DLA Piper adds ex-Granite Ventures MD to team

Global law firm DLA Piper has hired Tom Furlong to join its corporate practice. Most recently, Furlong was a managing director at Granite Ventures.

PRESS RELEASE

March 26, 2015 – DLA Piper announced today that Tom Furlong has joined the firm’s Corporate practice in its Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices.

Furlong, who earlier in his career was a longtime corporate partner in Silicon Valley with DLA Piper’s predecessor firm Gray Cary, was most recently a managing director at Granite Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies.
During his 13-year tenure with Granite, Furlong led numerous investments, including the firm’s highest multiple exit, and worked closely as a board member and advisor to portfolio companies. He was also a key participant in raising two of Granite’s funds. Prior to Granite, Furlong served as vice president and general counsel at Zhone Technologies, a telecommunications networking equipment company, where he led the company’s $500 million Series A financing, then the largest of its kind, completed four acquisitions, and established the company’s legal department.

“We are excited to have Tom return to the firm and help serve the venture capital and technology community he knows so well,” said Ed Batts, co-chair of the firm’s Northern California Corporate practice. “Many of our partners have worked with him in the past and know his passion for helping both venture-backed and publicly traded companies achieve their potential.”

“Tom’s experience as a corporate lawyer, general counsel and venture capitalist is a tremendous asset for our technology clients, and his practical, client-centric approach to legal matters aligns perfectly with our approach at DLA Piper,” said Eric Wang, co-chair of the firm’s Northern California Corporate practice.

Furlong is the most recent addition to DLA Piper in Northern California, following the hiring of outsourcing lawyer Adam Sak and venture capital lawyer Jonathan Axelrad in January, as well as Daniel Cooperman, former general counsel with Apple and Oracle, in December.

Furlong received his J.D. from Northwestern University and his B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper is a global law firm with 4,200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.