Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati announced on Tuesday that Austin corporate lawyer Matt Lyons, who has deep experience representing emerging growth companies, has signed with the Palo Alto-based firm.
Lyons was previously at Shearman & Sterling, where he helped launch the New York firm’s Austin office and entrance into the Texas market in 2018 with a group of ex-Andrews Kurth attorneys. He said he remains “very appreciative” for that opportunity, but he felt Wilson Sonsini’s commitment to representing technology and emerging growth companies and their investors through their entire life cycle provided a better platform for his practice.
“This is both an Austin move and a national play for me,” he said. “This will allow me to better address the relationships I have from New York City to Silicon Valley and from Austin to Salt Lake City.”
Rob Suffoletta, managing partner of Wilson Sonsini’s 27-lawyer Austin office, said in a prepared statement that the addition of Lyons demonstrates the firm’s commitment to Austin’s “vibrant and innovative community.”
As Austin continues to attract Silicon Valley venture capital firms like Breyer Capital and 8VC, Lyons said it is critically important that Wilson Sonsini expands “very significantly” in the state capital.
“My movement is only the first inning of the planned growth of this office over the next three years,” said Lyons, a University of Texas School of Law graduate. “We want to be the go-to firm for technology and life sciences enterprises in Central Texas.”
In January, Lyons co-led Bakkt, the InterContinental Exchange-owned cryptocurrency futures trading exchange, on a $2.1 billion SPAC merger with Chicago blank-check firm Victory Park Capital. His team also advised Bakkt on its initial $182.5 million equity raise in 2019.
Last year, Lyons represented Austin-based Eventus Systems, a global trade surveillance and market risk software provider, on a $10.5 million Series A funding from investors led by Jump Capital in Chicago and Austin’s LiveOak Venture Partners.
Lyons’ new colleagues at Wilson Sonsini closed a couple of notable deals in March.
Scott Craig led a deal team that guided Austin home-testing company Everlywell on its acquisition of competitors PWNHealth and Home Access Health Corporation and Rob Suffoletta spearheaded a $130 million public offering for Savara, an orphan lung disease company.