Doug Mandell Joins Withers to Form Founder Practice

Doug Mandell, one of the most well-known advisors to founders and CEOs in Silicon Valley on personal legal issues and the former first General Counsel to companies such as LinkedIn and Nauto Inc., has joined Withers in San Francisco as a partner. Doug will head the firm's Founder Practice, advising entrepreneurs, CEOs, VCs and other C-Level executives.

Doug is a trusted and well known counsellor in Silicon Valley.  He is recognized as one of the top US lawyers for CEOs and founders requiring advice on complex employment and executive compensation matters and regularly represents executive teams in major M&A deals.  Doug also has extensive experience advising emerging growth companies, often as outside general counsel, in the areas of corporate law, data security, technology transactions, and employment law. In addition, Doug served as General Counsel and member of the executive teams of companies including: LinkedIn, where he was the company’s lawyer when it was founded and served as GC in 2007 and 2008; Nauto, Inc. a big data/AI company in the autonomous vehicle space funded by Greylock Partners and Softbank (Doug also represented this company since it was founded); and ememories, one of the first online photo-sharing companies.

At Withers, Doug’s primary focus will be advising founders and executives and will also leverage his expertise as general counsel to provide personal general counsel services to address a range of legal needs for clients. Doug will also advise founders on creating companies and continue to provide outside general counsel services to start-ups.

Doug explained: “For the last several years, I have been seeking a way to be able to address all of the needs of my clients – beyond the areas that I specialize in.  Withers’ reputation as the preeminent private client law firm, its global reach and exceptional lawyers in key areas that are needed by my clients such as tax, trusts & estates and real estate, made it my top choice for my practice. Transitioning to a new law firm at this time while we are all sheltering at home and dealing with the terrible ramifications of coronavirus is challenging, yet what is happening in the world right now makes it even more necessary for me to have the resources of a firm like Withers to be able to serve my clients.”

Mandell joins Withers from Mandell Law Group, PC (“MLG”), a firm he founded almost twenty years ago. Prior to launching MLG, Doug was an attorney at Orrick and Littler Mendelson.

Jeremy Wakeham / David Stein comments: "Doug is a major addition to our San Francisco team, and to our approach to helping senior business leaders all around the world. These clients require highly sophisticated, personalised advice, and the best way to work with them is to understand their needs by taking a deep dive into their world. Having Doug on board will take our understanding to a new level and enable us to represent our clients more effectively."