David Westenberg is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1983.
Practice
Mr. Westenberg has focused on the software, Internet and information technology industries for more than twenty years. He has advised industry pioneers and world leaders such as Arch Wireless, Boston Technology, Panera Bread, Prodigy and Varian Semiconductor. He has also counseled numerous start-ups, helping guide clients from formation through venture financing and on to successful acquisitions or IPOs. As outside corporate counsel to many public and private companies, Mr. Westenberg advises clients on a wide variety of corporate, securities, disclosure and governance matters. His transactional practice focuses on public offerings, venture capital financings and M&A transactions. He is the author of Initial Public Offerings: A Practical Guide to Going Public (Practising Law Institute), a comprehensive yet practical guide to the IPO process that has been hailed by attorneys, executives, entrepreneurs and investment bankers for its unprecedented breadth, depth and ease of use.
Recent Highlights
- Tangoe's $101 million initial public offering
- Accretive Health's $138 million initial public offering and $175 million follow-on public offering
- Netezza's acquisition by IBM for $1.7 billion
- SS&C Technologies Holdings’ follow-on public offerings raising $347 million
- Bottomline Technologies' follow-on public offering raising $61 million
- "Dual track" IPO/sale for EqualLogic, resulting in $1.4 billion acquisition by Dell—the largest cash purchase price in history for a private VC-backed company
- "Dual track" IPO/sale for McLeodUSA, resulting in $557 million acquisition by PAETEC Holding
- Sale of MapInfo to Pitney Bowes for $472 million
- Cynosure's initial public offering
- Sale of MatrixOne to Dassault Systèmes for $408 million
- Avid's acquisition of Pinnacle Systems for $462 million
- Prodigy's IPO (then the largest Internet company IPO in history) and its $1.6 billion strategic transaction with SBC Communications
- Venture capital financings for various clients
Professional Activities
- Active in various technology councils
- Former Co-chair of the Corporate Law Committee of the Boston Bar Association
- Mr. Westenberg writes and is quoted frequently on the IPO and venture capital markets
Honors and Awards
- Named the 2012 Best Lawyers' "Boston Technology Law Lawyer of the Year" and has been consistently ranked as one of The Best Lawyers in America for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 in the areas of corporate, information technology, mergers & acquisitions, venture capital and technology law
- WilmerHale's IPO, Venture Capital and M&A Reports, edited and co-authored by Mr. Westenberg, received one of only 10 Best Law Firm Publication Awards given by the Burton Foundation in 2006 for excellence in legal writing
- Named in Boston Magazine as a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") each year since 2004
- Selected by American Lawyer magazine as "Dealmaker of the Year" for equities (2001)
- Named an "All Star for Law & Technology" by Mass High Tech for fostering the development of New England technology companies (1999)
Selected Publications
- "Initial Public Offerings: A Practical Guide to Going Public" (Practising Law Institute, author)
- "Special Issues with VC-backed IPOs" (Venture Capital Journal article, May 2010, author)
- "From Main Street to Wall Street—10 Things a Startup Should Do to Groom Itself for an Eventual IPO" (Xconomy article, March 16, 2010, author)
- "The Mechanics of Going Public in a Tough Market Environment" (IPO Vital Signs article, March 18, 2010, author)
- "Ready, Set, Go Public—The 10 Things You Need to Do Now" (Xconomy article, February 11, 2010, author)
- David Westenberg on Pre-IPO Acquisitions (CorporateCounsel.net podcast, February 5, 2010)
- IPO Report, annually since 1999 (editor and principal author)
- Venture Capital Report, annually since 2002 (editor and co-author)
- M&A Report, annually since 2004 (editor and co-author)
- "Key Issues for a Venture Capitalist to Consider When Selling a Portfolio Company" (co-author)
- "SEC Preannounces Earnings Guidance" (co-author)
- "Nasdaq Delisting: Process, Implications and Strategies"
- "Practical Guidance for Living with Regulation FD"
- "Delaware Updates Corporate Statute for the Electronic Age"
