Practice Areas & Industries: Holme Roberts & Owen LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Technology-based companies worldwide face the special challenges of raising early-stage capital, protecting and exploiting critical technology, and managing the problems that arise from rapid growth in revenue and workforce. We partner with our technology clients as they take their businesses from inception to a growing concern. We value close relationships with our clients, and understand the concerns of growing companies.

Services Available

Lawyers in our group have experience in a wide range of industries, including computer hardware and software, Internet products, biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, scientific instruments, environmental remediation, and organic foods.

HRO’s emerging technology and venture finance practice group comprises a team of corporate, intellectual property, technology transactions, outsourcing executive compensation, employment and tax lawyers who regularly represent entrepreneurs, technology and growth companies, and their professional investors.

Early-Stage and Venture Capital Financing

The group regularly handles early-stage and venture capital investments, ranging from the smaller initial investments to hundred million dollar later stage rounds. We represent founders, companies, individual investors, and venture capital funds.

Technology Development, Licensing and Protection

Technology is the foundation of many growth companies, and properly developing, acquiring, commercializing and protecting that technology’s associated intellectual property is often critical for success. The emerging technology and venture finance practice group has the lawyers clients need to fully utilize their key technology. The group's intellectual property lawyers not only assist clients in the creation of intellectual property rights, including prosecuting patents and registering trademarks and copyrights, but they assist clients in enforcing their intellectual property rights, including litigating when necessary. Lawyers in the group are also regularly involved in complex, technology-related transactions, including development, licensing, distribution, strategic partnership and outsourcing relationships.

HRO’s patent prosecutors have extensive experience with patent applications in a number of fields, including the following: data storage, biomedical instrumentation, telecommunications, chemical processes, computer hardware, software, computer peripherals, electronics, e-commerce, integrated circuits, optics, spectroscopy, and pharmaceuticals.

Mergers & Acquisitions

We assist clients in US and international merger and acquisition transactions, whether the client is the acquiring company or is being acquired. We are recognized both nationally and internationally for our M&A capabilities, and our insights reflect the substantial experience and expertise of our seasoned deal professionals. Chambers & Partners ranked HRO as number one among Colorado law firms in the category of Corporate/M&A on June 1, 2005. HRO was also ranked 8th nationally in the first quarter of 2005 among the top M&A advisers.

R&D Financing and Joint Ventures

We have represented clients in technology-based businesses in a number of "strategic partnerships" designed to develop and commercialize proprietary technology and in privately-placed research and development partnerships. We regularly assist our clients in structuring and implementing creative collaborations with others having complementary technology, marketing capabilities and other resources, both domestically and internationally.

Securities Law

Raising capital is often the single most important factor in a company’s success. The group has significant experience with initial public offerings, private placements, tender offers, exchange offers, securities filings, and other securities transactions typically used to finance emerging technology and venture finance companies. In addition, although our emerging technology and venture finance group focuses on emergent clients, we are able to call on other securities law practitioners at HRO who engage in a wide variety of matters for a diverse and large set of clients, ranging from large international public companies to smaller private firms. HRO acts as issuer's and underwriter's counsel in public offerings of common stock, preferred stock, debt, limited partnership interests, and other securities. The firm has substantial experience in the preparation of registration statements and prospectuses, private placement memoranda, and other disclosure documents and regularly represents clients before the SEC.

Employment and Compensation

Through HRO’s employment lawyers, the group offers start-up companies throughout the world the resources of one of the largest employment and benefits legal departments in Colorado, capable of providing multi-jurisdictional experience, as well as employment advice on UK and German matters. HRO handles a wide range of employment matters such as employment policies and agreements (including protection of intellectual property), employment advice and litigation, and advice in specialized areas such as ERISA. We regularly advise clients on benefits issues such as the design and implementation of stock option and stock ownership plans, qualified retirement plans, and incentive compensation plans and executive compensation.

International Law and Tax

HRO offers specialized international tax advice and advice in establishing international operations and joint ventures and international technology development arrangements.