Richard McDerby

Richard McDerby leads the venture capital and emerging companies group at Manatt and heads the firm’s San Francisco office.

His practice spans the full array of corporate and commercial matters that midsize businesses and emerging growth companies encounter—including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital financing, and business transactions—as well as outside general counsel services.

Guiding business owners and senior managers to develop transaction strategies, Rich provides practical business advice—not just rigid legal advice—to his clients.

Skilled in advising startup and venture-backed companies through all stages of the complex and evolving life cycle, from formation and funding through strategic sales, Rich has acted for midsize companies in large, complex mergers and acquisitions. He has also successfully managed teams of attorneys working on time-critical transactions, and has worked on transactions across North America as well as in England and Australia.

Prior to joining Manatt, Rich was a founding partner at a San Francisco-based boutique business law firm serving emerging growth and midsize businesses in corporate and commercial transactions. Earlier, Rich ran a law firm in San Francisco and, prior to that, worked as a corporate/commercial group attorney for a top-tier national law firm in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.