Biography

Phil is a veteran corporate attorney who specializes in complex mergers and acquisitions and handles a wide variety of business transactions. Due to the longstanding nature of his relationships with many clients, Phil is often contacted in a general outside counsel capacity to advise on material developments in the clients’ business or industries as they arise.

Phil has developed and is best known for his deep knowledge in the insurance, construction, energy, and financial services industries. His clients include investment advisors and brokers and participants in the technology, wine, hospitality, media, and gaming industries. His work has addressed every facet of business law, including acquisitions, financings, executive compensation, antitrust, governance, and nonprofit work. Phil regularly works on complex shareholder, partnership, and operating agreements and enjoys the challenge of finding common ground for the different interests of the investors and management. The depth and breadth of his experience makes him an exceptionally knowledgeable, effective advisor to his clients.

Clients value the way Phil leads the legal work for them, whether as a strategist, counselor, or negotiator. He identifies and focuses on the key points that are critical to the deal and avoids devoting time, effort, and client expense on secondary issues. He applies his expertise in a calm, clear, highly result-oriented manner, and avoids over-lawyering, fixating over boilerplate, and other unproductive distractions. Phil has represented many of his clients for 30 years or more and has been told his approach is unlike any corporate attorney they’ve ever worked with.

Thanks to Phil’s unique approach, his clients achieve their business objectives with a minimum of contention, duplicative effort, or unnecessary expense. Consistent with the remainder of Farella’s business practice, he staffs his projects leanly for greater efficiency and prides himself on responsiveness.

Phil is the former chair of Farella's Commercial Department and served on the firm’s Partnership Admission Committee. He continues to serve on the firm’s Compensation Committee. Throughout his career, he has taken pride in assisting with the career development of junior attorneys and managing toward a truly diverse workforce.

Phil is the California liaison to the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association and is a former co-chair of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar Association. He is the former author of The California Corporation: Legal Aspects of Organization and Operation, 31-3rd C.P.S. (BNA).

Distinctions

  • Super Lawyers, Northern California, 2004-2006

Firm Highlights

Event

Bisnow: San Francisco State of the Market

Ashley Breakfield will moderate the panel "Revitalizing San Francisco" at Bisnow's “San Francisco State of the Market" event. Click  here  for more information.

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Publication

Trends Guest Editorial: Wildfires and Wineries

Link to the article in Gradient's Trends  Spring 2023 newsletter. Recurring wildfires in the Napa and Sonoma Counties of California have created a set of niche problems for the surrounding wineries, on top of...

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Publication

Nonprofit Basics: Federal Tax Filing Deadlines and Penalties

Welcome to  EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . This episode focuses on the importance of meeting the federal tax filing deadlines that apply to charitable organizations. Most charitable organizations that are...

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Publication

Nonprofit Basics: Meeting Minutes Best Practices

Welcome to  EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . This episode focuses on documenting decisions made at meetings of a nonprofit organization's board of directors or trustees. While everyone who attends a...

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News

Farella Affirms Commitment to Downtown San Francisco With Office Move

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News

Jim Day Named Among Daily Journal’s Top IP Lawyers in California

James Day Headshot
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Publication

Office-to-Housing Conversion: State and Local Efforts to Revitalize the Downtown

Originally published in The Registry . As office vacancies soar in traditional downtown areas like San Francisco’s Financial District, state and local officials are moving quickly to adopt incentives they hope will bring people...

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News

Big Tech Breathes Sigh of Relief After Justices' Terror Rulings

Erik Olson spoke to Law360 for the article "Big Tech Breathes Sigh of Relief After Justices' Terror Rulings," covering the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review whether Section 230 insulates online platforms from...

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Event

Cross Border M&A in the California Market

Drew Goodwin will moderate the panel "Cross Border M&A in the California Market" at the Association for Corporate Growth's M&A West conference.  Session Overview: Cross-border M&A transactions in California and across the United States continue to offer...

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News

Legal experts say Google, Twitter and other tech companies dodged a bullet at the Supreme Court

Erik Olson spoke to Silicon Valley Business Journal for the article "Legal experts say Google, Twitter and other tech companies dodged a bullet at the Supreme Court." The Supreme Court avoided taking a stand...

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