Our team of seasoned attorneys.

Noel Howe

Noel Howe has over 15 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 transaction, and numerous wireless operator, OEM, and other licensing transactions.

Noel received his 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.

Chris Bifone

Chris Bifone has been counseling established and emerging companies for over 20 years, in both in-house and external roles. During his career, he has worked with clients across a broad range of categories, including gaming, social networking, licensing, IT infrastructure, business development, business-process and technology outsourcing, telecommunications, application development, mergers and acquisitions, and more.

Chris joined Beacon Law from Corporate Counsel Solutions, PLLC, a technology-focused and boutique law practice based in Seattle. Prior to CCS, Chris worked at JPMorgan Chase, where he was vice president and assistant general counsel of the IP & Technology Law Group. Chris also supported their Global Technology Infrastructure group on a wide variety of technological matters, including the structuring and negotiation of software licensing, IT infrastructure, telecommunications, technology managed services, and domestic and offshore outsourcing agreements. Before that, Chris served as legal counsel and director of corporate development at Onvia. While there, he helped close the company’s mezzanine financing round, led them through a $230M initial public NASDAQ offering, and closed several private and public acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Chris was a lawyer in the Corporate and Securities practice at the San Diego and Palo Alto offices of Gray Cary (now DLA Piper).

Chris received his B.S. in business from Indiana University and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky School of Law, where he was associate editor of the Kentucky Law Journal. Chris is also a member of the California and Washington state bar associations. He lives in the Seattle neighborhood of Queen Anne with his wife and three young children.

John Gregory

John graduated in 1999 from Gonzaga University with a degree in Business Administration, concentrating on Finance and Operations Management. In 2006, he graduated from Willamette University College of Law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and an Editor of Willamette Law Online.

In 2011, John graduated from the University of Washington School of Law with an LLM in Intellectual Property Law & Policy, earning an Outstanding Student Award. Prior to joining Beacon Law, John practiced law at NW Venture Law, advising small technology start-ups on intellectual property protection and enforcement issues.

John is a member of the Washington State Bar, and admitted to practice in the Western and Eastern U.S. District Courts of Washington.

Bryce Counts

Bryce began working with startup companies in 2009. As a member of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law, he assisted first-time entrepreneurs with entity formation, securities, and tax issues.

Bryce received his B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from the University of Washington in 2006. In 2010, he received his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where he was Notes and Comments Editor of the Washington Law Review.

Bryce is currently completing his LL.M. in Taxation at the University of Washington School of Law, and is admitted to practice in Washington.

Ambur Hoffmann

Ambur graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2012, obtaining her JD with a focus in Business Law and the Law of Taxation. In 2011, while attending Seattle University, Ambur joined Beacon as a law clerk primarily assisting clients with new business formations and financings.

Prior to attending law school, Ambur gained experience working as a legal assistant for a business litigation firm (2006–2009), and as a consumer protection mediator at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office (2005–2006). Ambur is a graduate of Western Washington University with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Finance/Economics and a minor in Business Administration.

Ambur is admitted to practice in Washington and is a member of the Washington State and King County Bar Associations.