Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Bob Clarkson practices in the areas of general corporate, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and securities law. His practice has included representation of private and public corporations on general corporate matters and on many different types of transactions, including private financings and public offerings of equity and debt securities, going private and leveraged buyout transactions, and joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions from both the buy-side and the sell-side. He has extensive experience in public offerings, on both the issuer and underwriter sides. Recent capital markets transactions include representation of Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, SunPower Corporation, and Thomas Properties Group. Bob also represents public company boards and audit committees on various matters and is a member of the Firm's corporate governance task force.

Bob has counseled clients in a broad array of industries, principally technology-focused, including software, hardware, networking and Internet, semiconductors, semiconductor equipment, health care, and biotech. This has given him a well-honed understanding of the legal and business issues peculiar to technology companies.

Prior to joining Jones Day, Bob practiced for 14 years with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, then pursued a business career with a client, CKS Group (including two successor entities), culminating in being named chief operating officer of a $1 billion+ Internet and marketing services consultancy. He is also chairman of the board of directors of Symmetricom, Inc., a publicly held telecom components manufacturer. Bob previously chaired the compensation committee and the governance committee and served on the audit committee.

Areas of Practice

• Capital Markets
• Private Equity
• Buyouts
• Fund Formation
• Venture Capital - Investor
• Venture Capital - Issuer
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• M&A
• Intellectual Property
• Life Sciences

Representative Cases

• Acquisition
• Acquisition by AOL
• Acquisition of Xenova, plc.
• Audit Committee Representations
• Equity Offering
• Exchange Offer
• Going Private
• Incorporation of U.S. subsidiary and advice regarding U.S. business
• Incorporation of U.S. subsidiary and intellectual property advice.
• Initial Public Offering
• Initial Public Offering by Guidance Software, Inc.
• Initial Public Offering of Monolithic Power Systems
• Issuance of $12 million of Series C Preferred Stock in a private placement to Sequoia Capital and Lehman Brothers Venture Partners
• Issuance of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
• Issuance of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
• Issuance of Shares by AdBrite, Inc.
• Issuance of Shares by Vical Incorporated
• Other Initial Public Offerings for Goldman Sachs
• Outside General Counsel
• Outside Securities Counsel
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement
• Private Placement by Informative
• Private Placement by LinkedIn, Ltd.
• Private Placement by LinkedIn, Ltd.
• Private Placement by StrongMail Systems
• Private Placement by StrongMail Systems, Inc
• Public Offering
• Public Offering of Common Stock
• Rule 144A Senior Subordinated Notes Offering
• Series A Financing , (2009)
• Tender offer for Xenova
• U.S. investments and ringtone licensing.
• U.S. restructuring

West Practice Categories

Banking & Finance Law, Business & Commercial Law, Business Organizations, Business Successions, Closely Held Businesses, Copyrights, Corporate Governance, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Dissolution, Formation & Business Planning, Franchising, Intellectual Property Law, International Intellectual Property, Joint Ventures, Lending & Secured Transactions, Limited Liability Companies, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Non-profit & Tax-exempt Organizations, Partnerships, Patents, Reorganizations, Shareholders' Rights, Technology Licensing, Trade Associations, Trade Dress, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, Venture Capital

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• U of California - Los Angeles

Published Works

• Changes to California Rules Relating to Equity Compensation Plans, 2007
• Two Delaware Chancery Court Cases on Backdating and Spring-Loading Stock Options Increase the Stakes for Directors, 2007
• Majority Voting for Directors, 2006
• California Supreme Court Buttresses “At Will” Defense to Employment Claims, 2006

Address

1755 Embarcadero Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303

Phones

1.650.739.3996 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.650.739.3900 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com