Dennis Doucette Elected Procopio Managing Partner

Procopio’s partnership has elected award-winning corporate law partner Dennis Doucette as its new Managing Partner. He has immediately begun a three-year term. Procopio's partners also re-elected litigator Mindy Morton to a new term on our Management Committee. 

Dennis succeeds John D. Alessio, who passed away on September 3, 2024. John, in his third term, had succeeded a predecessor who held the position for seventeen years, making Dennis only the third individual to serve as Managing Partner in nearly 25 years, and sixth overall in the storied history of the law firm.

Dennis specializes in helping companies with formation, funding, and acquisition. He advises buyers, sellers, and investors in mergers, stock and asset purchases, management buyouts, reorganizations, and related transactions. Operating out of Procopio’s Del Mar Heights office, he is recognized in seven corporate law categories by Best Lawyers® and by Super Lawyers® for Mergers & Acquisitions Law.

Articles

Top Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Funding: The Role of Legal Due Diligence

Advanced planning for an early stage equity financing can significantly smooth the path for startups, helping to identify opportunities and avoid setbacks. Our Emerging Company and Venture Capital practice leader Paul Johnson explains how a critical part of the process is the investor’s legal diligence.

What to Expect from the SEC’s Examination Focus in 2025

The SEC's promise to maintain a focus on upcoming examinations in 2025 could impact many investment advisers, broker-dealers, fund managers and other financial professionals, note Jennifer Trowbridge and Rachel Edwards. The federal regulator highlighted five topics in a recent document applying to a wide range of companies and financial market participants.

What Your Organization May Need to Do Now to Comply with the Corporate Transparency Act

As you may have heard, the federal “Corporate Transparency Act” went into effect on January 1, 2024. This act requires each “Reporting Company” to file a Beneficial Ownership Information report. Unlike other registration and filing requirements that a law firm may assist you with, Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) reports for a Reporting Company should ideally be handled by someone within your enterprise—law firms may not have access to the information required to make this filing.  

To the extent you have questions, feel free to reach out to someone at Procopio for assistance, but ultimately your organization will be responsible for this filing.

Awards and Accolades

30 Procopio Legal Practices Across 4 Regions Named to 2025 Best Law Firms List with Two National Recognitions

A total of 30 Procopio legal practices across 4 regions were named to the 2025 Best Law Firms® list produced by Best Lawyers in America®. The firm was recognized for excellence in San Diego, Orange County, Nevada and Arizona, with 14 practices ranked in the top tier.

Procopio also achieved national recognition in two categories, Construction Law and Litigation-Construction.

The annual Best Law Firms list is compiled annually by Best Lawyers® through exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers provide confidential nominations and feedback.

2 Procopio Attorneys Named Leaders of Influence in Law

Kudos to Procopio Partners Sara Neva and Bill Eigner on being named 2024 Leaders of Influence in Law by the San Diego Business Journal! The list comprises some of San Diego’s most influential and experienced law firm and in-house attorneys, and is selected by an outside group of legal experts. Sara and Bill have each appeared on the list multiple times.

Sara counsels clients on real estate, finance and general business transactions. Her practice involves real estate property purchase and sale, commercial leases and easements, joint venture formation and other equity investments, and financing.

Bill counsels clients in the areas of mergers & acquisitions (M&A), venture capital, angel financing, seed capital and financing, governing, operating, buying, selling and merging of growing technology, life sciences, defense, and other businesses.

Events

Let's Talk Security | Fairmont Grand Del Mar | San Diego, CA

Procopio Privacy & Cybersecurity leader Elaine Harwell joins other data security experts at the "Let's Talk Security" conference. Sponsored by ICE Cybersecurity, Elaine's panel includes C-suite leaders discussing the good, bad and risky on cyber insurance. 

Transitioning from Military to Civilian Legal Careers | Procopio's Downtown San Diego, CA, Office | 4:30 - 7:00 pm PT

Procopio tax attorney Denise Stich, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, joins a panel with three Marine Corps Reserve Judge Advocates--Tom Merritt, Kevin M. Brown, and Ted Bonanno--all of whom have also transitioned into separate professional legal careers. The event is complimentary to attend.

Trans-Pacific IP Insights: Understanding Japanese Patent Systems | Redwood City, CA | 5:00 – 8:00 pm PT

Silicon Valley IP Partner Ernest Huang joins other experts on a panel discussing AI-related patent examination guidelines in Japan, including how they differ from the U.S. Co-sponsored by the Silicon Valley IP Law Association and the Japan Patent Attorneys Association, the event will address choosing patent protection or design rights for certain technical solutions, which could be protected by both patents and design rights in Japan.

2024 Charter Schools Development Center (CSDC) Conference | Sacramento, CA

Procopio is a proud sponsor of the 2024 Charter Schools Development Center (CSDC) Conference, which will be held in Sacramento, CA. Join our Charter School attorneys for their many informative sessions. If you are attending this year’s conference, make sure to stop by our booth (#309) to say hello and pick up your copy of the 2024 desktop resource on charter schools, the “go-to” compendium of laws and regulations.

Social Media

Successfully navigating the intricate landscape of third-party IP is crucial to the commercial viability of product and drug development efforts, notes Bob Ramos in the latest edition of Life Sciences Insights from California Life Sciences. This edition, "Navigating the Startup Road to Success," includes a number of informative articles designed to support industry startups from idea to exit. The IP tips Bob provides could prove crucial in helping a pharma startup reduces risks and positions itself for capital investment and future commercialization.

The core responsibilities of hospitals and their medical staffs are the promotion of patient safety and the quality of care rendered to patients in the hospital, notes Rick Barton in the latest issue of Health Law Connections, published by the American Health Law Association. Federal and state laws require that medical staffs evaluate the qualifications and fitness of all eligible candidates for medical staff membership and privileges. Among the many mandated bylaws provisions that govern medical staffs is the requirement of formal procedures for the evaluation and assistance of medical staff members impaired by chemical dependency and/or mental illness. The Joint Commission (TJC) Medical Staff (MS) Standards require that hospital medical staffs implement “a process to identify and manage matters of individual health for licensed independent practitioners” that is separate from actions taken for disciplinary purposes. Learn more in the article (AHLA membership account required).

We were proud to once again sponsor the annual Global Summit by ChIPs Network. Held in Washington, D.C., the event featured in-depth legal training sessions as well as opportunities for networking and determining how to empower women in tech and IP law. Attending from Procopio were partners (from left to right) Jessica Lazur, Marina C. Gruber and Mindy Morton, shown here with client Kate Wilson, SVP of ServiceNow. Oh, and ICYMI, Mindy was just re-elected by Procopio's partnership to a new four-year term on the firm's Management Committee! Congrats, Mindy.

Let's Work Together.