Paul B. Johnson

Paul B. Johnson's practice focuses on securities offerings and compliance, startup companies, venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and general business counseling.

Mr. Johnson has counseled some of San Diego's most successful public companies, including QUALCOMM, Invitrogen, Accredited Home Lenders, Barbeques Galore, Kintera and Jack-in-the-Box in corporate governance, SEC and NASDAQ compliance matters, public and private securities offerings and acquisitions. He has also guided a number of companies and investors through venture capital financings, including S5 Wireless, Senforce Technologies (acquired by Novell), Ascendent Telecommunications (acquired by RIM), Entropic, vSpring Capital, Enterprise Partners, Bay Partners, Kline Hawkes and Sigma Ventures. Mr. Johnson has also assisted a number of public and privately-held companies in mergers and acquisitions, including the recent purchase by a San Diego public life science company of a private technology company, the sale of Senforce Technologies to Novell, the sale of a privately-held digital content delivery company to an internationally-recognized movie and television distributor and the sale of a software company to Golden Gate Capital, as well as sales of San Diego-based companies to Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor and Titan.

Prior to joining Procopio, Mr. Johnson was a partner at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, where he practiced corporate and securities law, first in Palo Alto and then for the last seven years at the firm's San Diego office.

Mr. Johnson received his B.S. in business management (international finance) in 1992, and his M.B.A. in international finance and J.D., cum laude, in 1996, all from Brigham Young University. He served as articles editor of the law review at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. Currently, Mr. Johnson serves on the board of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Mr. Johnson also enjoys providing pro bono legal services to the 4S Ranch Little League.

Recent  Articles/Publications

• "The Current Economic Storm: Causes, Solutions, and Suggestions for Small Companies to Effectively Weather It," Private Equity and Venture Capital Trends in a Turbulent Economy: Leading Lawyers on Developing Strategic Alliances, Evaluating New Growth Opportunities, and Analyzing Short- and Long-Term Market Changes, Aspatore Books, June 2009
• "Weighing Exit Strategies", Interviewed by Leslie Stevens-Huffman, SmartBusiness San Diego, November 2007

Recent Seminars and Speeches

• “The Process of an Acquisition: Avoiding Common Early Mistakes that Can Derail an Exit (M&A and IPO),” Entrepreneur Forum: Procopio’s Winning Strategies for Start-Ups and Emerging Growth Companies, San Diego, CA, January 27, 2011
• " The Process of an Acquisition: A View from the Seller's Side.  LOI to Closing," October 28, 2010