David H. Feinberg brings over 25 years of corporate law experience to the formation and growth of Feinberg Hanson LLP. Mr. Feinberg formed the firm as The Feinberg Law Group in 2002 to focus his professional energy on representing entrepreneurs and investors in venture-backed and pre-venture businesses. Mr. Feinberg’s core expertise is in corporate and venture finance, mergers and acquisitions and the general corporate representation of technology and other companies. He has been listed in Chambers USA as a leading corporate, M&A and private equity attorney and has also been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer. He has represented both private and public companies during his career and has also engaged in the negotiation and documentation of numerous strategic partnerships and licensing agreements.
Mr. Feinberg graduated from Harvard College in 1981 and Harvard Law School in 1986. He also earned a master’s degree in public administration from the Claremont Graduate School in 1983. He spent five years as a corporate associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City, where, among other engagements, he represented Time Incorporated in connection with its historic merger with Warner Communications and specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities transactions. In 1992, Mr. Feinberg joined Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP, where he served as a partner until he resigned from his partnership to form an internet start-up in 2000. After selling his company, he realized that entrepreneurs needed an alternative to large corporate law firms to obtain top-quality legal services and formed The Feinberg Law Group, now Feinberg Hanson, to help energize start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses.
Harry Hanson joined Feinberg Hanson LLP as a partner in September of 2009 with 25 years of experience as a corporate lawyer. He was previously a partner with Choate Hall & Stewart LLP and an organizing partner and initial chairman of that firm’s Business & Technology Group. Mr. Hanson has been listed in The Legal 500 as one of the leading venture capital/emerging company lawyers in the US, has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer and has also been listed in Chambers USA as a leading corporate, M&A and private equity attorney.
Mr. Hanson concentrates his practice on the representation of high-growth companies and their related investors in connection with venture capital and private equity finance, mergers and acquisitions, strategic commercial arrangements and IP licensing agreements, executive compensation and corporate governance.
From 1999 through 2009, Mr. Hanson served as a partner with Choate Hall & Stewart LLP in Boston as a member of the firm’s Business Department, Business & Technology Practice Group. During this 10-year period, Mr. Hanson served as general outside counsel to numerous software and technology firms in connection with public and private stock and cash M&A transactions with average proceeds ranging in excess of $100 million; served as general outside counsel to a MEMS manufacturing company in connection with a $750 million merger transaction that included S-3 registration rights; served as outside general counsel to a software development and services company in connection with a tax-free spin-off, recapitalization and subsequent cash and stock merger with a public company; engaged as transaction counsel to an IT consulting firm in connection with a $150 million recapitalization sponsored by a private equity firm; engaged as transaction counsel to a short-term computer and audio visual equipment rental company in connection with an auction sale process resulting in a sale and share roll-over to a private equity firm; represented institutional venture capital investors in connection with cross-border investment transactions with Canadian, Israeli and UK portfolio companies; and was engaged on a regular basis as both investor counsel and company counsel in numerous institutional venture capital financings. From 1984 through 1999, Mr. Hanson was an associate, member and stockholder with Hutchins & Wheeler in Boston, working primarily on leveraged buy-out and private equity transactions as investor counsel for leading institutional investors.
Mr. Hanson received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1984 and his A.B. with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979. He is a member of the American and Boston Bar Associations.
Mr. Hanson is also a member of the National Venture Capital Association task force on Model Financing Documents and lectures and participates with professional and industry trade organizations such as the Massachusetts Software Council and the MIT Entrepreneurship Center. Active in his community, Mr. Hanson has served as a member of the Town of Wayland Finance Committee and other town committees, and has served on the board of directors and advisors of charitable organizations including the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
asonnenschein@feinberghanson.com
Adam Sonnenschein brings over 40 years of corporate law experience to Feinberg Hanson LLP. Mr. Sonnenschein’s legal expertise ranges from the counseling of U.S. and foreign corporate clients in acquisitions and divestitures; the organization of cross-border joint ventures; public and private financings and advising Boards of Directors and individual directors on corporate governance issues. His clients have included major investment banking firms, manufacturing and technology companies, and international joint ventures. Mr. Sonnenschein also leads a major pro bono project advising health care institutions in the developing world with respect to the business and ethical issues related to participating in clinical trials of new pharmaceutical therapies.
Mr. Sonnenschein was a partner in the corporate group of Foley Hoag LLP for 25 years.
Mr. Sonnenschein received his J.D. from Columbia University Law School in 1965 and his B.A. from Amherst College in 1960. Mr. Sonnenschein is a director of WorldBoston, Inc.
jmclaughlin@feinberghanson.com
Jeannette Carneiro McLaughlin joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in October of 2006. Ms. McLaughlin’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private placements, venture capital financings and advising clients on general corporate matters.
