Steven Lee

Steven K. Lee is a partner in Donahue Gallagher Woods LLP, where he specializes in business and corporate law and intellectual property law. He represents domestic and international clients in a variety of industries, including software companies, Web 2.0 companies, manufacturers, retailers, importers, food and beverage companies, wineries, construction and general contracting companies, real estate investors, authors, publishers, musicians, and other entrepreneurs and emerging companies. He handles a broad range of matters, such as formation of business entities, buy-sell agreements, private securities offerings, business mergers and acquisitions, license and distribution agreements, software development agreements, copyright and trademark enforcement, trade secret protection, and protecting rights of publicity. With his diverse experience, including in-house experience as Associate General Counsel at ABM Industries in San Francisco, Mr. Lee serves as outside general counsel to many of his clients. He structures and negotiates complex commercial transactions, including equity and debt financing transactions, technology licensing and transfers, and secured transactions involving copyrights and other intellectual property assets. Mr. Lee has negotiated settlements of copyright infringement claims on behalf of numerous software companies, recovering millions of dollars from infringers for his clients. He assists clients in selecting trademarks and in obtaining and maintaining registration of their marks, and he represents clients in trademark disputes. Mr. Lee has handled intellectual property matters and corporate transactions for entertainment industry clients such as Carlos Santana, Journey, Phish, Grateful Dead, and The String Cheese Incident. Mr. Lee graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Minor in Business Administration. He received his J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law in 1994, where he graduated cum laude and served as Editor to the Boston University International Law Journal. Mr. Lee is a member of the State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He has been actively involved with local business incubators and has given presentations at the Oakland Communications Technology Cluster and Contra Costa County Software Business Incubator on intellectual property and corporate issues. Mr. Lee sat on the Board of Directors and served as President for Rebuilding Together Oakland (formerly known as Christmas in April), a non-profit affiliate of a national organization that rehabilitates the homes of elderly and disabled low-income residents as well as non-profit community facilities. He received an AT&T Community Spotlight Award in recognition of his work with Rebuilding Together Oakland and continues to be actively involved with this organization. Mr. Lee currently serves on the Board of Directors of OASES, a non-profit organization that offers after-school and leadership programs to children of low-income families. For more information, visit www.donahue.com.