Orrick Technology Companies Group from left to right; of counsel Lynne Hirata, managing associate Michael Ruiz, partner John Bautista, senior associate John Harrison, partner Stephen Venuto, associate Brigid McCurdy, partner Harold Yu and partner Ellen Ehrenpreis.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe's technology companies group—including Stephen Venuto, Mark Seneca and Joseph Perkins in Silicon Valley—handled mergers and acquisitions and lobbying work for peer-to-peer, car-sharing marketplace Getaround. An Orrick team led by partners John Bautista and Pete Lamb handled $345 million in fundraising rounds for payment company Stripe. And Silicon Valley partner Harold Yu helped Beyond Meat, the maker of plant-based meat products, launch its $240 million IPO. That body of work landed Orrick one of two finalist spots for the Startup Firm/Emerging Company Law Firm of the Year in The Recorder's California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards.

When a startup client comes to Orrick for representation, what can they expect? 

Orrick's technology companies group: Nothing excites us more than working with founders to help their disruptive companies thrive and bring innovation to the market globally. We understand that this business is 24/7 and that clients need to make quick, informed decisions. At Orrick, clients can expect attentive, experienced, company-focused lawyers who understand the needs of startups throughout their life cycle and help our clients look around the proverbial next corner. Our goal is to bring each client's vision to life by helping them make valuable connections that we've established through our work advising 2,700+ emerging companies, investors, incubators, advisers and public companies in the world's most active tech markets.

What are the distinguishing characteristics of lawyers at Orrick who work with startups and emerging company clients? 

We're team players who are curious about our clients' business, technologies and the industries that they are transforming—we look beyond our clients' immediate legal needs and offer them a wide range of experience and knowledge across industries, sectors and stages to ensure that they are set up to succeed. We're collaborators drawing on a global platform of experts in the areas that matter most to startups as they scale, from securities, M&A, comp and benefits and employment to IP, cyber and privacy, antitrust, public policy and litigation—all tailored in a way that supports the way startups operate and grow.

What are the biggest challenges your team faces in representing emerging company clients in the current deal climate? 

The biggest challenges are the greatest opportunities. The first is the way technology has disrupted the delivery of legal services. We've been part of that disruption through Orrick Labs, a skunkworks-style operation we launched to accelerate the development of legal technology to drive client solutions. One thing that Orrick Labs pushed out is our own client collaboration and information sharing portal to facilitate secure and cloud-based access to client documents. Designed by our startup lawyers—based on how they practice and the information startup clients ask for most—this tool has transformed the way we work together with clients.

The second is the globalization of the tech ecosystem. We've integrated top tech lawyers in leading markets around the world and regularly staff deals across offices and countries—a testament to the broad range of our practice and our collaborative team culture. We've completed deals in 30 countries so far this year.

Finally, an ongoing focus is to find and grow great talent, including diverse talent. The activity levels of our clients necessitate constantly building and growing a strong pipeline of talent, and we believe that ensuring that those teams encompass all races, ethnicities and genders is key and results in the strongest team.