Michelle W. Edwards
Michelle has advised clients for more than 20 years on a wide range of corporate matters, including numerous venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and capital market transactions.
Michelle Edwards represents companies throughout their life cycle, from formation through financings, growth through business combinations, and exit transactions. She also has broad experience counseling publicly listed companies on securities law, corporate governance, and compliance matters.
A former partner with a leading Silicon Valley firm, her experience also includes prior roles as counsel and corporate secretary for the board of a leading online career platform, where she advised on issues that involved the board of directors and corporate governance.
Michelle is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, a nonprofit organization committed to serving as a positive force in corporate governance.
Areas of focus
Education & Credentials
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., with distinction, 1994
- Stanford University, M.A., Russian and East European Studies, 1994
- Yale University, B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1991
Bar and Court Admissions
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California
Related Employment
- VLP Law Group LLP, San Francisco, CA, Counsel, 2021
- Corporate Attorney, Beijing, China, Independent Consultant, 2013 – 2020
- Covington & Burling LLP, Beijing, China, Partner, 2012 – 2013
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., Palo Alto, CA and Shanghai, China, Partner, 2003 – 2011; Associate, 1997 – 2003
- Baker Botts, LLP, Houston, TX, Associate, 1994 – 1996
Professional Recognition
Listed in Thomson Reuters “Stand-out Lawyers,” 2023-2024
Insights
Professional Experience
Venture Capital
Michelle has represented both private companies and venture capital funds in numerous financing transactions, including preferred stock financings and SAFE and convertible note financings.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Michelle has represented private companies on the sell-side as well as public and private company acquirors. Representative transactions include:
Sale of Factor Creative
Represented Factor Creative LLC in its sale to Virtusa Corporation.
Sale of Principle Studios
Represented Principle Studios LLC in its sale to Shift Paradigm.
Sale of Solfice Research
Represented Solfice Research, Inc. (aka Civil Maps) in its sale to Luminar Technologies.
Acquisition of Squad Cast Studios
Represented Descript, Inc. in its acquisition of SquadCast Studios, Inc.
Acquisition of Yup Technologies
Represented Prenda, Inc. in its acquisition of Yup Technologies Inc.
Acquisition of A.T. Kearney
Represented Electronic Data Systems Corp. in its acquisition of A.T. Kearney.*
Acquisition of Indigo N.V.
Represented Hewlett-Packard in its acquisition of Indigo N.V.*
Acquisition of KosmoTime
Represented Chili Piper, Inc. in its acquisition of KosmoTime, Inc.*
Acquisition of Precise Software Solutions
Represented Veritas Software Corp. in its acquisition of Precise Software Solutions.*
Acquisition of Symbios Inc.
Represented LSI Logic Corp. in its acquisition of Symbios Inc.*
Acquisition of Productivity App Maker
Represented an advanced scheduling software company in its acquisition of a productivity app maker.*
Sale of 4for4
Represented 4for4 in its sale to Betsperts Media and Technology Group.*
Sale of Jato Technologies
Represented Jato Technologies, Inc. in its sale to Level One Communications, Inc.*
Sale of Joinder
Represented Joinder, Inc. in its sale to Brightflag.*
Sale of Experience Management and Insight Community Platform
Represented an experience management and insight community platform in its acquisition by a market research software and services company.*
Sale of Management Software Company
Represented a project management software company in its acquisition by an international management software company.*
*Prior experience
Other Transactions
PE Growth Investments
- Represented RS Technologies Inc. in a strategic equity investment by Energy Impact Partners.
- Represented Sales Rabbit, Inc. in a significant growth investment by Diversis Capital.*
Delaware Flip of Cayman Islands Company
- Represented a private company in its conversion from a Cayman Islands company to a Delaware company, and related restructuring.
Strategic Transaction between Medical Consumer Device Company and Global Health Care Conglomerate
- Represented a medical consumer device company in its strategic transaction with a global healthcare conglomerate.*
3Com/Huawei Joint Venture
- Represented 3Com Corporation in its joint venture with Huawei.*
Initial Public Offerings
- Represented a number of issuers in their initial public offerings and listings on the Nasdaq or NYSE, including Eagle USA Airfreight, E-Stamp, Resonate, Inc., and Spreadtrum Communications, among others.*
*Prior experience