- Speaker, PLI Seminar, Fintech 2018, “Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies 101”
- Panelist, “Security Token Panel,” Alchemist Money Summit Tel Aviv, 2018
- Organizer & Speaker, PLI Webinar “Attorney Ethics – Counseling Clients Undertaking an ICO,” 2018
- Moderator, “TigerTalks in the City: Bitcoin, Blockchains, ICOs and More,” Princeton Entrepreneurship Council and Bendheim Center for Finance, 2018
- Speaker, “Good, Bad and Evil about ICOs and How to Do it Right?” DC Digital Asset Investment Forum 2018
- Speaker, UCEDC, “Negotiating Sales Contracts,” 2018
- Speaker, “Not All Term Sheets Are Created Equal,” TechXel Venture Expert Series, 2018
- Speaker, “Investment Term Sheets,” Princeton Keller Center, 2018
- Speaker, “Venture Nights Panel Discussion,” Prime Tech Partners, 2018
- Speaker, PLI Seminar, “Understanding Financial Products 2019.” Topic Cryptocurrency and Financial Products.
- Co-Chair, PLI Seminar, “Blockchain 2.0: 2018 Legal & Regulatory Developments
- Co-Chair, PLI Webinar “Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts – What Lawyers Need to Know,” 2017
- Speaker, “Dividing Founders’ Equity and Understanding Venture Compensation,” Stevens Institute of Technology, 2017
- Panelist, ABA Webinar – “How Companies Work with Start-Up Suppliers and Vendors,” 2017
- Speaker, “Contract Excellence,” TechXel Stamford Expert Series, 2017
- Panelist, “Entrepreneurs –Are They Wired Differently?” Princeton University Reunions Alumni-Faculty Panel, 2016
- Panelist, “Divvying Up the Pie – Early Stage Start-up Valuation and Distributing Equity,” Princeton University – Office of Technology Licensing, 2016
- Panelist, “5 Ways Successful Businesses Handle Legal Challenges,” JBiz Expo, 2016
- Speaker, “Critical Terms in Sales Agreements,” Cambridge Innovation Center, 2015
- Speaker, NCMA Boston Chapter, “International Commercial Agreements,” 2015
- Organizer & Speaker, PLI Webinar – “Before Series A – Convertible Note and Series Seed Funding for Startups,” 2014
- Panelist, New York Enterprise Tech MeetUp – “Sourcing to the Enterprise,” 2013
- Speaker, Princeton Startup Collective – “Top 10 Things Your Startup Attorney Should Tell You,” 2013
- Panelist, NYU Law School – “Non-Practicing Entities in IP,” 2013
- Speaker, Engagement with China: Issues for Small & Medium Enterprises, San Diego, CA, 2013
- Speaker, Implications of Myriad on IP Protection for Personalized Medicine and Protecting IP in US and China, 9th Annual SABPA Pacific Forum, San Diego, CA, 2013
- Panelist, Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting – “When the Software Police Come Knocking,” 2007
- Panelist, PLI Seminar – “Structuring, Negotiating and Implementing Strategic Alliances,” 2005
Dror Futter
Partner
Dror Futter focuses his practice on startup companies and their investors, and has worked with a wide range of technology companies. His fifteen years’ experience as in-house counsel includes positions with Vidyo, Inc., a venture-backed videoconferencing company, and New Venture Partners, a venture fund focused on corporate spinouts. Prior to that, Mr. Futter was Counsel to the CIO of Lucent Technologies, as well as supporting parts of its sourcing organization.
Mr. Futter’s practice has three main focus areas:
External General Counsel
As a former General Counsel and the sole attorney at a venture that went from 80 to 300 employees during his tenure, Mr. Futter has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by fast-growing companies and the type of business-focused legal counsel they require. In addition, his background allows him to counsel clients on a broad range of subjects without the need to involve other subject-matter experts. As a result, he is exceptionally well suited to serve as an external general counsel for growing companies with sophisticated legal needs that do not have internal counsel.
Venture Finance/Corporate
Mr. Futter has represented companies and venture funds in numerous equity and debt financing rounds, from early “friends and family” and Seed rounds to later-stage mezzanine financings, and has been on both sides of the table in these transactions. On the corporate side, he routinely handles corporate formations, employee equity plans and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Futter has also been involved in over 40 corporate spinouts and understands the unique concerns of corporate venture investors.
Transactional IT & IP
Mr. Futter represents clients in a broad range of transactions, including: software licenses, SaaS Agreements, outsourcing agreements, development agreements, website terms and conditions, patent licenses, direct and indirect channel distribution agreements, services agreements, manufacturing agreements, and other supply chain agreements.
