DLA Piper announced today that Shane Albright has joined the firm’s Corporate and Finance practice as a partner in the Silicon Valley office.
Mr. Albright’s forte is representing life sciences companies in a range of corporate and financial matters. He brings considerable expertise to DLA Piper on both scientific and judicial fronts. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley, which was earned following his Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Stanford University. He chose Stanford again, and won his J.D. from Stanford Law School.
The chair of DLA Piper’s US Corporate and Finance practice, Jay Smith, lauds Mr. Albright as having established a preeminent transactional life sciences practice at his previous firm of Hogan Lovells, where he was also a partner. DLA Piper’s rising profile across many segments of the life sciences sector will receive a significant boost with Mr. Albright’s strong background on biotech matters as the firm lends an able assist to emerging growth companies. “His skill set lends itself well to the licensing agreements and commercial transactions work the firm is doing,” according to Jay Smith, chair of DLA Piper’s US Corporate and Finance practice.
Expertise in Two Disciplines
Mr. Albright represents a wealth of experience in an area of practice that carries greater weight within DLA Piper’s book of business. He occupies a special niche between business and science. In addition to general corporate matters and biotech mergers, he brings expertise in sub-specialties such as biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics, vaccine and medical research. Careful examination of corporate partnerships, strategic alliances, technology licenses, and commercial contracts will also be handled by Mr. Albright. In addition, he represents companies and investors in connection with a variety of financial structuring,such as funding transactions, licensing, IPOs and other public financings. It is probably not a surprise then, to learn that Mr. Albright is frequently invited to speak on licensing and corporate partnering issues.
Mergers and acquisitions play a big part is the positioning of companies within modern biotech industry. Mr. Albright will “provide us with a terrific resource to assist these types of clients and to address the continuing stream of collaboration transactions in the life sciences sector,” according to Rich Scudellari, co-managing partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office. Mr. Scudellari further points to the high level of activity in the scientific sector, noting high-ticket deals in biotech ad medical device areas. IPO exits and both public and private funding levels in these industries have also resurged.
DLA Piper is a global law firm based in New York City with 4,200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries. The firm ranked 42 on this year’s Vault 100 list of the top U.S. law firms. Their offices throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East are positioned to offer companies legal assistance anywhere in the world.