PALO ALTO, Calif.– Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, announced today that Karen Deschaine has joined the firm’s corporate department as a partner in the San Diego office. Deschaine has an established corporate practice focused on representing life sciences clients, particularly biotechnology and therapeutics companies. Her addition reflects Wilson Sonsini’s successful and ongoing efforts to expand its corporate life sciences practice.
Over the course of 15-plus years, Deschaine has developed a sophisticated “company-building” corporate life sciences practice. She has handled private financings, public offerings, corporate governance, commercial transactions, strategic transactions, securities matters, and the general representation of public and private companies. Deschaine has successfully represented clients—which range from start-ups to public companies—throughout their life cycles, from formation to exit.
Deschaine has a proven track record of cultivating longstanding relationships with leading life sciences companies and venture funds. She is well known in the San Diego business community—one of the preeminent life sciences markets in the U.S.—but she also represents clients throughout California and in top U.S. markets.
“We continue to advance in our strategic efforts to expand our corporate life sciences practice, and Karen’s addition in San Diego, a leading life sciences market, is another stride forward,” said Doug Clark, managing partner at Wilson Sonsini. “Karen’s impressive practice includes working with both promising start-ups and leading public companies, and she has established strong ties to venture funds and other key players in the industry. We are excited to welcome her to the firm.”
Including Deschaine, Wilson Sonsini has expanded its corporate life sciences practice during the past year with the addition of several partners and senior-level attorneys who have substantial transactional and regulatory experience. Also, in recent years, the firm has completed hundreds of public offerings and M&A transactions on behalf of life sciences clients with a combined value of more than $85 billion and represented such clients in over 1,100 venture financing rounds totaling more than $11 billion. The firm has also counseled hundreds of life sciences clients on strategic commercial collaborations.
“Karen brings to our firm a wealth of experience and key connections that are of immense value to our life sciences clients. She’s accomplished so many things during the 15-plus years she’s spent representing start-ups, public companies, and venture funds,” said Allison Spinner, head of the corporate department at Wilson Sonsini. “We’re really pleased that we’ve been successful in our efforts to expand our corporate life sciences reach, and we also are very happy to welcome Karen, who has become such a success story on her own, based on her work with clients and her work in the business and legal community.”
In 2020, Deschaine was named among the San Diego Business Journal’s “Leaders in Law” in the M&A category. In addition, San Diego Metro Magazine named her to its list of “Women Who Impact San Diego” in 2014 and its top “40 Under 40” in 2011. Deschaine also was recognized among the San Diego Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” in 2011 and received a Pinnacle Award from Athena San Diego in 2009.
“Wilson Sonsini has a robust reputation tied to its Silicon Valley roots, and a well-known legacy of representing life science start-ups and nurturing companies into successful, established entities,” said Deschaine. “I look forward to working with the team in San Diego and nationally to help Wilson Sonsini continue to cement its position as a leading provider to life sciences companies and investors.”
Wilson Sonsini represents a range of start-up and established life sciences clients that fall into several sectors, including drug discovery; biotech, genomics, and proteomics; screening and diagnostics; medical devices and supplies; pharmaceuticals; health services; and agtech and foodtech. The firm’s clients include research institutions, start-up accelerators and incubators, and the venture capital funds and banks that invest in life sciences companies.
Before joining Wilson Sonsini, Deschaine was a partner at Cooley LLP. She joined that firm’s San Diego office in 2007, and was named partner in 2016.
Deschaine received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2007, an M.B.A. from Auburn University in 2001, and a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1997. Prior to attending law school, she served as a captain in the U.S. Army and commanded two companies.
