• Our Purpose
  • Overview
  • Our Approach
  • Core Values
• Our People

  Daniel Appelman Coleman Cannon Bill Graves Daniel Hansen Joseph Helmers Jan Lewis Sheila Maguire Gale McAllister John Montgomery Jonathan Noble Brianna Richardson Kerry Smith

• Our Practices

  Corporate and Securities Financing Transactions Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Venture Fund Representation Mergers & Acquisitions

John has practiced corporate law in Silicon Valley since 1984. John's experience includes extensive corporate counseling to public and private companies and venture capital firms. He has represented clients in connection with numerous venture capital financings, initial public offerings, public and private mergers and acquisitions, going private transactions and a variety of other general corporate matters.

John helps entrepreneurs turn concepts into companies using an approach distilled from successful, venture capital financed startups. This method combines traditional business disciplines with principles of organizational development, psychology and neuroscience to create values-based workplaces that inspire creativity, collaboration and cooperation. Morgan James Publishing will soon publish his book, Great from the Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success, which outlines how to apply the business secrets of Silicon Valley to build conscious corporations designed to attract success in an interdependent economy.

When not helping startup companies realize their potential, John assists companies in mergers and acquisitions. He has helped his clients buy and sell businesses in transactions involving companies such as Cisco, Marvell Semiconductor, Palm, Intuit, Google, Harman International, SonicWall and Dolby Laboratories. John's experience in having closed hundreds of M&A transactions empowers his clients to focus on the critical process of integrating the businesses and their people to ensure a successful outcome.

John was co-chair of the legal working group behind Assembly Bill 361 which recently established benefit corporations in California. Visionary California businesses, such as Patagonia, can now incorporate in, or convert to, a new form of corporation, the benefit corporation, that not only optimizes profits for shareholders but also provides a material positive impact on society and the environment. He previously served as a member of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar. In addition to being a frequent speaker on venture capital at such forums as the Future Salon, Haas School of Business, and NexGen, John has produced continuing education programs for SmartPros/Cognistar: Understanding the Venture Capital Term Sheet Process and Introduction to Venture Capital Financing Agreements.

Prior to co-founding M&H, John was the co-chairman of the venture capital practice at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP. Earlier in his career, John was an associate corporate attorney at Baker & McKenzie and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and an in-house attorney at The Cooper Companies, where he learned how clients think. He is also an accredited executive coach. John holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from Northwestern College of Law, Lewis & Clark College.