Santa Monica (Photo:Jason Doiy/ALM)

Goodwin Procter, the Boston-founded firm that has been steadily expanding its presence in the California startup scene, has added three new partners to its technology practice.

Geoff Ossias, Sean Greaney and Tim Poydenis are joining the firm's Santa Monica outpost, which it opened last March with existing Goodwin lawyers.

"Increasingly our technology, venture capital and private equity clients are doing business in this region, creating greater demand for our platform," Anthony McCusker, chair of Goodwin's technology group, said in a statement. "The collective talent and industry experience of Geoff, Sean and Tim complement our offering perfectly."

Although announced as a group, the three attorneys are all coming from different places.

Ossias, who represents start-up and early-stage companies in the health care, biotech and cybersecurity industries, among others, is moving over from Perkins Coie, where he was a partner for a little under two years.

Greaney, who has previous Big Law experience at Kaye Scholer, was most recently corporate counsel for Beats By Dre in Los Angeles.

Poydenis, most recently an associate at Cooley in Los Angeles, represents emerging growth companies from early stage to exit. According to his Cooley biography, Poydenis' practice encompassed venture financing, M&A and general corporate governance.

All three cited the importance of culture and Goodwin's reputation in the tech market as drivers for their respective moves.

"I came from a great culture at Perkins Coie," Ossias said. "I wanted more of the same, where people respect each other."

The trio collectively represent "early and growth-stage companies, venture capital investors, angel investors, private equity funds and strategic investors," the firm said, with a specific focus on tech driven industries such as healthcare, financial services and renewable energy.

The moves are another sign of Goodwin's commitment to Silicon Valley and the emerging Silicon Beach.

A.J. Weidhaas, chair of Goodwin's Santa Monica office, said the hiring of the three puts the firm ahead of schedule as it continues to grow in the region, focusing on tech and private equity attorneys as the cornerstones of that expansion.

"We are about 50/50 between technology and private equity in this office. Hiring these three puts us way down the road in technology," Weidhaas said.

Led by Cooley in 2012, several tech-focused firms, including Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Cooley, Fenwick & West and Goodwin have set up shop in Santa Monica, hoping to capitalize on the tech, start-up and venture clients that populate the region.

Goodwin has put plenty of resources behind the effort. The firm, which is highly ranked in league tables for M&A work, has over 500 attorneys focused on the tech, private equity and life sciences industries, the firm said, including 150 in California alone.

The firm has been on a path that prioritizes those areas for over 10 years, firm chair Robert Insolia said in a recent interview. Goodwin showed 11% YoY revenue gain in 2019, and Insolia was quick to mention the firm's technology practice as one of the major factors behind the growth.

Work such as representing messaging app company Slack in its 2019 IPO hasn't hurt as the firm continues to build credibility in an area still dominated by West Coast firms.

Insolia said that 10 years ago, about 15% of the firm's private equity work was in technology. In 2019, he said it was over 60%—and likely to keep increasing.

According to Weidhaas, the Santa Monica office has already surpassed revenue expectations that were modeled prior to the office's opening in 2019. He also said that within the year they will be looking for more space, as the office can hold 34 attorneys and is already at 28.

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