Office

Boston

With numerous prestigious academic institutions in the region, Boston is home to some of the most innovative minds in the world, making it a strong market for emerging and growth oriented companies and the venture capital and growth equity funds that back them. In the first half of 2022 alone, companies within the region raised over $18 billion in venture capital.

Our Boston office has kept pace with the region’s investments into the innovation economy. In just over two decades, we have grown from two lawyers to more than 70 attorneys representing nearly 400 companies across ground-breaking industries including life sciences (biotech, diagnostics, medical devices, etc.), healthcare services, data storage, networking, robotics, productivity/software, artificial intelligence/machine learning, blockchain, energy and fintech.  In addition, over 150 venture capital and growth equity firms trust our Boston attorneys to support their legal needs – from fund formation and fundraising to day-to-day operational compliance and portfolio investing. We tailor our services to forward-thinking private technology and life sciences companies and the venture capital and growth equity firms that invest in them, serving as advisors through inception, growth and maturity.

We have helped our clients meet and overcome the unique challenges facing high-growth companies and venture capital and growth equity funds that seek to change the world in their respective fields. Since 2020, the Boston team closed more than 900 debt and equity financings totaling over $30 billion for our company and fund clients, formed more than 150 new venture capital and growth equity funds, bought and sold dozens of companies, handled numerous licensing and other strategic transactions, supported IPOs and other public offerings, and addressed the executive compensation and employment needs of our clients.

Our focus has earned Gunderson Dettmer praise both locally and internationally. PitchBook has ranked Gunderson Dettmer as the top law firm globally for eight years in a row, and our Boston office is consistently ranked as a leader in the New England region. Best Lawyers ranked Gunderson Dettmer 2022 VC Law Firm of the Year and consistently ranks our Boston office in its top-lists category in “Corporate Law” and “Venture Capital Law”. Chambers & Partners recognizes numerous Boston partners for their leadership, including firm founder Jay Hachigian (Startups and Emerging Companies, Venture Capital Funds and Venture Capital Investment categories), David Gammell (Startups and Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Investment categories), Malcolm Nicholls (Fund Formation category, nationally and for Massachusetts), Max Perlman (Employment), and Marc Dupre (Venture Capital Investment). In addition, Boston partner Tim Ehrlich was short-listed in 2020 and 2021 for “VC Lawyer of the Year” by LMG Life Sciences, which identifies leaders in the life sciences field.

OUR WORK

Our Boston office is home to attorneys who are preeminent in their respective practices:

Company Representation: Forming, Scaling & Maturing

  • Entrepreneurs and emerging company representation
  • Pre-venture, venture and growth equity financings for private companies
  • Corporate governance and strategy for private and public companies
  • Licensing, strategic partnering and commercial transactions
  • Life sciences licensing and strategic partnering transactions
  • Debt financing and secured transactions
  • Data privacy and compliance issues
  • Tax issues

Fund Representation: Accessing & Deploying Capital

  • Venture capital and growth equity fund formation, operations and compliance
  • Venture capital fund portfolio investments
  • Growth equity fund investments, both early-stage and late-stage

Exits & Public Markets

  • Mergers and acquisitions, both sell-side and buy-side
  • IPOs and direct listings
  • Capital markets and ongoing public company representation

Attracting & Retaining Talent

  • Executive compensation needs for private and public companies
  • Labor and employment issues for companies and funds

BEYOND THE WORK

Our clients build their businesses on the belief that they can change their industries and even the world. We believe in that vision and work to support it in myriad ways, including involvement in various regional organizations, universities, impact accelerators, and nonprofits. Together, we support companies dedicated to bringing science and technology to bear on the world’s most pressing problems.