Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has named partners Jocelyn Arel and Danielle Lauzon to its Top Women of Law list for 2021. This annual award honors exceptional female lawyers who are pioneers, educators, trailblazers and role models throughout the state of Massachusetts.
Arel is a partner in Goodwin's Technology Companies business unit and leads the firm’s Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) practice. She represents clients in all aspects of the SPAC lifecycle, and is known for her ability to provide counsel on the development of innovative structures and novel transactions, including: RA Capital’s Therapeutics Acquisition Corp. - the first warrantless SPAC in history; Ribbit Capital’s Ribbit LEAP, which used performance-based founder shares instead of traditional founder shares; and Open Lending in its $1.7 billion business combination with Nebula Acquisition Corporation that is considered the top-performing deSPAC transaction of all time.
Beyond her client work, Arel is a frequently sought-after industry expert who has shared her insights with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee and the CFA Institute. In the community, Arel has served as an outside general counsel to Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath), a nonprofit that disrupts poverty through direct services, advocacy, research and a global learning network.
Lauzon is a partner in Goodwin’s Technology Companies & Life Sciences groups and leader of the firm’s Business Law Department in Boston. A true strategic partner offering advice and corporate counseling to management teams and boards throughout the entire corporate lifecycle, many of Lauzon’s clients are at the forefront of breakthroughs designed to create life-saving therapies and battle incurable diseases. She recently represented pioneering eRNA platform Laronde on its $440 million Series B financing, clinical-stage cell therapy company AlloVir, Inc. on its upsized $317.7 million Nasdaq IPO, and cell and gene therapy biotech ElevateBio on its $525 million Series C financing.
Lauzon currently serves as co-chair of Goodwin’s groundbreaking PropSci practice, a global team of 300 Goodwin lawyers capable of addressing client needs at the busy intersection of the commercial real estate and life sciences industries. She has previously been recognized for excellence by The Legal 500 United States, which named her a key lawyer in Life Sciences.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly will honor Arel and Lauzon at an event in Boston on November 17.