Robert (Rob) Freedman is co-chair of the Securities & Corporate Finance group and provides corporate and securities law services to late stage and public technology and life sciences companies. He leads initial public offerings and follow-on offerings of equity and debt, and focuses on advising boards and management on corporate and securities law compliance and disclosure matters. Rob has represented issuers and underwriters in securities offerings by public companies for over 20 years. Rob also concentrates on mergers and acquisitions and private financings for public companies.
Rob has been recommended by The Legal 500 for his individual practice and role as co-chair of Fenwick & West’s corporate and securities practice, which was recognized as a team of “highly knowledgeable and flexible technology sector specialists.”
Representative Initial Public Offering Experience:
- Aeglea BioTherapeutics
- AnaptysBio
- Audentes Therapeutics
- Castlight Health
- Corium International
- Cowen and Company
- Dermira
- DexCom
- Loxo Oncology
- Piper Jaffray & Co.
- ServiceNow
- Shutterfly
- Sierra Onocology
- Silver Spring Networks
- Sutro Biopharma
- Upwork
Representative M&A and Tender Offer Experience:
- OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals’ merger with Achieve Life Science
- Castlight Health’s acquisition of Jiff
- Corium’s acquisition by Gurnet Point Capital
- KalVista Pharmaceuticals’ acquisition of Carbylan Therapeutics
- DexCom’s acquisition of SweetSpot Diabetes Care
- Zappos.com’s acquisition by Amazon.com
- Alpha Innotech’s acquisition by Cell Biosciences
- Data Domain’s acquisition by EMC
- Cisco Systems’ acquisition of WebEx Communications
- Macromedia’s merger with Adobe
Rob is a member of the State Bars of California, Idaho and Washington. He received his A.B. degree in biochemistry and history in 1987 from Bowdoin College where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. degree, with distinction, in 1993 from Stanford University.
Rob is the co-chair for the Practising Law Institute’s “How to Prepare an Initial Public Offering” program. Prior to law school, Rob was a banker for Manufacturers Hanover Trust in New York.
Sophia Hudson is a capital markets partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Sophia advises issuers and underwriters on capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings and follow-on equity offerings, public and private high-yield, investment-grade and convertible debt offerings and private placements of equity and convertible securities for early stage companies. She also counsels her corporate clients, including management teams and boards of directors, on governance, corporate and securities law matters.
Her experience ranges across a variety of industries, including consumer goods, financials, industrials, life sciences, mining, retail, specialty pharmaceuticals and technology. She has represented all the major U.S. investment banks.
Sophia has been recognized as a leading capital markets attorney by major legal publications, including named a “Rising Star” by New York Law Journal in 2017 and by Law360 for Life Sciences in 2016.
Sophia was a member of the Partnership for New York City 2016-2017 class of David Rockefeller Fellows. She has served as the co-chair of Practising Law Institute’s “How to Prepare an Initial Public Offering” since 2015. Sophia received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and her A.B. from Princeton University.
