Goodwin Procter has significantly strengthened its technology practice with the addition of twelve lawyers — including seven partners — from rival firms in New York, Silicon Valley and Washington DC. 

Partners Jonathan Chou, Peter Fusco, Geoff Willard and William Wilson are joining the Boston-based firm from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe along with a four-lawyer team consisting of counsel Rob Lynn and associates Mired Asfour, Frank Paz, Andrew Rembis and Jae Zhou. 

Also joining the firm are Jones Day partner duo Stuart Ogg and Michael Raegan and Latham & Watkins partner David Concannon, who has also practised at Orrick. 

Chou, Concannon and Fusco will join the firm’s tech practice in New York, while Willard and Wilson will join in Washington DC. Meanwhile, Ogg and Reagan will boost the firm’s West Coast capabilities in its Silicon Valley office. 

The moves reflect Goodwin’s ongoing commitment to expanding its tech practice amid surging M&A activity in the sector. The firm said it added nearly 50 lawyers to its technology practice this year to date. 

Commenting on the Orrick and Latham hires, Anthony McCusker, co-chair of Goodwin’s technology practice, said: “These lawyers are all deeply entrenched in the emerging company and venture capital ecosystems of New York and Washington, D.C., geographies with vibrant technology markets, and each is a well-known leader in their respective practices.”

McCusker said Ogg and Regan’s hires would “complement” the existing skill sets of its West Coast team as the pace of capital markets and M&A activity continues to accelerate within the burgeoning tech sector. 

He added: "We’ve always been focused on serving the technology sector. As innovation continues to fuel the global economy and the market continues to evolve, we’re hiring the best lawyers out there to support our clients."

Chou, Concannon, Fusco and Willard advise startups and high growth companies through all stages of their lifecycle. Collectively, they bring a wealth of experience advising clients in a variety of transactions, including formations, early-stage venture and growth financings, M&A, joint ventures and public offerings. 

Wilson focuses on tech transactions, including counseling, structuring and negotiating deals across a number of sectors. He also advises clients in data privacy matters, with particular experience handling privacy issues that arise in tech transactions, as well as licensing and intellectual property matters relating to M&A and capital market deals. 

Meanwhile, Ogg specialises in capital markets, as well as US federal securities law disclosure and compliance issues and NYSE and Nasdaq listing and corporate governance matters. He also has experience handling public and private M&A transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies. 

Reagan’s practice covers domestic and cross-border M&A, as well as general corporate matters for emerging growth, privately held and publicly traded companies. 

Last year, Goodwin’s tech practice accounted for a big chunk of its M&A activity, helping the firm to rank second for US deals by volume behind Kirkland & Ellis, advising on 594 deals valued at $116.6bn.

Notable tech mandates included advising Slack on its $27.7bn sale to Salesforce and Sprint Corporation on its $26.5bn merger with T-Mobile US. The firm was placed fourth in Mergermarket’s Q1 table for US deal volume, advising on 76 deals valued at $40.1bn.

Goodwin Procter has also been investing in its European deal team. In May, it expanded its German presence to Munich with the hire of private equity partner Jan Schinkoth and an associate from US rival Sidley Austin. Last September, a five-partner Sidley team joined in London.