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Larry W. Nishnick

Larry W. Nishnick

Partner
Chair, Southern California Corporate and Securities
Managing Partner, San Diego office
San DiegoLos Angeles
About

Larry Nishnick focuses his practice on advising public companies on securities law compliance and reporting and corporate governance matters. He also represents public and private companies with mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions. His represents clients in a broad range of industries, including life sciences and healthcare, semiconductor, technology, sports, media, entertainment, consumer products and retail. Larry also advises venture capital and private equity firms, corporate and strategic investors and angel investors in connection with their investments.

Larry advises clients from the initial formation and early-stage fundraisings through later-stage venture capital and private equity financings to public company public company advisory services and capital market transactions, such as IPOs and follow-on offerings, PIPEs and convertible debt financings. Larry has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, collaborations and other strategic transactions. Larry is also highly experienced in securities law compliance, ESG and corporate governance matters.

Larry is Chair of the Southern California Corporate and Securities practice group for the Firm.

Areas of FocusConsumer Goods, Food and RetailCorporateEmerging Growth and Venture CapitalHealthcareLife SciencesMedia, Sport and EntertainmentMergers and AcquisitionsPublic Company AdvisoryTechnology
Bar admissionsCalifornia

EXPERIENCE

Larry’s experience is extensive with deals ranging from multi-billion dollar acquisitions to angel investments. His recent experience includes the following representation:   

  • Outside corporate and securities counsel to multiple public companies 
  • The Coca-Cola Company in its multi-billion dollar acquisition of BODYARMOR and various other  acquisitions, divestitures and investments, including in the beverage, milk, sports and technology industries
  • QUALCOMM in various strategic acquisitons and as primary outside counsel for governane and securities matters
  • ViaSat in its divistiture of assets and simultaneous investment of a private company acquiring a digital signal processing (DSP) business 
  • NuVasive in various strategic acquisitions and convertible debt financings
  • Maxwell Technologies in an exchange offer sale to Tesla
  • ResMed as outside corporate securities counsel
  • Cowen and Canaccord Genuity as joint-lead bookrunners for the Greenlane Holding initial public offering (IPO) and various follow-on offerings and financing transactions
  • Jack-in-the-Box as securities and corporate governance counsel 
  • Histogen in its reverse IPO and multiple financing transactions, including registered direct, PIPE and public offerings
  • BioFire Diagnostics sale to bioMérieux, including various ITAR, CFIUS and Department of Defense related matters
  • Investors in a sale of a minority interest in a Major League Baseball franchise
  • QuickFire Networks, a video encoding company, in its sale to Facebook
  • Daasity as outside general counsel and its venture capital led preferred stock financings 
  • A vast number of emerging growth companies in the various industries
Education
  • J.D., University of San Diego School of Law 1998
    cum laude
  • B.A., Economics, Washington & Jefferson College 1995
    cum laude

Awards

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Healthcare: Life Sciences (2019)
  • Next Generation Partner, Healthcare: Life Sciences (2017-2018)
Additional Awards
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for exceptional work in Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2025)
  • Recognized in San Diego 50: Making a Difference, as "50 of San Diego’s most influential leaders"
  • Recognized in San Diego 500: "Special Edition: The Most Influential People in San Diego," San Diego Business Journal (2020-2021)
  • Named to San Diego Business Journal’s Leaders of Influence in Law (2024)

Bylines

  • SEC adopts changes to "accredited investor" definition, September 1, 2020

Seminars

  • Author, DLA Piper Client Alert: SEC proposes changes to "accredited investor" definition
  • Panelist, "Proxy Statement Interactive Seminar, Corporate Governance Communications Strategies for Shareholder Engagement"
  • Panelist, "SEC Hot Topics Institute: Compensation"
  • Moderator, "Annual SEC Briefing: Corporate Governance Update"
  • Instructor, "DLA Piper: At What Cost"
  • Instructor, "EvoNexus Startup Week - Capitalizing Your Start-up Company"

Prior Experience

Before joining DLA Piper, Larry served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary to telecommunications company and as a general counsel at a specialty pharmaceuticals company. Based on these in-house executive positions, he gained valuable experience on day-to-day legal and business matters while managing worldwide legal operations and was responsible for worldwide business development, corporate services and operations.

Thanks to both his in-house and outside counsel experience, Larry approaches his practice as a business partner with his clients and is often viewed as an extension of his clients' existing management teams.

My latest insights

Publication

Fifth Circuit strikes Nasdaq board diversity rules

16 December 2024 .5 minute read

News

DLA Piper partners Larry Nishnick and Matt Schwartz named 2024 Leaders of Influence in Law...

29 October 2024 .1 minute read

Publication

SEC amends beneficial ownership reporting rules

16 October 2023 .25 minute read

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Connect

Phone

+1 858 677 1414
(Work, San Diego)
+1 310 595 3214
(Work, Los Angeles)
+1 858 752 2123
(Mobile)
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