Michael Kimball

Michael Kimball’s practice focuses on corporate formations, mergers and acquisitions, venture financing, commercial transactions and security and privacy matters. Working in High-Tech, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), AdTech, Open Source and Social Media arenas, his clients include VC Funds, highly visible emerging growth companies, and companies ranging from small private firms with fewer than 15 employees to multinational public companies.

Prior to starting his own practice in 2007 and his affiliation with Athena Law, Michael spent six years as a senior member of the Yahoo! legal team and played a key role in negotiating many of Yahoo!’s technology deals and strategic alliances.

Before joining Yahoo!, Michael served as senior licensing attorney, supporting worldwide sales and business development at Commerce One, helping to seal key strategic alliances and supported the company’s sales and marketing strategy. He was instrumental in closing transactions with Deutsche Telecom, Asia Trade Alliance, SAP Markets, Compaq, Accenture, PWC, Sun Microsystems and several key marketplaces of the Global Trading Web.

Prior to his legal career, he served as a naval officer on the nuclear attack submarine USS William H. Bates (SSN-680), where he was instrumental in oceanographic research and training missions, as a staff instructor at the Naval Nuclear Training Unit in Idaho Falls, ID, and after leaving the service, in the wafer fab industry.

Michael and his wife Dawn have three grown children; they moved to Sonoma with Ollie, their yellow lab, in 2011. Aside from his professional life, Michael’s personal interests include skiing, cycling, restoring an Alfa Romeo, and enjoying good wine and good food.

(Not admitted to practice in Texas.)

• AME Cloud Ventures (Jerry Yang)
• Anheuser Busch
• Apple
• AppNexus
• BBC
• BlueKai
• CapitalOne
• Coke
• Disney
• Dow Corning
• eBay
• Equifax
• Expedia
• Facebook
• General Electric
• Goldman Sachs
• Google
• Hershey
• JetBlue
• JPMorganChase
• LesConcierges
• Lockheed Martin
• Microsoft
• Morado Ventures
• Morgan Stanley
• NASDAQ
• Oracle
• Salesforce
• Stepladder Ventures
• Turner Broadcasting
• Uber
• United Parcel Services
• Vet-Tech Ventures
• Walmart
• Yahoo!

• General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Board Member of the Sonoma Valley Boys and Girls Club
• Counsel to Sonoma Splash
• Counsel to Vet-Tech Ventures
• Director of the Silicon Valley chapter of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association
• Volunteer Firefighter with the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority
• Wounded Warrior Project
• Rotary International
• Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance