Come hear the "exit" story . . . from "end to beginning!" This dinner and panel discussion event will begin with the exit stories--mistakes and mishaps that attorneys see when companies IPO, merge, get acquired, or, worst of all, get shut down. Then the panel will share their expertise on how to avoid these mishaps.

This is a critical session for any entrepreneur to attend to better plan and execute with the "end" in mind. You're going to put your blood, sweat, and tears into your venture. Why not minimize the chances of seeing your valuation lowered or incurring unneccessary expenses due to legal or structural mistakes, when it would have all been avoidable if you had done the right things much earlier on? There is a way to plan and execute to maximize valuation. Come here an experienced panel share their expertise and tell their stories from the trenches!

Join the Wharton Club of Northern California and the HBS Association of Northern California on Thursday, May 18th for dinner and a panel discussion as we present three experienced attorneys who will discuss:

- Choice of corporate entity (How are corporations, LLC's, and partnerships different in terms of tax, liability, and control?)
- Structuring the ownership (What are the core documents? What are the different types of equity and debt you can use?)
- Intellectual property (What are the differences between trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and trademarks? When does it make sense to use each? What can non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreements really do for you...and how enforceable are they really?)
- Buying/selling a business (Stock deal, asset deal, or merger--what's the difference, and how does a savvy businessperson best leverage these different options?)
- Investing in new or established entities (How to avoid conflicts of interest; choosing the form of investment; and formulating exit strategies...including Worst Case Scenarios.)

Register online for "Legal Planning for Entrepreneurs...Before the Storm Hits"
Date: Thursday, May 18th
Time: 6:30-7:00pm. Reception. 7:00-8:30pm. Dinner, Panel Discussion, and Q&A
Place: Michael's at Shoreline, 2960 Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View 94043
Fee: A buffet dinner is included with the registration fee. $25 each for WCNC members and their accompanied guest(s). $45 each for non-member alumni and other guests. $25 each for members of affiliate clubs. $10 additional after Monday, May 15th and for day-of-event registrations, if available. Cancellation after Monday, May 15th at the discretion of the WCNC.

Our panel will also:

- Share war stories with you from their combined decades of experience across thousands of clients as legal counsel.
- Help you spec out what's core to your business from a legal standpoint--as an entrepreneur, you can't afford to follow the same "cover everything" practices that your peers at IBM would likely use.
- Give you tools to identify potential hotspots where things can traditionally go wrong--things that are easily taken care of early in a company's history but only expensively and painfully later on.
- Cover the basics of Intellectual Property protection, enabling you to identify issues as they arise and pick the right time to engage your attorneys.
- Guide you on how to work efficiently and cost-effectively with your attorneys.
- Provide you a framework for evaluating--constantly--what you need.

PANELIST BIOS
Brian Coleman, Perkins Coie
Brian Coleman's practice emphasizes domestic and international patent and trademark prosecution, intellectual property counseling, start-up counseling and fundraising. In 1998, Brian co-founded the patent boutique of Hickman Stephens & Coleman, LLP, in Silicon Valley, which upon merger into Oppenheimer Wolffe and Donnelly, in 2000, consisted of offices in Palo Alto, CA; Campbell, CA; and Washington DC. Brian's experience also includes three years as a systems engineer and four years as a patent agent.

Albert Flor, Wendel Rosen
A partner in the firm's litigation and bankruptcy groups, Al handles a variety of complex civil litigation, commercial litigation, corporate reorganization and creditor's rights matters. Al also represents businesses, institutions and individuals in resolving other complex disputes, including asset securitization, competitive business practices, alter ego and fiduciary duty, operating agreement interpretation and commercial guarantees.

Chris Henrich, Damon & Morey
Christian J. Henrich is an Associate in Damon & Morey's Business and Corporate Department. He has advised clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies in connection with: mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; Delaware corporate law and corporate governance matters; corporate finance, including debt and equity offerings; cyberlaw and e-commerce; and not-for-profit corporate law. Chris has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and is the former COO of a software company that produced artificial intelligence solutions for the United States military.