(April 12, 2012, Palo Alto, CA) – Reed Smith LLP, a leading international law firm, today announced the addition of general counsel and corporate executive Robert Stefanski as a partner in its Silicon Valley office. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate & Securities Group and joins its General Counsel Panel, extending his technology industry expertise to this unique group at Reed Smith.
“The continued growth of our Silicon Valley office will be instrumental to Reed Smith's strategic growth into Asia and other international markets,” said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “I expect Bob to be an important catalyst for expanding our presence in this increasingly key location.”
Mr. Stefanski was on the founding management team of TIBCO Software, Inc., where he served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. TIBCO (TIBX: NASDAQ) is a leading international enterprise infrastructure software company based in Palo Alto, with annual revenues of $1 billion.
“Combining Bob’s extensive contacts, excellent reputation and deep experience in business development with Reed Smith’s extensive global platform creates an exceptional opportunity to expand our firm’s presence and impact in the Valley,” said Catharina Min, the firm’s Silicon Valley Office Managing Partner. “He brings a unique combination of high tech business experience and a broad legal background, including diverse transactional experience, M&A, corporate governance and IP, as well as proven ability to build strong relationships throughout the high-tech sector and attract top legal talent.”
“Silicon Valley is well-known as the world’s center of technology and innovation, with the SV150 publicly traded companies having a combined market cap of over $2 trillion. Technology is the quintessential global business – the majority of Silicon Valley company revenues come from outside the United States, including Europe, Asia and emerging economies. Navigating the world of global business – the business practices, laws and cultures of countries throughout the world – can be extremely daunting,” said Mr. Stefanski. “Having played a major role in the rapid global expansion of a significant public software company like TIBCO, I understand the challenges well. Reed Smith’s global network of trusted advisors provides a compelling advantage for companies expanding globally. With Reed Smith, companies are literally a phone call away from getting things done wherever in the world they are doing business, and that is powerful. I am extremely pleased to now be a part of that global network.”
From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Stefanski practiced intellectual property and antitrust law, serving technology, sports and entertainment industry clients with Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York. He left Weil to become the Director of Intellectual Property for Reuters, and joined TIBCO in 1997 when it was created as a spin-out from Reuters. He subsequently helped lead TIBCO through a successful IPO, as well as substantial and successful expansion into international markets that provided him with significant experience solving legal and business needs both inside and outside the US. After leaving TIBCO’s General Counsel position in 2003, Mr. Stefanski twice returned to the company in executive roles to help lead the company’s continued business growth and global expansion, leaving his last role with the company in 2008.
Since leaving TIBCO, Mr. Stefanski has served as a director of a public mobile software company, Zi Corporation, and as a director and advisor of several Silicon Valley start-ups. He has also been an active advisor in helping his alma mater, The University of Michigan, expand its entrepreneurial footprint. His recent work includes partnering with Silicon Valley venture capitalists in the formation of an early stage technology fund and accelerator focused on unique and disruptive technologies coming primarily out of the University of Michigan and its ecosystem.
A 1989 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, Mr. Stefanski earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from Northern Michigan University in 1984 and a Master of Science in Computer Information & Control Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1986.
Reed Smith LLP opened its Silicon Valley office in 2008 to serve the firm’s local and global technology, venture capital, cleantech, finance, healthcare and life sciences clients.
Located in Palo Alto, the heart of the U.S. high technology industry, the office provides full-service representation locally and internationally, including venture capital, securities, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property development and protection, transactions and litigation, commercial litigation, securities litigation, antitrust and regulatory litigation, commercial real estate, financial transactions, and cross-border transactions. Its clients include more than a third of the 50 largest Silicon Valley companies, as well as numerous early-stage and venture-capital-backed businesses and their investors.
“Innovation is what Silicon Valley is all about, and Reed Smith is an innovative, entrepreneurial law firm with an unmatched global platform,” said Mr. Stefanski.”
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with nearly 1,700 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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