Brian Wheeler joins DLA Piper

July 20, 2015 – DLA Piper announced today that Brian Wheeler has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate practice in Northern California working in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices. 

Wheeler focuses on mergers and acquisitions for both public and private companies as well as joint ventures, strategic alliances and corporate governance. He has extensive experience in cross-border transactions and has worked in Tokyo and London for more than a decade. Wheeler has worked on international transactions and matters for clients across a wide array of industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, telecommunications, energy and financial services, as well as a particularly strong focus on the technology sector. 

“Brian complements the recent additions to our growing Corporate practice in the region,” said Sang Kim, DLA Piper’s Northern California managing partner. “We believe that his technical skills, extensive international experience particularly in Japan and background in technology mergers and acquisitions will help the firm keep pace with the deal flow in the market and grow its ability to handle cross-border and transactional matters.”

Wheeler joins DLA Piper from Cooley, where he was special counsel. He previously practiced for more than a decade at Shearman & Sterling, including four years in London and seven years in Tokyo.

Wheeler is the most recent addition to DLA Piper in Northern California, following corporate and M&A partner Louis Lehot; outsourcing partner Adam Sak; venture capital partner Jonathan Axelrad; information and electronic data partner Amor Esteban; white collar partner Lisa Tenorio-Kutzkey; former venture capitalist and corporate partner Tom Furlong; and former general counsel of Apple and Oracle, Of Counsel Daniel Cooperman.

Wheeler received his B.A. from the University of Chicago, during which he spent a year studying at Waseda University in Tokyo, and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in both New York and California and is conversant in Japanese.

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