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Chris Hurley has been working with technology startups for over 12 years. Chris began his career as a corporate lawyer with Gray Cary in Palo Alto in 1993 advising technology start-ups in all aspects of their business. In 1998, Chris moved to Seattle and joined Venture Law Group as a senior attorney working intimately with his technology startup clients. During his career, Chris has worked closely with over 40 technology startups, closed over 60 private placement financings (mostly company-side; some investor-side), closed over 25 acquisitions (mostly sell-side; many buy-side), closed countless licensing and distribution deals, and closed over 8 IPOs (mostly issuer-side; some underwriter-side). Chris has worked with networking companies, software companies, medical device companies, wireless companies, biotech companies, internet companies, and media companies, among others.

In August, 2000, Chris joined one of his clients, a mobile software company, as Chief Operating Officer/Interim CFO and employee number 3. This company was unfunded at the time. Chris was instrumental in raising $7.5 million in angel and VC funding in a very difficult fundraising environment. The Company successfully closed its sale to a Canadian public company in October 2003.

Chris received his B.A. in Classics (magna cum laude) from the University of New Hampshire, his J.D. (cum laude) from Boston College Law School, his M.B.A. in Finance from Boston University's Graduate School of Management, and his LLM in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law. Chris is a member of the California and Washington bars.

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Van Katzman brings a pragmatic, business-centric approach in counseling companies and senior management teams, honed through nearly twelve years of experience in legal, strategic and operational roles in both Fortune 500 and start-up companies. During that span, he has negotiated countless transactions, helped companies raise capital (venture, angel, and senior debt), spearheaded mergers and acquisitions, forged business development opportunities, drafted strategic business plans, counseled companies on employment, regulatory, and ethical issues, managed complex litigation, and served as a trusted sounding board to several CEOs.

Van’s legal career began with Perkins Coie in Seattle, where he practiced litigation and regulatory counseling. In 1996, he transitioned to the business sector, co-owning and managing Communicore, a 20-person technology consulting firm in Seattle, focused on accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies to enhance the quality of healthcare and the environment. From 1998-2001, Van served as Assistant General Counsel for Waste Management, a $15 billion company, where he helped manage all legal affairs for the Western United States. In 2001, Van joined Fishmonger.com (later WorldCatch) as Vice President of Business Development and General Counsel, and helped guide the company in its transition from B2B marketplace to a bricks-and-mortar operating seafood company.

Van received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, holds a masters degree in environmental policy from George Washington University, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was associate editor of the Virginia Law Review and Order of the Coif.

Van serves on the board of MarketSense, Inc., and Parent Trust for Washington Children.

Representative/ Significant Transactions:

• $2.5M in Series A round venture financing for SeaMobile, Inc.
• Raised approximately $15M in Series A, B, and C round venture financings for Fishmonger.com and Worldcatch, Inc.
• Structuring, due diligence, and negotiations for sale of Worldcatch assets to several purchasers
• Negotiated and drafted $100M municipal franchise agreement with the City of Seattle for the provision of residential solid waste, recycling, and yard debris services
• Negotiated and drafted $90M agreement with El Dorado County (CA) for the collection, processing, and disposal of solid waste, recyclables, and yard debris
• Successfully negotiated and drafted municipal franchise agreements with cities of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Guadalupe, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, and numerous others.

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Noel Howe has over thirteen years of experience helping public and private technology companies achieve their strategic and tactical goals. During his career, Noel has closed numerous private equity financings (mostly company-side), M&A transactions, and commercial/licensing agreements. In addition to his extensive transactional experience, Noel has advised senior management on corporate governance, equity compensation, employment, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, protecting intellectual property and other strategic matters. Noel has worked with companies in a variety of industries including software, wireless, biotech, medical devices, e-commerce and Internet. Noel always strives to provide practical advice that meets management’s goals.

Noel started his career in 1995 at Gray Cary/DLA Piper in San Diego as a member of the Corporate and Securities and Intellectual Property and Technology practice groups. In 1999, Noel moved to Seattle and joined Venture Law Group/Heller Ehrman where he worked almost exclusively with venture-backed technology start-ups. In 2002, Noel joined Corixa Corporation (a public biotech company) where he spent the next three years working closely with the senior management team on a wide variety of corporate and commercial transactions, managing ’34 Act reporting and compliance, protecting the company’s intellectual property assets, advising the sales and marketing groups, and closing numerous licensing and commercial transactions. After Corixa was acquired in 2005, Noel took a senior management position at Melodeo, Inc. (a venture backed wireless start-up) where he was Vice President and General Counsel. In addition to fulfilling his role as a member of the senior management team, Noel helped Melodeo close a China joint venture, a financing, and numerous wireless operator, OEM and other licensing transactions.

Noel received is B.S. in Geological Sciences (with Honors) from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1990 and his J.D. from University of California at Davis in 1995. Noel is a member of the Washington and California State bars. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons.

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Tim McLaughlin practices corporate law, tax law, and estate planning. Throughout his career, Tim has advised both non-profit and for profit companies (public and private), as well as individuals on business and tax issues including: entity choice and formation (corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships), mergers and acquisitions, entity governance, succession planning and general business transactions.

Tim received his B.A. in History from Columbia University, his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, and his L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Washington. Tim is a member of the Washington State Bar, the American Bar Association, and is authorized to practice before the U.S Tax Court.

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Pauline counsels clients on a variety of general corporate issues with an emphasis in corporate governance, employment and licensing issues. Prior to joining Beacon Law Advisors, Pauline worked in both small start-ups and large publicly traded corporate environments in both traditional legal roles as an attorney and operational roles as a human resource manager, including Sproqit Technologies, Inc.

Pauline received her B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in 1994, and her J.D. from Seattle University in 1999. She is a member of the Washington bar.

Some specific issues Pauline counsels clients on include:

• Corporate and LLC formation and organization
• Employment, consulting, and other personnel agreements
• Asset purchases and mergers
• Angel, venture capital, and bridge financing
• Software licensing and distribution
• Trademarks

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Mary has over 15 years experience in the area of corporate law. Prior to Beacon Law Advisors, Mary worked at Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman LLP. She has assisted private corporations and limited liability companies with both formation and corporate maintenance issues such as employment agreements, license agreements and stock option administration. Mary’s transactional experience includes her involvement in debt financings, equity financings, and a number of mergers and acquisitions. Mary’s public company experience includes assistance with a number of initial public offerings, as well as attending to general corporate matters and preparing and coordinating SEC compliance filings for officers and stock holders including managing Section 16 filings and 144 opinion letters.

Mary received her B.S. in Psychology from Lewis & Clark College in 1987, and her J.D. from Seattle University in 1992. Mary is currently a member of the Washington State Bar (inactive status).

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