IPOs Bring Big Fees to BigLaw, Make One GC a Multimillionaire
Initial public offerings are keeping many large law firms busy.
Two law firms profiting from the IPO boom are Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Cooley, the Am Law Daily reports. Wilson Sonsini advised LinkedIn when it went public while Cooley represented the underwriters. LinkedIn has estimated its legal fees in the process at $1.5 million.
Also benefiting is LinkedIn’s general counsel, Erika Rottenberg, who joined the startup three years ago, the Recorder reports. She sold 30,000 shares at the opening price in the IPO, earning about $1.35 million. And she still holds shares and options in the company worth about $27 million.
The Am Law Daily lists other law firms doing IPO work. They include: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, advising Russian Internet company Yandex; Davis Polk & Wardwell, advising Delphi Automotive, biofuel startup Solazyme and Spanish banking giant Banco Santander Rio; O’Melveny & Myers, representing industrial products company Rexnord; Proskauer Rose, advising communications tower maker Sabre Industries; and Latham & Watkins, advising Spirit Airlines.
