When venture capital firms invest in portfolio companies, it is common for a general partner of the fund to take a position on the company's board. It is understood that the general partner owes a fiduciary duty to the company's stockholders, but what about the venture capital fund itself? Under what circumstances may the fund be found to owe fiduciary duties to the company's other stockholders? What are the limitations on what the fund can do? May the fund exercise its contractual rights with impunity or are there limitations? Join Roger Lane and Courtney Worcester as they explore these questions in this evolving area of the law and provide practical advice for addressing them to counsel who advise venture capital funds and portfolio companies.
Presenter(s):
Roger A. Lane, Esq. is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP where he serves as chair of the Boston Litigation Department. A member of the Securities Enforcement & Litigation and Private Equity & Venture Capital Practices and the Emerging Technologies Industry Team, he represents clients involved in complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on corporate law disputes, stockholder and federal securities litigation, and related risk management issues. Mr. Lane has represented venture capital and private equity firms, their partners, early-stage and mature corporations, their directors, officers, and independent board committees, investment advisers, investment banks and underwriters, and he has handled litigation related to the federal securities laws, debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, and other matters of corporate management and governance. He has also managed internal corporate investigations and advised clients on how to mitigate litigation risk before entering major corporate and commercial transactions. Mr. Lane has been selected for inclusion in the 2004 Â 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers® lists. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: AmericaÂs Leading Lawyers for Business.
Courtney Worcester, Esq. is senior counsel in the Boston office of Foley & Lardner LLP. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation involving corporations, venture capital and private equity firms, financial institutions and their directors and officers. She has represented clients in corporate governance, federal securities and shareholder litigation matters, including federal securities and consumer class actions, stockholder derivative litigations, and internal corporate investigations. In addition, she is experienced in diverse commercial litigation matters, ranging from contractual disputes to the protection of trade secrets, unfair competition, and other business torts. She is a member of the firm's Securities Enforcement & Litigation and Private Equity & Venture Capital Practices. Ms. Worcester has been selected for inclusion in the 2007  2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyer  Rising Stars® lists.
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