Pasadena’s OpenX Technologies Inc. has added Douglas McPherson as its chief legal officer, another big step for a rapidly growing company that might be heading toward an initial public offering.
OpenX, primarily an online ad exchange that enables buyers and sellers of web advertising to make instantaneous transactions, has made sizable leaps in head count and sales in the last year. Executives said that it has grown to the point where it needs an in-house legal team.
To that end, they have brought in McPherson, who previously advised numerous startups as general counsel at Pasadena business incubator Idealab.
At OpenX, McPherson’s legal duties will include handling mergers and protecting intellectual property. He will also advise on larger business matters.
“My responsibilities are going to be quite broad,” McPherson said. “The team here is very open and receptive to input of all kinds and I think they are expecting me to bring my experience and knowledge to bear.”
Chief Executive Tim Cadogan noted that McPherson was the best fit for the position because of his experience at an incubator, a business program that supports startups until they become publicly traded or acquired.
“The last 10 to 12 years gave him an exposure that is almost unique in terms of helping dozens of companies through every stage, every situation you could envisage,” he said.
Since London-based parent company OpenAds launched it in 2008, OpenX has grown from one to 170 employees in Pasadena and 250 employees worldwide. This year it added 83 employees to the Pasadena headquarters, and inked a deal to move into 45,000 square feet at 888 Walnut St. in coming months.
Last year, the company hit profitability and its revenue grew 700 percent. It announced that last year’s fourth quarter sales put it on track to more than $100 million a year in annual sales.
The growth has fueled speculation about an initial public offering – an area of McPherson’s expertise. Cadogan said an IPO and mergers and acquisitions were “distinct possibilities,” but that there is no timetable.
“I wouldn’t say any of them are definitive at this point,” he said. “But those are increasingly likely outcomes.”
Silicon Beach Expansion
An increasing number of attorneys are looking to tap into the L.A. area’s burgeoning tech scene. This summer, Cooley LLP was the first major Silicon Valley law firm to expand into the area when it opened an office in Santa Monica, near the cluster of startups dubbed Silicon Beach.
Now, at least one boutique firm is following. San Mateo-based Cooke Kobrick & Wu LLP, a contract general counsel to startup tech firms, opened a Santa Monica office last month.
The five-attorney firm’s new L.A. outpost is headed by Kathryn Coburn, formerly a principal at Health Information Technology Law Group LLC in Pacific Palisades. Coburn’s background is in health care and biotech, but she said she is also familiar with tech issues. The firm sees itself as a lower-price alternative for startups that might not be able to afford big law firms.
“There’s a big trend of tech companies, particularly in the Irvine and Santa Monica areas, that would like local counsel,” she said.
Name partner Stephen Wu said that one area he expects to focus on in Los Angeles is advising online advertising companies on privacy practices when collecting user information.
“I see this as a big trend up here in Silicon Valley as well as down there,” he said.
Texas Firm Opening
Dallas-based Thompson & Knight LLP, a 330-attorney firm with 11 offices across the globe, opened its first West Coast outpost in Century City on Oct. 1.
A full-service firm known best for its international energy practice, Thompson & Knight contemplated opening a California office for years, but finally pulled the trigger after requests from clients across several industries. It expects to work with clients in the energy, real estate and banking sectors, among others.
The new office is headed by Shelly Youree, a longtime Thompson & Knight partner formerly based in Dallas. Youree is a tax lawyer specializing in executive compensation issues. Joining her is Bruce J. Zabarauskas, 49, a financial services litigation attorney, previously at the Irvine office of Washington, D.C.’s Crowell & Moring LLP.
Youree said the office will likely look to continue expanding, including possibly hiring attorneys specializing in labor and employment and corporate law.
“Our clients were saying, ‘We really want you to be in California,’” she said. “They are primarily mid- to large-sized companies and they want a one-stop shop, so we’re responding to that.”
Staff reporter Alfred Lee can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 221.
