PORTLAND and LOS ANGELES (August 1, 2022)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Steve Davis and Chris Grogan have joined the firm’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital (ECVC) practice as partners in Portland and Los Angeles respectively. Four new partners have now joined the expanding ECVC practice in recent weeks, following the additions of Dan Austin and Patrick Anding in Texas and California.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Chris back to Perkins Coie and to welcome Steve to the firm as we continue to make strategic additions to our emerging companies and venture capital capabilities,” said Matt Oshinsky, co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice. “Chris and Steve’s deep experience working for founding teams and fast-scaling businesses will add depth to the practice.”

Steve advises early-stage startups and their investors, and also counsels public companies on securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He works with startups and entrepreneurs in several tech incubator and accelerator programs, including the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE), the Portland Seed Fund, and the Portland State University Business Accelerator.

“Steve is highly regarded both in Portland and nationally in the startup and venture market as an effective and collaborative lawyer for his clients,” said Christopher Rich, Perkins Coie’s Portland office managing partner. “Steve’s experience advising emerging technology companies will enhance our abilities to meet and best serve our clients’ demands.”

Steve joins Perkins Coie from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, where he was a partner and had established his practice for 15 years. Prior to that, Steve served as an in-house attorney at Lattice Semiconductor Corporation.

Steve earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Virginia. Chris earned his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and his MBA from its Kellogg School of Management. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Chris has counseled startups and emerging companies from formation to exit and has advised investors in financing transactions to support companies in their growth process. As a general counsel and attorney, he has worked on equity financings and M&A transactions and has experience leading a legal team as a company increased its workforce, expanded its geographic footprint, diversified its product base, and scaled its revenue.

“Los Angeles’ startup and venture capital ecosystem is one of the largest and most dynamic in the country and we’re fortunate to welcome an attorney of Chris’ caliber back to the firm,” said Perkins Coie’s Los Angeles Office Managing Partner Jon Daryanani. “Our clients rightly expect us to help them manage their most complex and pressing legal challenges and Chris’ background and experience will help us to continue to deliver successful and effective counsel that meets this goal.”

A former counsel with Perkins Coie, Chris returns to the firm after working as a general counsel for a startup, and prior to that as the general counsel for Los-Angeles-based technology company Honey Science Corporation where he guided Honey’s management team through the company’s $4 billion acquisition by PayPal Holdings, Inc.

From incorporation to exit, Perkins Coie helps clients build great companies. Attorneys in our Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice span the country, supporting the most innovative entrepreneurs and investors in Palo Alto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, Portland, and New York, as well as in Chicago and Boise. Our ECVC attorneys have managed thousands of venture capital and private equity financings from pre-seed to growth stages. They provide end-to-end legal and business counseling to the leading-edge companies of tomorrow in industries like SaaS, life sciences, healthcare, Web3, and everything in between.

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