Our team has sat where you sit. We've started companies, made them grow, navigated exits. This means we get your challenges and triumphs because we've been there.
Our team
Our team brings a wealth of experience across the board, tailoring our expertise to meet your business's unique journey. Collectively, with decades under our belts, we've partnered with a diverse array of sectors—from the foundational pillars of manufacturing, import/export, and construction enterprises to fine dining and hospitality to the dynamic worlds of professional services and cutting-edge tech startups.
Right from the get-go, whether you're sketching out your initial blueprint, navigating the challenges of the seed stage, scaling to new heights, or charting a course towards a successful exit, we're here every step of the way. Our background is as varied as the businesses we support, ensuring tailored, insightful guidance that evolves with you.
FOUNDER
Lisa Liu
Renowned for her innovative approach and tenacity, Lisa is a legal trailblazer sought after by startups seeking bold solutions for navigating the business landscape. With a background in finance, she adeptly combines financial acumen with legal expertise to empower clients for growth and prosperous exits. As a seasoned business and immigration attorney, Lisa offers a holistic perspective, understanding the complexities of her clients' business aspirations.
Lisa serves as trusted outside general counsel to a diverse array of clients across various industries, predominantly in the startup sphere. From corporate transactions and immigration matters to financing, media, privacy, M&A, licensing, and succession planning, she provides comprehensive guidance at every stage of development. Whether assisting with initial structuring or facilitating successful exit events, Lisa is committed to advocating for her clients' interests and shaping their business strategies with legal prowess.
Steeped In Finance and Law: Combining a wealth of experience in finance and law, Lisa's journey began in investment banking at Goldman Sachs before transitioning to roles in-house and with prestigious boutique law firms. Throughout her career, she has represented esteemed clients across a spectrum of corporate affairs. Lisa founded Sand Hill Law Group, where she values the opportunity to forge genuine connections with individuals from small- and medium-sized businesses. This setting allows her to offer tailored legal counsel that is both client-specific and uniquely impactful.
Extracurriculars: In addition to her client-focused endeavors, Lisa extends her business acumen and problem-solving ethos to address significant community challenges. She serves on the board of advisors for Choir, a diversity-tech startup aimed at amplifying the voices of people of color, women, and non-binary professionals in media through technology. Lisa is also an angel investor and contributes as a limited partner in How Women Invest, a venture capital firm reshaping the investment landscape by prioritizing funding for female-founded and female-led technology enterprises, particularly those led by women of color. Through these roles, she champions impactful solutions and drives positive change beyond the confines of traditional legal practice.
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Technology company: As outside general counsel, Lisa oversees negotiations on all transactions and solves any problems that arise in day-to-day operations, as well as in executing on its long-term development strategies, including advising the company on transactions expected to double its roughly $350M value.
Medical equipment company: Since its initial formation, Lisa has served as outside general counsel to this company, founded by a serial entrepreneur in the athletic recovery space. Taking the company through start-up, she recently assisted in its latest $5M funding round and is helping the company position for a potential acquisition.
Online retailer: Serving as outside general counsel since 2014, Lisa handles the full range of legal matters from corporate governance and business agreements to intellectual property matters. She recently led the company’s $12M funding and financing transactions and helped it acquire two companies and multiple brands. She assisted with a $6M equity raise and $6M debt facility, all while retaining more than 80% ownership and control for the company’s founders – quite a feat in the emerging growth arena.
Nonprofit association: As outside general counsel for this organization, Lisa handles nearly all its legal needs, including helping the group digitally transition from an in-person format to a purely digital and virtual organization due to the COVID pandemic and ensuring compliance with respect to privacy and digital operations.
Private equity firm: Lisa acts as outside counsel for a private equity firm focused on SaaS companies. Not only does she work with many of their portfolio companies, she helps the firm structure their holdings and investments.Description text goes here
Venture capital firm: Lisa acts as outside general counsel for a venture capital firm aimed at investment in disruptive cross-border technology startups. She acts as outside general counsel for many of their portfolio companies.
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Buyer’s Counsel: Lisa served as buyer’s counsel in the $5M acquisition of a company, closing the deal in a record time of only three weeks.
Seller’s Counsel: For an advertising technology company, after serving as outside general counsel and helping them grow from a small team of 7 to more than 50 employees, Lisa shepherded the company through the sale of their assets.
