Articles

Understanding Tariffs and Strategies for Mitigating Their Impact

As the U.S. initiates tariffs against Mexico, Canada, and China, with more reciprocal tariffs against other countries planned, significant concerns have been raised for businesses importing goods, notes Enrique Hernandez-Pulido. This evolving situation with a new Presidential administration means that businesses must be prepared to manage the impact of tariffs, which can significantly affect the cost of imported goods and ultimately their bottom line. Enrique provides several strategies for dealing with these "indirect" taxes.

Nearshoring is Expected to Increase: What are the Patent Challenges for IP Owners?

The new U.S. administration’s interest in tariffs has put the process of nearshoring front and center, notes Ernest Huang. Trade policies and treaties by the U.S. in recent years have led to more nearshoring to the Americas, although the countries chosen for nearshoring may shift if tariffs are imposed on countries with which the U.S. has a trade agreement. Regardless, nearshoring involves significant patent implications, and Ernest explains the implications for patent owners and applicants.

Latest Corporate Transparency Act Guidance: Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Reinstated

What's the latest on the Corporate Transparency Act? It's back on! FinCEN announced that beneficial ownership information reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act are back in effect, with a deadline of March 21. Juan Arau explains what is expected of companies subject to the CTA and outlines next steps.

News

Kudos to our 2024 M&A Clients: After Another Successful Year We're Moving Ahead in 2025

Procopio’s M&A attorneys performed numerous transactions in 2024 for companies in a broad array of industries, including life sciences, manufacturing, health care, consumer goods, information technology, and more. This was just the latest in a years-long track record of successfully helped hundreds of clients grow through acquisition, expanding their market reach through a synergistic business relationship, or maximizing their exit.

Below is an overview of some of the publicly disclosed deals our M&A attorneys closed in the last 5 years.

Learn more about our M&A practice, led by Paul Johnson and Jason Femrite.

Bill Smelko Recognized for a Bankruptcy "Deal of the Year"

Kudos to Bill Smelko for his recognition in a bankruptcy-related "deal of the year" from The M&A Advisor! In the group's 19th annual Turnaround Awards, Bill and Procopio were recognized for serving client SG Investments, America, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of German-based manufacturer Dürkopp Adler, in the acquisition of ICON Aircraft assets in a Chapter 11 Section 363 sale free and clear process in ICON’s Chapter 11 case filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Learn more about this innovative deal in our client news article.

Alejandro Echeverria Named a Top Lawyer Under 40

Congrats to intellectual property attorney Alejandro Echeverria on being named a 2025 Top Lawyer under 40 by the Hispanic National Bar Association! He is active in the legal community, as evidenced by his recent election to an At-Large Director position with the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association. Alejandro focuses on patent prosecution services while also counseling on broader intellectual property issues including trademarks. Learn more about Alejandro.

Events

Launch, Grow, Succeed: A 6-Part Webinar Series for Entrepreneurs

Get ready to take your startup to the next level! Join us for a dynamic six-week webinar series crafted exclusively for growth-focused startups and weekly from March 12 to April 16. Our first webinar is Wednesday, March 12, with Emerging Company and Venture Capital leader Paul Johnson.

This series delivers practical, actionable insights you can apply immediately. Learn how to structure your business for success, protect your secret sauce, attract top investors, break into new markets, and tackle tricky data and employment challenges like a pro. 

You’ll hear from some of our leading Emerging Company and Venture Capital attorneys, including Noel Gillespie, Elaine Harwell, Michael Kinkelaar, Helen Goldstein and Marina Gruber. 

Social Media

A warm welcome to our newest corporate law associate, Kelsey Tidgewell! Kelsey focuses on providing corporate legal support for startups and mature companies. Her services include advising on business formations, operations and governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Among other transactional services for clients, Kelsey drafts and reviews business and commercial agreements. While in law school, Kelsey served as a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Judge Kenneth K. Lee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The privacy of our digital data is under threat, with challenges from AI, phishing, mobile device use, social media, and more. Elaine Harwell, our Privacy & Cybersecurity practice leader, breaks down the challenges in protecting our data online and how we can control its use in this informative 30-minute video podcast with Kallyn Hobmann of the Data Science Alliance. Elaine also breaks down the ever-evolving changes in the law, both globally and locally.

