Contract for Sale of Business Lawyers for Carlsbad, California

G'day, my name is Michele! I work with startups, entrepreneurs and small/medium-sized businesses across the country in a wide array of industries. I help them with all of their ongoing, daily legal needs. This includes entity formation, M&A, contract drafting and review, employment, asset sale & acquisition, and business sales or shareholder exits. I'm half-Australian, half-Italian, and I've lived the last 20+ years of my life in America. I've lived all over the USA, completing high school in the deep south, graduating cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, and then cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center. After law school I worked for the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, LLP. After four intense and rewarding years there, I left to become General Counsel and VP of an incredible, industry-changing start-up called Urban Mining Company (UMC) that manufactures rare earth permanent magnets. I now work for Phocus Law where I help run our practice focused on entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs. I love what I do, and I'd love to be of help! My focus is on providing stress-free, enjoyable, and high-quality legal service to all of my clients. Being a good lawyer isn't enough: the client experience should also be great. But work isn't everything, and I love my free time. I've been an avid traveler since my parents put me on a plane to Italy at 9-months old. I'm also a music nut, and am still looking for that perfect client that will engage me to explain why Dark Side Of The Moon is the greatest album of all time. Having grown up in a remote, and gorgeous corner of Australia, I feel a strong connection to nature, and love being in the elements.

I graduated from Yale University magna cum laude, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Italy and attended UC Berkeley School of Law. In 2023, I was named a "Legal Visionary" by the Los Angeles Times. I have broad experience in corporate transactions and in serving as outside general counsel to clients. I started my legal career in Silicon Valley and Hong Kong working on large equity and debt financings and matters for private wealth clients. After returning home to Los Angeles, I advised startup companies with formations, acquisitions and day-to-day matters such as sales contracts and licensing. More recently, I have focused on data, IT and SaaS contracts for both providers and customers. My clients include NASDAQ-listed companies, a top ranked children’s hospital and local startups.

I am an attorney licensed in both California and Mexico. I offer a unique blend of 14 years of legal expertise that bridges the gap between diverse legal landscapes. My background is enriched by significant roles as in-house counsel for global powerhouses such as Anheuser-Busch, Campari Group, and Grupo Lala, alongside contributions to Tier 1 law firms. I specialize in navigating the complexities of two pivotal areas: AI/Tech Innovation: With a profound grasp of both cutting-edge transformer models and foundational machine learning technologies, I am your go-to advisor for integrating these advancements into your business. Whether it's B2B or B2C applications, I ensure that your company harnesses the power of AI in a manner that's not only enterprise-friendly but also fully compliant with regulatory standards. Cross-Border Excellence: My expertise extends beyond borders, with over a decade of experience facilitating cross-border operations for companies in more than 20 countries. I am particularly adept at enhancing US-Mexico operations, ensuring seamless and efficient business transactions across these territories.

I began my career at "big law" firms, worked in-house for 14 years, and now have my own practice, providing big law quality at small firm rates. My practice focuses on strategic and commercial transactions, including M&A, preferred stock and common stock offerings, asset purchases and sales, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, stock option plans, master services agreements and SOWs, software development and license agreements, SaaS agreements, NDAs, employment and consulting agreements. I also manage corporate governance, advise boards and executives, and act as outside general counsel. I represent clients across the country and around the world.

Having overseen over $1.2 billion in transaction value, we are able to provide top-tier service at affordable rates, with much more personalized attention and fast turnarounds. After working for a AM Law Top 100 firm, I started my own firm and have been lucky enough to represent numerous conglomerates (FOX, Endeavor, etc.), promising startups, small businesses and private individuals. Our areas of expertise - Business Formations and Operating Agreements; Capital Raises and Debt Financing; Commercial Transactions; M&A; Real Estate; Intellectual Property; Employment and Hiring; Outside General Counsel; Corporate Agreements and Governance; Litigation and Dispute Resolution. We have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch, Yahoo Finance, Variety, Business Insider, Los Angeles Magazine, the LA Times, and others. We are driven by an unwavering commitment to our clients, going above and beyond to deliver results.

