Paul Swegle is an experienced business and transactional attorney who enjoys collaborating with business teams to build, fund, launch and market innovative products, services and technologies. Paul is the author of the Amazon best seller, Contract Drafting and Negotiation for Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals and he is just preparing to publish a law and business school text book titled "Startup Law and Fundraising for Entrepreneurs and Startup Advisors."
Paul's business law blog can be found at www.StartupGC.us.
Paul has a strong background in corporate governance, compliance, contracts, employment law, intellectual property, litigation management, dispute resolution, public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions and SEC reporting. Paul's legal and business experience spans many industries, including fintech, e-commerce, Internet marketplaces, gig economy, SaaS, social media marketing, retail tech, financial services, manufacturing, medical and health devices and natural resources.
Paul currently serves as in-house General Counsel to three companies, Newyu, Inc., Observa, Inc., and P2 Solutions Group, Inc.
As Of Counsel to Kinsel Law Offices, he handles a wide variety of other projects for other clients in areas such as corporate governance, company formation, mergers and acquisitions, finance, commercial agreements, employment law, intellectual property and litigation.
From 2000 to June 2012, Paul Swegle served as General Counsel for ShareBuilder Corporation. In that role he was responsible for managing all of the company's and subsidiaries' legal affairs and advising the board and management team on all areas of law. From November 2008 to June 2012, he was also a member of the ING Direct Management Team. Paul helped grow ShareBuilder from startup to Capital One subsidiary. Among other things, he provided critical legal and regulatory support for two acquisitions totaling $9.7 billion and five complex private equity offerings totaling $60 million.
Before joining ShareBuilder, Paul served as director of law at Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (NYSE: PCL), one of the largest timber companies in the U.S. At Plum Creek, Paul provided legal and regulatory support for SEC and NYSE reporting, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, major litigation and government relations. He began his career with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, where he spent five years investigating, litigating and prosecuting a wide variety of securities cases. In addition, he served two appointments with the Department of Justice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney to prosecute securities cases. He transferred to the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance in 1994, where he served as a senior attorney advisor reviewing hundreds of initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions and other SEC matters.
Paul serves as an Adjunct Law Professor at Seattle University School of Law, teaching his own class called "Counseling Startups: Law, Regulation and Fundraising". He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Corporate Counsel Section of the Washington State Bar Association ("WSBA"), serves on the WSBA's Securities Law Committee and also serves on the WSBA's governing body, the WSBA Board of Governors. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Seattle University School of Law's Innovation and Technology Law, LL.M. Program. Paul was voted Corporate Counsel of the Year in 2012 by the Puget Sound Business Journal. He is also a past-President of the Bellevue College Foundation, serves on the board of the Alliance for Pioneer Square and serves as Co-chair of the Cystic Fibrosis StairClimb in Seattle.
Areas of Practice:
- Company formation, fundraising, and governance
- Mergers, acquisitions and financing transactions
- Contract drafting and negotiation, including commercial and licensing agreements
- Dispute resolution
- Corporate governance
- Securities law
- Financial industry regulation
- Data privacy and related regulatory matters
- Employment law matters
- Intellectual property
- Marketing and promotions law
- E-commerce
Admitted:
- Washington State Bar Association
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
Education:
- University of Washington School of Law, 1988
- University of Washington, B.A., Political Science; Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Activities, Presentations, and Awards:
- "Startup Law and Fundraising for Entrepreneurs and Startup Advisors" - April 2020
- "Contract Drafting and Negotiation" - Seattle, June 2018
- "Blockchain Law and Regulation" - Seattle University School of Law, April 2018
- "Preventing Corporate Misconduct" - 2018 Corporate Counsel Institute
- "Intellectual Property Portfolio Management Strategies" - IP Summit, May 2017
- "Equity Crowdfunding Update" - NW Securities Law Institute, May 19, 2017
- "Securities Laws Enter the Digital Age" - Seattle University School of Law, March 22, 2017
- "Business Law and Fundraising for Startups" - Business Law Seminar Group, Dec 2016
- "Working with Startups" - Corporate Counsel Section Panel Discussion, March 2016
- "Preparing a Company for a Financing or Sale" - NWLawyer Magazine, July 2015
- "Ethics Issues for In-House Transaction Counsel" - NWLawyer Magazine, March 2015
- "Contract Drafting and Negotiation" - Ballard Labs Incubator, 2014
- "Fixing and Preventing Problems in the Board Room" - NWLawyer Magazine, 2014
- "Fixing Dysfunctional Boards" - 2013 Corporate Counsel Institute
- "2012 Corporate Counsel of the Year" - Puget Sound Business Journal
- "Crowdfunding Under the Jobs Act" - The Seminar Group, 2012
- "Ethics for Corporate Counsel" - CLE Seminar, Spokane, 2012
- "Seminar Chair and Presenter" - 2011 Corporate Counsel Institute
- "Writing Success for In-House Counsel" - BarNews Magazine, February 2012
- "The Role of In-house Counsel" - Seattle University School of Law, 2009
- "Learning from Survivors of the Last Tech Bust" - Venture Capital Financing, 2009
- "Preventing Harassment in the Workplace" - ING DIRECT, 2009
- "Contract Drafting and Negotiation" - Washington Lawyers for the Arts, 2009
- "Ethics for In-house Counsel" - Corporate Counsel Institute, 2009
- "Getting the Most from Outside Counsel" - Corporate Counsel Section, 2008