William D'Angelo, III

Client Work

Media and Entertainment

William is skilled at handling large-scale and complex transactions for media and entertainment companies, including mergers and acquisitions, equity investments and financing transactions — often in combination. For example, in the entertainment space, William has represented the mini-major production company Veritas Entertainment Group LLC, Zoom Entertainment, and E Line Ventures LLC, among others in complex financings.

Merger and Acquisitions

William represents buyers and sellers of businesses and other participants in various mergers and acquisition transactions. Representative matters include:

• Representation of Powerset, Inc. in its sale to Microsoft Corporation.
• Representation of Calista Technologies, Inc. in its sale to Microsoft Corporation.
• Representation of FanLib, Inc. in its sale to the Walt Disney Company.
• Representation of North American Central School Bus Holding LLC in its sale to HIG Capital.
• Representation of Local Seed Company in its sale to GDM.
• Representation of Pella Corporation in its acquisition of Glass Tech, Inc.
• Representation of University of Massachusetts in its acquisition of Brandman University.
• Representation of eHarmony, Inc. in numerous acquisitions, including Projectwedding.com.
• Representation of Trend Technologies, Inc. in its sale of its US and Malaysian operations to UK-based private equity firm Doughty Hanson, P.C.
• Representation of Furuno Electric Co, Ltd. (public Japanese company) in its acquisition of eRide, Inc.
• Representation of Chuo-Kagaku, Ltd. (Japan) in its sale of a U.S.-based operational subsidiary.
• Representation of RockYou, Inc. in several acquisitions of casual gaming companies (including U.K.-based) for the Facebook platform.
• Representation of David Cooley in an acquisition of bar property adjacent to the Abbey.
• Representation of The Ranch at Malibu in connection with Italian Property Acquisition.
• Representation of Bay Area Youth Center in its acquisition by Sunny Hills Services.

Investment Funds and Family Offices

William represents various investment funds and family offices, where he provides complete business and legal counsel on broker dealer and investment advisor compliance, fund formation, financing advisory, and mergers and acquisitions.

Emerging Growth

William provides complete business and legal counsel to early and growth stage clients in nearly every sector, with an emphasis on traditional technology, software, digital media and agricultural technology. He represents emerging growth companies at seed financing through mid-stage and works with early stage companies in merger and acquisition negotiations. William also guides clients through exit strategies by acquisition or public offering, and he is often engaged with clients for so long that they themselves become buy-side purchasers of other companies.

William also advises emerging growth clients on establishing intellectual property protections and articulating and executing long-range business strategies. He routinely advises companies on:

• Intellectual property transactions and licensing issues
• Employment and executive compensation matters
• Optimal capitalization strategies
• Corporate governance issue

Corporate Governance

William’s longstanding corporate governance practice includes advising companies on executive compensation, risk management and fiduciary duties. William has served on the board of directors of several companies and currently serves as the outside member of the board of Entangled Media Corp.

Previous Work

Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, William was a partner at an international law firm.

Professional Activities

• USC Law School — Adjunct Professor, advanced course on venture capital law, 2012-15; Founding Adjunct Professor, USC online master of law program for international students, 2015

Pro Bono

William devotes his time generously to a variety of regional and national pro bono activities, such as:

• Serving on the board of the Furuya Foundation, which promotes Japanese art, history, and cultural exchange.
• Served as a pro bono mediator for numerous programs, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California State Bar, the United States Department of Justice, the Western Justice Project, and the Pasadena Police Department.
• Founding member of the Mississippi Mediation Project, which was created in response to the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
• Provided corporate governance for the Center for Justice and Accountability, an organization that pursues and prosecutes war criminals in the United States under civil tort claims.
• Assisted the credit union Unitus in establishing a micro-lending division in Kenya.
• Handled criminal defense cases on overflow from the Orange County Public Defender’s office.