Kresimir Peharda is a corporate and M&A attorney. His clients benefit from his experience representing public companies and hands-on operational experience in three start-ups, two in healthcare and one in real estate. Kresimir has assisted his public clients in IPOs, spin-offs, going private transactions, SEC compliance, corporate governance, corporate reorganizations and complex financing transactions. He advises early stage and middle market companies on contracts, equity compensation, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, and shareholder matters.

AI and crypto-savvy Attorney with 20+ years’ experience advising companies in I.T., software, telecommunications, FinTech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with 9+ yrs spent in GC roles. Barred in 3 states (Calif. New York & Wash. D.C.) plus the U.S. Supreme Court. Registered Patent Attorney (USPTO). Extremely versatile, with subject matter expertise in a variety of legal topics highly useful for tech and startup companies, including IP, privacy, financial / banking laws (Regulation E, UDAAP, ID Theft Red Flags Rule, etc.), AML, KYC, export controls, litigation/ADR, cryptocurrency regulations and the rules governing the use of A.I. Deep understanding of computer technology via Master’s in Comp. Info. Systems (MSCIS). Also pre-law business experience. Certifications: Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS); Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP-US); Certified HIPAA Professional. Education: Law degree (JD): UCLA, 2003. MSCIS: Boston Univ., 2011.

For more than three decades, Kevin M. Gross has served as a trusted legal advisor to senior management and executive teams providing guidance on global compliance issues (anti-corruption, trade regulation, AML/KYC, privacy, and conflicts of interest), strategic concerns, due diligence, and risk mitigation strategies. In 2020, he founded C&R Consulting Group LLC to provide practical, cost-effective compliance and risk services to small and medium sized businesses. Prior to starting his own consulting firm, Kevin worked at Penumbra, Inc., a global healthcare company that manufactures and sells medical devices to healthcare providers, hospitals and clinics in more than 100 countries. At Penumbra, Kevin was the primary legal advisor to the company’s international sales and marketing executives. In addition, as Penumbra’s principal compliance lawyer, he conducted risk assessments and provided guidance and solutions to Penumbra’s internal compliance team. He oversaw due diligence on Penumbra’s international distributors, regulatory and sales agents, and other commercial partners. Prior to joining Penumbra, Kevin spent 15 years inside Chevron’s legal, compliance and upstream law departments, where he advised senior management on the company’s compliance and risk programs. Kevin overhauled Chevron’s hotline and investigations programs, strengthened internal controls and compliance procedures, and developed best practices and training for compliance personnel and investigators. Kevin also managed and conducted dozens of sensitive, high-profile investigations across six continents (internal and external), including FCPA, cybersecurity threats, and high-value theft and procurement frauds. Kevin directed outside counsel responses to SEC and DOJ inquiries, which were terminated without further action. He developed and conducted FCPA and compliance training for leadership teams and others across the enterprise. Prior to his tenure at Chevron, Kevin spent a decade as a senior enforcement attorney at the US Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement. At the SEC, he investigated and prosecuted cases involving securities fraud, insider trading, accounting fraud, options backdating, Ponzi schemes, and FCPA violations. Kevin filed and litigated SEC administrative and federal court actions against companies and individuals accused of violating federal securities laws. Early in his career, Kevin was a commercial litigator at Faegre Drinker LLP, an AmLaw 100 firm where he oversaw the investigation and resolution of insurance coverage disputes and other commercial litigation matters. In this role, Kevin took and defended hundreds of depositions, argued dozens of motions, and brought several cases to jury trials in US district courts. Kevin has received numerous accolades from clients and industry leaders, and is a frequent speaker at ACC, ACI, BECA, Consero and other conferences.

Neil Rust is a transactional attorney with almost four decades of experience ranging across a broad range of fields, including M&A, finance, structured finance, VC and general corporate. Before moving to Oregon, Mr. Rust was a partner at the Los Angeles office of an international law for 26 years and the Century City office of a national law firm for 5 years. During his big firm tenure, Neil Rust gathered experience across multiple industries and enjoys counselling clients as much as drafting and negotiating.

I provide the strategic legal guidance of an in-house general counsel without the full-time overhead. Whether you're launching a startup, scaling your digital business, or navigating complex privacy regulations, I'm here to help. With a practice concentrated in privacy law, digital marketing compliance, and small business operations, I help clients make informed decisions that protect their interests while supporting their growth objectives.