Students
OUR EXPERTISE & PRACTICE AREAS
Our focus, your future
Gunderson Dettmer serves market-leading venture capital and growth equity investors and pioneering companies through inception, acceleration, and maturity. We also partner with public companies that emerge from the global venture capital ecosystem. We specialize in guiding entrepreneurs through every stage of development across various industries. Our teams are uniquely positioned to build strong relationships with clients and help them navigate challenges, scale their companies, accelerate their businesses, and attain distinction within their industries. Our attorneys are dedicated to one of three practice areas:
Corporate
Gunderson Dettmer’s corporate attorneys focus exclusively on the emerging technology and life sciences market, guiding global entrepreneurs through early-stage issues, helping them scale companies of all sizes, accelerating their businesses, and preparing for an M&A or capital markets exit. We’ve handled thousands of U.S. and international M&A transactions worth tens of billions of dollars across an impressive range of industries. As a corporate attorney, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Advise CEOs, management teams, and boards of directors on responsibilities under corporate and securities laws
- Navigate challenging and novel issues to grow multi-billion-dollar market cap public companies
- Empower clients by giving them access to our unique expertise
Fund Formation
Gunderson Dettmer’s fund formation attorneys serve as general counsel to more than 500 venture capital and growth equity firms, representing many of today’s most prominent venture capital firms since their inception. Our team continues to facilitate their ascent to household names and their exploration of new investment strategies, emerging economies, and international expansion. We also have extensive expertise in structuring and negotiating cross border investments at all stages and are intimately familiar with the tax, regulatory and comparative law aspects of these transactions. In the fund formation practice, you can expect to:
- Balance competing interests of limited partners, general partners, employees, and portfolio companies
- Design limited partnership agreements to market and raise new funds
- Negotiate and manage the entirety of the fundraising and closing process
Strategic Transactions & Licensing
The firm’s Strategic Transactions & Licensing team works to develop, acquire, and monetize technologies for strategic transactions. That often means creating new business models to bring products to market across industries including AI, cyber security, consumer products, health tech, medical devices, biotech and life sciences, financial technology, media, ad tech, software, and SaaS, as well as disruptive technologies, including fintech, biotech, and robotics. We see around corners for our clients and help plan for future outcomes, including buy-side and sell-side transactions or an eventual IPO. Our Strategic Transactions & Licensing attorneys:
- Direct commercial transactions
- Manage inbound and outbound licensing and channel partner agreements
- Guide intellectual property strategy
- Advise on contractual liability
- Oversee strategy and privacy compliance
Summer Associates
Start building your future, today
Our Summer Program provides hands-on law firm experience and client exposure. We offer the opportunity to work directly with partners, of counsel, and associates across our three core practice areas: Corporate, Fund Formation, and Strategic Transactions and Licensing. As a Summer Associate, you’ll be challenged to build new skills through real-world work assignments with direct client interaction. This is your chance to sharpen valuable research and problem-solving skills, as you collaborate with experts.
You will work with clients who know your name, and you’ll have the opportunity to make an impact on real projects while gaining personal insight into what it would be like to practice law at Gunderson Dettmer.
Gunderson 1L Diversity Fellowship
Fellows will receive a paid 1L Summer Associate position in one of our US offices. As a 1L Summer Associate, you will:
- Participate in various trainings including mock transactional exercises
- Work with attorneys in our Corporate, Fund Formation and Strategic Transactions & Licensing practices
- Attend various social events to get to know your colleagues outside of the office in a more relaxed atmosphere
Upon selection as a Fellow, you will be assigned a mentor for the duration of your Fellowship experience. You will also spend up to one week with a Gunderson Dettmer client as part of your 1L summer experience. In addition to a paid Summer Associate position, Fellows will receive a scholarship of up to $40,000. The award will be paid in three installments:
- As you successfully complete your first summer with Gunderson Dettmer as a 1L Fellow
- Upon accepting and receiving an Associate offer as you successfully complete your full 2L summer
- At the one-year anniversary as a full-time first-year Associate
Applications are now closed for the 2025 Gunderson Dettmer 1L Diversity Fellowship. Applications for 2026 will open later this year.
First-Year Associates
Starting off strong
As a first-year associate at Gunderson Dettmer, you’ll be set up for success with a meticulously crafted onboarding program designed to help you integrate into our firm. A comprehensive orientation includes trainings taught by partners and associates and focuses on augmenting the essential skills and resources you need to excel as you work directly with client teams on substantive projects. Mentorship is a core component of an attorney’s career and professional development, as well as a powerful way to foster professional connections. Through the firm’s mentoring initiatives, First-Years are matched with dedicated partner and associate mentors who provide invaluable support, empowering associates to set professional development goals and chart a fulfilling career path. Additional first-year mentoring initiatives also include:
Welcome Committees
The Welcome Committees bring together a group of first-year associates, partners and mid-level/senior associates who meet regularly to discuss topics and share advice related to practice and firm integration. Committees also gather outside of the office to spend time connecting socially and celebrating successes.
First-Year Peer Mentoring Program
During their first six months, each First-Year is paired with a junior associate who serves as an informal resource to help navigate their early months at the firm. Peer mentors also make introductions and help demystify expectations for First-Years by tackling topics such as:
- Having a Successful First Year
- Managing Your Practice
- Timekeeping Tips
- Building Your Network