavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Research Park</span> Technology park in Palo Alto

Stanford Research Park (SRP) is a technology park established in 1951 as a joint initiative between Stanford University and the City of Palo Alto. It was the world's first university research park. It has more than 150 companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Tesla Motors, TIBCO and VMware; previously, it housed high-profile companies, including Steve Jobs's NeXT Computer, Xerox PARC, and Facebook. It has been called "an engine for Silicon Valley" and "the epicenter of Silicon Valley".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Gonzales</span> American politician and mayor

Ronald R. Gonzales is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as the 63rd Mayor of San Jose, California. Gonzales was the first Hispanic to serve as Mayor of San Jose since 1845.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Quattrone</span> American technology investment banker (born 1955)

Frank Quattrone is an American technology investment banker who started technology sector franchises at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse First Boston. He helped bring dozens of technology companies public during the 1990s tech boom, including Netscape, Cisco, and Amazon.com. Later, he was prosecuted for interfering with a government probe into Credit Suisse First Boston's behavior in allocating "hot" IPOs. The case was eventually dropped. He was earning roughly $120 million a year during his peak at the firm. Quattrone is now head of investment banking firm Qatalyst Group, which he founded in March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati</span> American law firm

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is an American international law firm that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the firm provides legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, as well as the venture capital firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance them.

John Albert Sobrato is an American billionaire real estate developer, and the founder of the Cupertino, California-based Sobrato Organization, a Silicon Valley development firm specializing in commercial and residential real estate. He has been listed as one of the richest Americans for many years, and he and his family have made large philanthropic donations to a variety of causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumar Malavalli</span>

Kumar Malavalli is an Indian American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 1995, he founded Brocade Communications Systems with Paul Bonderson Jr. He currently serves as chairman of C3DNA Inc. and as a partner at VKRM Services, a boutique investment firm. He has also served on the boards of the Storage Networking Industry Association and the Fibre Channel Industry Association.

Ann O'Neil Baskins is former General Counsel for Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). Baskins was linked to the HP pretexting scandal. On September 28, 2006, following public disclosure of the matter, Baskins resigned effective immediately, hours before she was to appear as a witness before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce at which she would later invoke the Fifth Amendment to "not be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime." Baskins was never charged by California or federal authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hewlett-Packard spying scandal</span> Corporate information leak investigation

On September 5, 2006, Newsweek revealed that Hewlett-Packard's general counsel, at the behest of HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn, had contracted a team of independent security experts to investigate board members and several journalists in order to identify the source of an information leak. In turn, those security experts recruited private investigators who used a spying technique known as pretexting. The pretexting involved investigators impersonating HP board members and nine journalists in order to obtain their phone records. The information leaked related to HP's long-term strategy and was published as part of a CNET article in January 2006. HP hired public relations firm Sitrick and Company to manage their media relations during the crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hewlett-Packard</span> American information technology company (1939–2015)

The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components, as well as software and related services to consumers, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors. The company was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939, and initially produced a line of electronic test and measurement equipment. The HP Garage at 367 Addison Avenue is now designated an official California Historical Landmark, and is marked with a plaque calling it the "Birthplace of 'Silicon Valley'".

Bob Kirkwood was an American environmentalist and businessman. Kirkwood was born in San Francisco, California on June 17, 1939, the eldest son of California politician Robert C. Kirkwood.

WSGR may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Drummond (businessman)</span> American business executive and lawyer

David Carl Drummond is an American business executive and former lawyer. He served as senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer for Alphabet Inc., and, formerly, for its subsidiary, Google. Prior to joining Google, in 2002, Drummond was a partner at law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and then chief financial officer of software company SmartForce. Drummond retired from Alphabet on January 31, 2020.

Stephen C. Neal is an American attorney currently serving as the chairman and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Cooley LLP, and the chairman of the board of directors of Levi Strauss & Co.

Raymond J. Lane is an American business executive and strategist specializing in technology and finance. Lane is best known for assisting corporations with technology strategy, organizational development, team building, and sales and growth management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Kurtzig</span> American businesswoman and technology entrepreneur

Sandra L. Kurtzig is an American businesswoman and technology entrepreneur. She was one of Silicon Valley's first female entrepreneurs, and as the founder of the business and manufacturing software producer ASK Group in 1972, was the first woman to take a Silicon Valley technology company public.

Ken DeLeon is a Silicon Valley realtor, innovator, public speaker, philanthropist, and former attorney. He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and now resides in Palo Alto, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Hudspith</span>

Karl Hudspith, is a British rower and scientist. Hudspith competed in four Boat Races from 2011 to 2014 for Oxford, and was a member of the winners' team on three occasions. Hudspith competed for Great Britain in rowing at Junior, Under-23, Student, and Senior levels and is a two time World University Rowing Champion. He completed his PhD at the University of Oxford where he developed a next-generation sequencing based diagnostic test for inherited retinal degeneration before beginning a legal career in American intellectual property law in Washington DC.

References

  1. ↑ "Press Release: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Elects Katharine Martin as Chair of the Board - Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati".
  2. 1 2 Parloff, Roger (November 17, 2006). "Scandals rock Silicon Valley's top legal ace". Fortune.
  3. 1 2 University, Santa Clara. "Larry Sonsini Elected Chair of Board of Trustees at Santa Clara University". www.scu.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  4. 1 2 3 Meuel, David (2006-07-14). "Peace in the Valley". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  5. ↑ WSGR, Larry Sonsini, Biography, https://www.wsgr.com/WSGR/DBIndex.aspx?SectionName=attorneys/BIOS/113.htm
  6. ↑ Rivlin, Gary (July 30, 2006). "A Counselor Pulled From the Shadows". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Silicon valley lawyer Larry Sonsini is hurt by scandals - November 27, 2006".
  8. ↑ Scott Denne (October 17, 2011). "Pete Sonsini Brings Tech Heritage To NEA". Venture Capital Dispatch. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Peter Sonsini | NEA | New Enterprise Associates".
  10. ↑ "Sobrato family ties get tighter". 3 April 2008.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.