William E. Growney, Jr.

Bill Growney, a partner in Goodwin’s Technology & Life Sciences group, focuses his practice on advising technology and other start-up companies through their full corporate life-cycle. He also represents numerous venture capitalists in their portfolio investments. With more than 20 years’ experience working in the Bay Area, as both in-house and outside counsel, Bill advises on matters involving financing, M&A, corporate governance, licensing/IP and privacy and data security (he is certified by IAPP as an information privacy professional). For the past 15 years he has held senior leadership, management and legal roles for various start-ups, including for entities focused on personalized shopping, online music and social media. Bill joined Goodwin in 2015.

Bill also is co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis practice.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Bill was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of RichRelevance, a global leader in omnichannel personalization, where he was responsible for all aspects of RichRelevance’s business and legal affairs. Previously, he served as Vice President, Business Affairs and General Counsel of imeem, a leading social media company, where he was responsible for securing the world’s first on-demand, ad-supported music licenses from the major labels and music publishers. Before that, Bill was General Counsel of Napster (formerly Roxio, Inc.), a publicly traded provider of online music subscription services and retail and OEM software products. He was primarily responsible for Napster’s corporate governance, SEC and M&A matters; managing the legal team; and negotiating and executing strategic business development agreements.

Prior to his work in-house, Bill was associated with Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP in Menlo Park, California, where he focused on corporate, securities and M&A law.

Bill served over 10 years in the military reserves with the United States Marine Corps and the California Army National Guard.

Bill and his practice have been profiled in the Daily Journal and in the San Francisco Business Times/Silicon Valley Business Journal, which selected him as a finalist for 2014 Bay Area General Counsel of the Year. He has also been named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Who’s Who in Intellectual Property Law and recognized by The Legal 500 United States for his work in the venture capital and technology transactions areas. He has also been recognized by The Legal 500 United States for his work in Cannabis.