Any startup in the sports and active lifestyle industry will want to listen to a dynamic conversation between a veteran entrepreneur and a brand protection champion. In the latest podcast by San Diego Sport Innovators, Procopio Sports & Active Lifestyle practice leader Neil Salyards and SDSI Executive Director Bob Rief discuss the importance of protecting your company's brand early and spreading that protection globally. Bob shares success stories in which proper brand protection led to success in thwarting infringers and in multiplying payouts in M&A deals. Neil offers concrete steps that entrepreneurs should take regarding domain names, trademark registration, Amazon brand protection, and more, noting many are inexpensive yet will provide tremendous value as the company grows.

Privacy law is ever-changing, and it can be a challenge to keep up. Our Privacy & Cybersecurity practice leader Elaine Harwell joins with associate Yulian Kolarov to break down some of the notable data privacy-related litigation trends of the last year, including under California state law claims based on the California Invasion of Privacy Act CIPA and the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agency Act ICRAA, federal statutory claims, including the Video Privacy Protection Act VPPA and recent rulings in data breach litigation. Learn the latest on privacy law in this article published by the Privacy Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.

Our M&A Partner Bill Eigner shared his insights on building a Board of Advisers with Milan Saes in an insightful video interview. They explored how to effectively build a Board of Advisors for companies expanding to the U.S., covering best practices, compensation structures, do's and don’ts, strategies to keep advisors engaged, and more. They also tackled common myths, including the misconception that advisors can be compensated based on the capital they help raise.

Don't miss our Emerging Company and Venture Capital leader Paul Johnson discussing next steps after securing funding at the 2025 Bio Capital Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, March 6. Paul's panel will be moderated by White Mountain Economic Development President & CEO Donald Laughlin at a conference organized by the Flinn Foundation. Procopio Senior Associate Helen Goldstein will serve as emcee for the all-day conference.

Congrats to Procopio Partner and Management Committee member Mindy Morton on her selection to the advisory board for CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute at University of California, Berkeley. Mindy has been admitted with six other leaders, including Rey Banatao of Alphabet Inc., Dylan Chiu of Berkeley Frontier Fund, former CA Governor Gray Davis, William Dean Donovan of DiamondStream Partners, George Rhem of ArteraAI and Matt Sonsini of Ravello Impact. CITRIS is a UC research center focused on creating IT solutions that generate societal and economic benefits for everyone.

M&A Partner Jessica Lazur moderated an engaging panel at CapCon 25 in San Diego Feb. 13 titled "The M&A Battlefield: Lessons Learned from High-Stakes Deals." Joining Jessica on the panel were Crowe PR Founder and CEO Anna (Anya) Crowe, Power Digital Marketing Founder and Chairman Grayson Lafrenz, and Cadre AI founder Riley Stricklin. CapCon25 was a 2-day conference by Association for Corporate Growth - ACG San Diego for investment bankers, private equity investors and C-suite executives.

Best of luck to all of the participants at the recent Pitch Prep session for SDAC hosted by The Brink SBDC! Our own Noel Gillespie offered sage advice on how to best present your IP portfolio to potential investors. Noel specializes in guiding clients on building strategic IP portfolios, and is recognized by Best Lawyers, IAM, and WIPR.

Don't miss this fascinating profile of Education Law attorney Julia Choi, in which she discusses the joy in determining an individual client's needs and working to advance them: “Sometimes, the first question a client asks us is not necessarily the right starting point. Part of our job is helping clients identify what the issues are. From there, legal assistance can really shine.” In this interview by the Columbia Law School Center for Public Research and Leadership, Julia discusses the wide range of legal challenges her education clients may face: “We have to think of things holistically, to see the forest rather than the trees. It requires a mindset of, ‘I’m starting from scratch every time. What do I already know and what can I pull in?’”

Welcome home, San Diego Seals! Procopio is a proud sponsor of San Diego's professional lacrosse team, which is returning home after two straight road wins for its next match. Our Sports & Active Lifestyle practice leader Neil Salyards has been instrumental in building Procopio's partnership with the Seals.

Our award-winning Tax Team welcomed the chance to hear from U.S. Tax Court Senior Judge Joseph R. Goeke at our downtown San Diego office, where he shared invaluable insights with regional tax attorneys. His Honor reinforced the importance of ethics, adherence to federal and state tax codes, and the vital role of tax professionals in shaping a just system. His message was clear: Young tax lawyers must lead with integrity, especially in these challenging times. A heartfelt thank you from Procopio and our Tax Team to Judge Goeke for inspiring the next generation of tax professionals!

Let's Work Together.