Prior to joining Feinberg Hanson LLP, Ms. McLaughlin practiced in Choate, Hall & Stewart, LLP’s corporate department, where she counseled domestic and international companies on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, strategy and other day-to-day business matters. She was the lead attorney and client contact in several high-stake deals, including an $80M roll-up of 17 companies operating in 11 states, a $125M sale of a publishing company with United States and Brazilian operations, and a $100M strategic investment in a publicly-traded company. Before that, Ms. McLaughlin practiced at the firm of Brobeck Hale and Dorr in London. There, she specialized in international business law with a focus on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, public and private placements, international placements of securities, initial public offerings and venture capital financings.
Ms. McLaughlin earned her J.D. in 1998 from Northeastern University School of Law and her B.S., magna cum laude, from Northeastern University in 1995 with a double major in molecular biology and mathematics.
Dean J. Pasalis represents clients with respect to the formation and growth of early-stage companies, angel and venture capital financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, executive employment matters, and general business and contract matters. His practice also focuses on new media, Internet privacy issues, licensing and other strategic transactions involving intellectual property, and trademark matters. Mr. Pasalis joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in October of 2005.
Mr. Pasalis is a panel member of the Massachusetts Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts as well as a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association.
Previously, Mr. Pasalis was co-founder of Smith + Pasalis LLP, where he provided general business and intellectual property counseling for creative companies and individuals. He also previously served as an attorney at Ulmer & Berne, LLP, a full-service law firm in Cleveland, where he was a member of the business litigation group. Mr. Pasalis is a Cleveland, Ohio native and an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis (B.A. 1993) and Case Western Reserve University (J.D., cum laude 1997).
David B. Dreher’s practice focuses on a diverse range of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity deals, venture capital financings, minority equity investments, private placements, cross-border transactions and strategic alliances. His practice provides him with a deep understanding of the needs of entrepreneurs and family businesses as well as the operations of a wide range of industries, including private equity, venture capital, transportation services, traditional and renewable energy, hospitality, manufacturing and retail. Mr. Dreher was included in Chambers USA's 2014 list of Massachusetts, corporate M&A "Up and Coming" attorneys.
Mr. Dreher joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in September of 2011. Prior to joining Feinberg Hanson LLP, Mr. Dreher practiced as a sole practitioner as well as an associate in the corporate departments of a number of Chicago law firms, including Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Mayer Brown LLP. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Dreher clerked for the Honorable Richard D. Cudahy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 2000 to 2001.
Mr. Dreher received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2000 and his B.S., with highest honors, from the University of California at Berkeley in 1997.
David is a seasoned merger and acquisitions attorney representing sponsors, entrepreneurs and family offices in a wide range of acquisitions, divestitures, and debt and equity financings. Mr. Rontal spent seven years with the Denver-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP where he focused on sponsored back private equity M&A in the liquified natural gas, aerospace, and consumer products sectors. Mr. Rontal received his J.D., cum laude, from the Northwestern University School of Law where he also served as Senior Articles Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review, and a B.A. with honors and distinction in Political Science from the University of Michigan. He is currently licensed to practice in Colorado and not in Massachusetts.
Christopher A. Naidus’s practice is focused on public and private merger and acquisition transactions, venture capital transactions in the biotechnology, software and other industries, commercial agreements including licensing agreements, and investment adviser and public company regulation and compliance. Mr. Naidus joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in May, 2012. He was previously an associate in the Business Law Department of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
Mr. Naidus received his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in psychology and Spanish.
Mr. Naidus is on the advisory board of the MIT chapter of Camp Kesem National (a not-for-profit summer camp for children whose parents have been affected by cancer) and is a member of the Fenway Health Young Leaders Council. He is also active in the Boston Bar Association.
jrissmiller@feinberghanson.com
Joshua H. Rissmiller’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, emerging company investments, and general corporate matters. He has represented a broad range of clients, with a focus in the financial, technology and life sciences areas.
Joshua joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in October of 2015. Prior to joining Feinberg Hanson LLP, he was an associate in the corporate department of Latham & Watkins LLP, where he acted as lead attorney on a number of private equity and emerging company transactions, and prior to that was with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where he practiced in M&A, real estate, finance and securities groups.
Joshua earned his J.D. in 2009 from Harvard Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University in 2006.
Kate Georgen joined Feinberg Hanson LLP in April of 2015. Her practice focuses on start-up legal issues, including formation and growth, angel and venture capital financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and general business and contract matters. Prior to joining Feinberg Hanson, Kate clerked at the Cornell University Investment Office and worked as a legal fellow with New York City’s first city-sponsored start-up incubator in the South Bronx.
Ms. Georgen is active in the Boston and Cambridge start-up communities and is a member of several Harvard Business School student organizations, including Harvard’s Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise, and Venture Capital & Private Equity Clubs. She is also a member of the Boston Bar Association and the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.
Ms. Georgen received her J.D. from Cornell Law School and her B.A., cum laude, from Rutgers University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa and rowed for the Division I Women’s Crew team.