Shareholder Buyout: Serving as the company’s lead counsel, Lisa stepped in to assist in this shareholder buyout that had stalled for nearly a year. Within two months, she spearheaded negotiation of the terms of the buyout in a deal that was half of what was offered previously.
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Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Corporate Law, 2024
The American Lawyer, Trailblazers West, 2021
Recognized in Northern California Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2021-2023)
Recognized in Northern California Super Lawyers “Rising Stars,” Thomson Reuters (2017 – 2019)
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Professional:
-American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Member
-ProVisors, Member
-Choir, Board of Advisors
-QuickHaven, Board of Directors
-How Women Invest, Limited Partner
Community:
-Board of Palo Alto Menlo Park Parents’ Club, Legal Director
-Rotary International (Palo Alto University Rotary), Member
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Admissions:
-The State Bar of California
-The State Bar of New York
Education:
-J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law
-M.Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science, European Political Economy
-B.A.Tufts University, Japanese and International Relations with a concentration in International Finance
SENIOR COUNSEL
Caleb Stevens
Caleb specializes in providing comprehensive legal guidance to small to mid-sized businesses across various industries. With a focus on business law, real estate law, and corporate transactions, Caleb assists startups and established companies alike in the United States and beyond. His areas of expertise include corporate structuring, corporate governance, venture capital, startup law and the drafting of diverse contracts and legal documents. These include service level agreements, master service agreements, licensing agreements, executive compensation arrangements, consulting and employee agreements, non-disclosure agreements, asset purchase agreements, and regulatory filings, among others.
Prior to his current legal practice, Caleb accrued valuable experience in public interest law. He served as a legal advisor to the Republic of Liberia Land Commission and contributed as a Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow with First Defense Legal Aid in Chicago.
Beyond his legal pursuits, Caleb is an avid traveler with a passion for exploring the world. Having ventured to over 40 countries across six continents, he brings a global perspective to his work.
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-The Legal History of Public Land in Liberia, Journal of African Law (2014)-Hunting a Dictator as a Transnational Legal Process, Pace International Law Review (2012)
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Professional:
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Community:
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Admissions:
-The State Bar of New York
Education:
-LLM, Geneva Graduate Institute
-JD, University of Illinois College of Law
-BA, Illinois Wesleyan University
SENIOR COUNSEL
Sarah Walkington
With over two decades of experience as a registered attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Sarah M. Walkington is a seasoned authority in intellectual property law. Sarah's journey through prominent Chicago-based law firms and in-house counsel roles has equipped her with invaluable insights into her clients' diverse needs. She serves a broad spectrum of clientele, from entrepreneurs and business leaders to inventors, designers, content creators, influencers, and online retailers.
Sarah's approach is deeply personal, aiming to establish genuine connections with her clients. By delving into their objectives and immediate requirements, she tailors her strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Sarah is committed to demystifying intellectual property laws, offering clear explanations and candid assessments of potential outcomes, costs, and timelines. This empowers her clients to navigate their IP matters with confidence and clarity.
Her expertise encompasses a wide array of IP services, including patent, trademark, and copyright preparation, prosecution, transactions, and enforcement. Whether you need assistance in identifying and securing your intellectual property assets or resolving infringement concerns, Sarah's comprehensive knowledge and steadfast guidance ensure that your valuable assets are protected and leveraged effectively.
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[Coming Soon]
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Professional:
[Coming Soon]
Community:
[Coming Soon]
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Admissions:
-The State Bar of Illinois
Education:
-JD, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
-BS, University of Iowa
OF COUNSEL
Stephanie Corinna Smith
Stephanie has traveled significantly throughout South America, Asia, and Europe. She enjoys the practice of immigration law because it allows her to live in the Bay Area while continuing to meet talented people from all over the world. In 2016, Ms. Smith was named a Rising Star in Northern California by Super Lawyers for excellence in immigration law. She was also named a Future Leader in corporate immigration in 2021 by Who's Who Legal.
Stephanie has extensive experience counseling companies and non-profit organizations in obtaining non-immigrant visa status and permanent residency for essential foreign workers. Stephanie has particular expertise assisting employers as they hire and retain foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, and business. Stephanie is also a licensed marriage and family therapist, and works with lawyers and other professionals in managing anxiety and preventing burn-out.