Office

New York

New York City has always been a place for innovators. When we opened our New York office in 2000, we took a bold bet on what was still a nascent startup market. Over the decades since then, New York has defined itself as a powerful venture hub and we have been an instrumental part of that growth.

Today, Gunderson Dettmer has the largest team of lawyers focused exclusively on the venture capital and growth equity ecosystem in the New York region. With more than 140 lawyers, our New York office is the second-largest in the firm, and represents over 600 companies in all stages of growth.

Our enthusiasm for learning new things is what defines us. 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. These companies are rooted in a variety of industries, including B2B and B2C software, web3, consumer products and services, ecommerce, fintech, healthtech, life sciences and media and entertainment.

Since 2020, our New York team closed over 2,500 venture and growth equity financings valued at over $195 billion, bought and sold dozens of companies, handled thousands of licensing and other strategic transactions, supported IPOs and other capital markets transactions, and supported the employment and executive compensation needs of our clients.

Complementing our company-side practice, our lawyers represent over 150 venture capital and growth equity firms in the region, including some of the most preeminent funds in the world. For most of our fund clients, we have worked alongside them since formation, through thousands of portfolio investments across the U.S., and, as they have expanded, internationally.

We also take particular pride in representing a large number of founders and investors from underrepresented groups, especially women and Black venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, ensuring that they obtain access to not only top legal counsel but also the capital necessary for them to thrive and make their mark on the world.

While we are deeply embedded in the New York ecosystem, our representation goes far beyond our region. We have a thriving Latin America practice that represents over 200 companies and dozens of venture capital funds focused on the region. Similarly, our pioneering growth equity fund practice advises investors on a range of global transactions with the world’s most promising companies, with particular attention to Southeast Asia and India. The growth equity team handles everything from early-stage venture to late-stage minority investments, private tender offers, recapitalizations, M&A, public market exits and other structured transactions.

OUR WORK

Our New York team has world-class experience in what are the most important strategic needs of high growth companies and venture capital and growth equity funds:

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
  • Antitrust and CFIUS issues
  • 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

We built our firm around the belief that technology will make a remarkable impact on the world. To that end, we deeply support the forward-thinkers and the strivers—those who will work to make change. We work with several leading accelerators, regional organizations and nonprofits, and are proud to sponsor Tech:NYC and Google Startups NYC Recovery Challenge. Passionate about diversity in tech, our team has long focused on equitable access to capital, and host a Women in Tech Roundtable Series and work with BLCKVC and other influential organizations supporting success for underrepresented founders and investors. Our lawyers are sought out for their insights and have served as lecturers at New York University, Columbia, Fordham, Tulane, Cornell, Princeton and other major institutions.