Debra Vernon
Partner
Debra Vernon is a corporate and securities attorney with over two decades of experience advising technology companies and investors. Ms. Vernon has practiced corporate law in Silicon Valley since graduation from Stanford Law School. She specializes in venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, de-SPACS, cross-border transactions, public offerings and corporate governance issues for clients worldwide.
Ms. Vernon has won many awards for her legal achievements. She was named in “Top 50 Women Leaders of San Francisco for 2022” by Women We Admire. In 2021, she received the Women in Law Award for Investments and Private Equity from Lawyers Monthly. In 2016, she received the Women of Influence Award and was named a “Woman to Watch in Silicon Valley.” Ms. Vernon was also on the corporate venture team awarded Global Corporate Venture Legal Firm of the Year in 2016.
Ms. Vernon’s pro bono and community contributions include service to the San Mateo County Bar Association as Chair of the Board of the Women Lawyers’ Section and Co-Chair of the Legal Clinics Committee, founder and director of LabGirls STEM Initiative, and co-founder and director of The Athena Alliance. Ms. Vernon is a contributing author to “Changing Tides; Powerful Strategies for Female Founders,” published in 2018, and the author of “Form D: Short But Not Simple,” in August 2014.
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
SPACs, de-SPACs, Mergers, Acquisitions and Spin-Offs
- Representation of OneMedNet Corp. in its de-SPAC transaction with Data Knights Acquisition Corp.
- Representation of Energem Corp in its de-SPAC transaction with Graphjet Technologies, at a pro forma enterprise value of $1.49 billion
- Representation of Hackbright Academy in its acquisition by Capella Education Company
- Representation of Deep Forest Media, Inc. in its acquisition by Rakuten Marketing LLC
- Representation of Mixamo, Inc. in its acquisition by Adobe Systems
- Representation of Zuman Inc. in its acquisition by Vensure Employers Services Inc.
- Representation of Lightbend, Inc. in its acquisitions of OpsClarity, Inc. and Bold Radius, Inc.
- Representation of Orbis Technologies, Inc. in its acquisition of RSI Security, Inc.
- Representation of Simply Hired, Inc. in its acquisition by Recruit Holdings Ltd. (Indeed)
- Representation of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the spin-off of its Real 3D division
- Representation of Zuman, Inc. acquisition of assets of SuperiorHR, LP
- Representation of Koombea, Inc. acquisition of Railkits.com
- Representation of DogTime Media, LLC in its acquisition by Evolve Media, LLC
- Representation of Newton Medical Group, Inc. in its acquisition by ExamWorks, Inc.
- Representation of Enter Software, Inc. in its acquisition by GE Power Systems
- Representation of Global Internet.com in its acquisitions of Feist Systems, Inc. and Forte Networks, Inc.
- Representation of Indus International, Inc. in its acquisition of Prism, Inc.
- Representation of Indus International, Inc. in its merger with TSW International, Inc.
- Representation of Hewlett-Packard in its acquisition of Heartstream, Inc.
- Representation of Actel Corporation in its acquisition of GateField Corporation
- Representation of Adaptec, Inc. in the spin-off and sale of its BroadLogic division
- Representation of Liszt, Inc. in its acquisition by Topica, Inc.
- Representation of Academic Systems Corporation in its acquisition by Lightspan Partnership
- Representation of Adaptec, Inc. in its acquisition of Symbios, Inc.
- Representation of Diba, Inc. in its acquisition by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
- Representation of Netscape Communications in its acquisition of Collabra Software, Inc.
- Representation of ARES Corporation in the spin-off of its security software division
Public Offerings
- Representation of Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and other underwriters in public offerings
- Representation of numerous issuers in initial and secondary public offerings
Venture Capital Financings
- Representation of New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital, GE Ventures, Samsung Ventures, Vanedge Capital, MunichRe/HSB Ventures, Sozo Ventures, March Capital, Softbank Ventures and other investors in numerous financings
- Representation of software, hardware, SaaS companies and apps in numerous venture capital financings and corporate venture investments
- Representation of Kii Corporation, a Japanese company, in its Class B Preference Shares financing
- Representation of conductive metal inks company in venture capital investments of $40 million
- Representation of Palma Ceia SemiDesign, Inc., a Cayman Islands company, in its Series B-2 financing
- Representation of N3N Co. Ltd., a South Korean company, in its Series C financing
- Representation of Bankorus and PopChest in their SAFT financings
- Representation of SOSystems, Inc. in its Series Seed financing
- Representation of FuseChain Inc. dba DigitalBits in its Series Seed financing
Publications
- “Changing Tides: Powerful Strategies for Female Founders”, Contributing Author, 2018
- “Form D: Short But Not Simple,” August 2014
- “The European Union’s Proposed Directive for the Legal Protection of Databases”, 10 Boalt Hall High Tech Law Journal 105
Speaking Engagements
- Changing Tides Wave Tour Conference, Speaker: “LegalTech: Changing the Tides by Changing the Game”, November 2020
- “Women Entrepreneurs: Building Your C-Suite,” Women Entrepreneur’s Summit, hosted by First Republic Bank, May 2019
- “Startup Legal: The Nitty Gritty,” Founders + Funders Conference”, sponsored by Seneca Ventures and Women 2.0, May 2019
- “Women in Venture,” The Pitch: Silicon Valley Business Journal, July 2017
- “Top Opportunities and Risks of Blockchain,” at OnePieceWork SF, June 2017
Awards:
- New World’s Securities & Capital Markets Attorney of the Year 2023 (Northern California)
News, Events, & Insights
- Rimon Law Awarded Best Global Tech-Enabled Law Firm 2023 by New World Report
Awards March 9, 2023
- PHP Ventures Acquisition Corp. and Modulex Modular Buildings Plc Announce a Definitive Agreement for a Business Combination
News December 12, 2022
- Rimon Advises Australian Oilseeds Investments Pty. Ltd. on its Business Combination Agreement with EDOC Acquisition Corp.
News December 8, 2022
- Debra Vernon Named One of the Top 50 Women Leaders of San Francisco for 2022
Awards September 19, 2022
- Energem Corp. announces signing an agreement to purchase Graphjet Technology
News August 1, 2022
- OneMedNet Announces de-SPAC Transaction with estimated value of $317 million with Data Knights Acquisition Corp.
IM Report April 26, 2022
