PALO ALTO, CA (April 19, 2022) – Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, announced today that Jason Breen has joined the firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice as a partner in the Los Angeles office, where he will focus on representing technology and life sciences clients. Breen’s addition reflects both the firm’s ongoing efforts to expand its corporate department and sustained demand from technology and life sciences clients for transactional experience.
Breen’s practice focuses on representing public and private companies in M&A deals and other strategic transactions, including divestitures, joint ventures, and financings. While a substantial percentage of his recent deals involved clients doing business in various life sciences sectors, he has also represented technology clients in the software, consumer services, media, consumer products, and healthcare IT sectors.
“As our technology and life sciences clients continue to grow and expand through acquisitions, mergers, and other strategic transactions, demand remains high for corporate and transactional representation, particularly from public and private companies doing business in busier U.S. and global markets,” said Doug Clark, managing partner at Wilson Sonsini. “Jason has an impressive track record of helping clients complete sophisticated deals and leveraging his ability to understand each client’s business and objectives. We’re excited that he’s joined our firm and become part of an M&A team that continues to show its many strengths through the number and diversity of deals we complete on behalf of clients.”
Wilson Sonsini advised on more than 220 M&A deals with an aggregate disclosed value of more than $90 billion that were announced and/or completed in 2021. Examples of deals completed last year include representing DoorDash in its $8.1 billion acquisition of Wolt; Medallia in its $6.4 billion acquisition by Thoma Bravo; Lumentum in its $5.7 billion acquisition of Coherent; Talend in its $2.4 billion acquisition by Thoma Bravo; and Twitter in the $1.05 billion sale of MoPub to AppLovin.
Wilson Sonsini was ranked among the top five law firms worldwide, based on the number of M&A deals, in the 2021 Global Mergers and Acquisitions Review published by Refinitiv. Based on the same Refinitiv results, The American Lawyer noted that "[i]n terms of deal volume, Wilson Sonsini had the biggest jump in ranking, moving from No. 31 in 2020 to No. 5 in 2021."
“Wilson Sonsini has an established brand and culture that’s driven by the firm’s work for growing and established companies—including some of the most innovative and successful players in business today—which is just one of the reasons I’m pleased to be a part of the firm,” said Breen. “I am also excited about the opportunity to be part of the firm’s impressive and expanding M&A practice and look forward to collaborating with the talented team in LA and others across the firm.”
Most recently, Breen was a partner at Goodwin Procter. He joined that firm’s New York office in 2011 and later moved to its Los Angeles office in 2014 before becoming a partner in 2015. Before that, he was a corporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York.
Breen received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2007, and a B.A. in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 2002. He is admitted to practice in New York and California.
Breen was named Corporate Attorney of the Year in 2019 by the Los Angeles Business Journal, which noted both his leadership and breadth of experience.
About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
For more than 60 years, Wilson Sonsini’s services and legal disciplines have focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has offices in 18 technology and business hubs worldwide. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com.