Prior to joining Rimon, Mr. Futter was a partner at the McCarter & English law firm where he was part of the Corporate Department and Venture Capital Practice Group.
Mr. Futter serves on the legal advisory board of the Angel Capital Association and previously served on the Model Forms Drafting Group of the National Venture Capital Association and. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Stevens Venture Center of the Stevens Institute of Technology and a Mentor at Princeton University’s Keller Center, and SOSV’s dLab Accelerator. Mr. Futter is a 1986 magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University and a 1989 graduate of Columbia University School of Law. He also earned an Executive MBA in 1999 from the American Electronics Association Executive Institute of Stanford University.
PUBLICATIONS
Technology & IP
- “B2B SMB’s – Are Contracts Standing in the Way of Closing Your Deals“, 2021
- “Enterprise Playbook: Legal Challenges & Customer Relations During COVID-19”, Work-Bench, 2020
- “What Venture Boards need to do Now,” 2020
- “5 Mistakes Startups Cannot Afford Now,” 2020
- “How Commercial Contracts Deal with Force Majeure Events,” ROI-NJ, 2020
- “Enterprise Sales Agreements for Startups,” Work-Bench, 2015
- Co-author, “Intellectual Property Due Diligence,” New Jersey Lawyer, 1994
- Co-author, “Top 10 List of Intellectual Property Pitfalls,” New Jersey Lawyer, 1994
- Co-author, “Dilution Doctrine: Powerful Yet Unclear,” Legal Times, 1992
Venture Finance & Investing
- “Preparing for Due Diligence: A Practical Guide for Founders” Eventus Advisory Group, 2022
- “Venture Capital and the Art of the Deal: More of the Same,” Crowdfund Insider, 2021
- “Retroactive Pay-to-Play Coming to a Venture Theater Near You,” Crowdfund Insider, 2020
- “A First Timers Guide to Down Rounds,” Crowdfund Insider, 2020
- “Beware of employee equity, the credit cards of the venture community,” 2019
- “SAFEs 2.0: YCombinator Updates the Form,” Crowdfund Insider, 2018
- “NVCA Updates Its Series A Model Legal Documents,” LegalBytes, 2018
- “How to Bubble-Proof Your Venture,” V.C. Experts, 2016
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Co-Chair, PLI Seminar, Venture Capital Law, 2001-2010, 2017-2021, Panelist – 2011-2016
- Webinar: Structuring Down-Round Financing, Strafford, 2021
- Webinar: Structuring Venture Capital Financing, Strafford, 2021
- Webinar: Top 10 Things Your Startup Attorney Should Tell You, Kettle, December 2021; View Full Presentation
- Webinar: Corporate Venture Capital: Structuring Concerns for Investors and Startups, Strafford, October 26, 2021
- Webinar: Getting it Right- Start-up employee hiring, employing, and terminating, 2020
- Speaker, Open Fintech Forum, Structuring Consortia to Leverage Blockchain for the Enterprise, 2019
- Co-chair, PLI Seminar: Blockchain 2.0: 2019 Legal & Regulatory Developments, 2019
- Speaker, TechTransfer Central, Inside the VC Industry’s View of University Spinouts: Critical Insights for TTOs, 2019
- Speaker, Princeton Entrepreneurship Council’s Startup Workshop: Legal Considerations for Startups, 2019
- Speaker, “Understanding Financial Products 2019″, 2019
- Speaker, CFA Institute, Blockchain Panel, 2019
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
- New Jersey-Israel Commission Member
- Legal Advisory Board of the Angel Capital Association
- Entrepreneur in Residence at the Stevens Venture Center of the Stevens Institute of Technology
- Mentor, Keller Center for Innovation, Princeton University
News, Events, & Insights
- Jewish Link: The NJ-Israel Commission: Strengthening Economic Ties and Celebrating 75 Years of Friendship
Insights June 26, 2023
- Rimon Partner Dror Futter Appointed to New Jersey-Israel Commission by Governor Murphy
News May 25, 2023
- Rimon Partner Dror Futter to Present at the Angel Capital Associations Annual Summit
Events April 25, 2023
- Webinar: Structuring Down-Round Financing: Anti-Dilution Protections, Employee Considerations, Mitigating Board Conflicts
Events February 23, 2023
- Fundraising Stalled? Here are the 6 S’s Venture Founders Should be Thinking About
Insights January 11, 2023
- Venture Layoffs – 10 Steps to Take ASAP
Insights December 6, 2022