Donna M. Petkanics is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Her law practice focuses on the representation of growth companies, with a particular emphasis on corporate and securities issues. She represents both privately held and public companies across a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, Internet infrastructure, networking, life sciences, computer software and hardware, clean technology and energy, and electronics.
She has experience representing companies in many types of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and joint ventures. She also counsels clients who are starting new businesses with respect to general corporate matters and protection of their intellectual property.
During her tenure at the firm, Donna has served in a number of management positions, including managing director 2000 to 2006; member of the firm’s board of directors and Policy Committee; chair of the Compensation Committee; and co-chair of the Hiring Committee and Nominating Committee. She served on the board of directors of the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation from 2000 to 2010.
Prior to attending law school, Donna was a staff economist in the Executive Office of the President during Jimmy Carter’s administration and also worked for the House of Representatives. She began practicing at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1985.
EDUCATION:
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1985
- B.A., Economics, Northwestern University, 1980
ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS:
- Board Member, Northern California and Nevada Chapter, Alzheimer’s Association
- Board Member, Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) (2012-2018); Chair (FY2014-FY2017)
- Trustee, UC Berkeley Foundation (2006-2011)
- Member, Board of Advisors, Stanford Community Law Clinic (2000-2006)
- Member, Board of Visitors, Northwestern University, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (2003-present)
- Member, Northwestern University San Francisco Bay Area Leadership Council (2008-present)
- Co-chair, Northwestern University San Francisco Bay Area Leadership Council (2008-2011)
- Chair, Committee on Realizing Business Potential, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2004-2005)
- National Judge, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2003-2005)
- Judge, Clean Tech Open (2006-2009)
- Board Member, VentureWell (2015-present)
ADMISSIONS:
- State Bar of California
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