Larry Sonsini

Larry Sonsini (born c. 1941 in Rome, New York) is a well-known American lawyer specializing all aspects of corporate law. He is the chairman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a leading law firm in business and intellectual property law. Sonsini has been described by Fortune as “the most influential and well-connected lawyer in the industry.”^[1]

Sonsini studied securities law at the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1966.^[2]

Sonsini started out counseling semiconductor companies including Cypress Semiconductor, National Semiconductor and LSI Logic. He later counseled significant hardware firms such as Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, Silicon Graphics and Seagate Technology and software companies such as Novell, Sybase and WordPerfect. He has also worked for the well known Internet firms Google, Netscape and YouTube.^[1] He has served as a trusted advisor to many of the key figures in Silicon Valley history, including Steve Jobs, and the principals of Google and Hewlett-Packard.

Sonsini was recognized for his commitment to education in Silicon Valley at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation's September 2012 Pioneers & Purpose event. He was honored with the Pioneer Business Leader Award, which is awarded to individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in business and education.

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