AAA Q&A with Ian Goldstein of Fenwick & West

Q&A with Ian Goldstein of Fenwick & West

Ian Goldstein, partner in the corporate group of Fenwick & West, is one of seven attorneys who helped the law firm open its New York City office in June having moved across from the Drinker Biddle law firm.

At the time of his move, Richard Dickson, chairman of Fenwick, said: “Ian Goldstein’s depth of experience in complex strategic transactions over more than 20 years and focus on the technology and life sciences industries are tremendous assets for our clients. Leveraging the knowledge, insights and connections of our Silicon Valley roots, Ian will deepen Fenwick’s presence in the growing startup and venture capital market in New York.”

Joining Goldstein are Fenwick partners Daniel Brownstone (patent), Kristine Di Bacco (startup), Scott Joachim (PE/M&A) and Ken Myers (M&A), counsel Brian Hicks (startup) and several associates and staff, who relocated from the West Coast to the firm’s New York office. Leading the new office are Joachim and corporate partner Mark Stevens, who continues to split time between Silicon Valley and New York. Fenwick’s clients in New York already included BuzzFeed, FanDuel, Blackrock, JPMorgan, Citi, and BNYMellon.

Goldstein spoke ahead of the Global Corporate Venturing (GCV) and US trade body National Venture Capital Association’s partnership event on October 28 in NYC, Shift: Accelerating Corporate and Venture Partnerships.

Why has Fenwick & West opened in NYC?

Fenwick’s strategy is very much forward looking, and we launched our New York office with a view toward where we believe the world is heading over the next 10 years and beyond.

Today, New York is an incredibly robust and diverse market with a thriving startup and venture capital community. At the same time, established industries that are central to the New York business climate – banking, finance, media, advertising and retail – see technology as increasingly core to their businesses today and we expect will view this with even greater importance as technology rapidly converges with the broader economy.

Why is corporate venturing such an important part of your strategy?

The convergence trend with technology and the broader economy is a central theme in the incredible growth in the corporate venture community over the last 10 years. This trend will continue to support and, in fact, will accelerate the growth and influence of corporate venture programs in the coming years.

As a result, it is of greater importance for corporate venture programs to continue to develop connectivity and understanding between themselves and the startup and venture communities, as better connectivity and understanding among these technology participants will enhance growth and innovation for all.

And with Fenwick’s incredibly broad base of clients ranging from venture-backed technology and life sciences companies to prominent venture funds, corporate venture programs and strategic investors and acquirers, Fenwick fully supports this convergence and the development of greater connectivity and understanding among all participants in the innovation economy.

We are very much aware that GCV and the NVCA came together to launch the Shift conference in NYC this year to support and accelerate these trends as well. And we are therefore thrilled to play an important role in supporting the Shift conference and look forward to working together with GCV and the NVCA to support the venture and corporate venture communities through the Shift conference and other important initiatives.

Has NYC’s venture scene been overly reliant on a handful of firms?

New York has grown as a tech and venture community over the past five to 10 years and solidified its position as the number two tech market [behind Silicon Valley]. Venture and technology has grown to a point of permanence and significance to the NY economy, and that significance is not centered in a small group of players. It is a widely distributed significance that ties to a broad base of industries that Fenwick actively supports, such as FinTech, digital health, life sciences, digital media and advertising, and other industries.

Within this broad base of innovative industries, we are also seeing widespread and active participation throughout the venture community in New York – from venture capital firms to corporate venture groups to other investors.

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