About Us

Summary

InterFocus Law, LLP is a San Francisco-based boutique business law firm offering sophisticated legal counseling to domestic and international clients. Based on our unique blend of large firm expertise and boutique firm personalized service, we provide quality service in a highly collaborative, responsive and efficient manner. As experts in M&A, startup and venture financing, IP, commercial and technology transactions, and U.S. market entry, we offer creative legal solutions for complex business challenges. Our attorneys represent public companies, private enterprises and startup ventures in such industries as digital entertainment and media (e.g. online, mobile, console and social game developers, ad agencies, and ad networks), food and beverage, solar and other clean technologies, software (e.g. cloud computing, open source and SaaS), real estate, and various IT services.

PRACTICE

Mergers & Acquisitions

We offer our clients highly responsive counseling with respect to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other business combinations. Whether our client is the acquirer or the target, domestic or international, and regardless of the structure of the proposed transaction (e.g. merger, stock purchase, asset purchase or joint venture), we strive to achieve our client’s objectives while focusing on maximizing benefits and minimizing risks for the stakeholders. From due diligence activities to structuring the deal, our attorneys handle all aspects of the transaction.

Startup & Venture Financing

Our attorneys regularly provide strategic counseling to startup ventures and their founders and investors. From formation, corporate tasks (e.g. founders’ stock purchase and technology transfer agreements, stockholders’ agreements, and equity incentive plans) through rounds of debt or equity venture financing, we work closely with stakeholders and other advisors (e.g. bankers, consultants, accountants) to position the company to achieve customer, revenue and technology generation, and for a successful exit. In addition to handling corporate and commercial transactions, employment and intellectual property counseling, we tailor our services to offer other industry- or technology- specific legal services to meet the needs of our emerging growth clients. Moreover, we actively refer our clients to our network of accelerators, VCs, corporate investment groups, angel and seed syndicates, and high net worth individuals.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property practice covers the development, acquisition, protection, exploitation, enforcement and disposition of intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrighted materials. Our practice encompasses the full range of strategic counseling and compliance services, including representing clients throughout the trademark prosecution process and maintaining trademark registrations, filing copyright registrations and counseling on DMCA-related matters, and referring litigation matters to our network of trusted dispute resolution firms.

Commercial and Technology Transactions

Our commercial and technology transactions practice focuses on a wide range of commercial and technology-related arrangements. Our experience includes drafting, reviewing and negotiating: (a) manufacturing, OEM, supply and distribution agreements; (b) sales representative, reseller, and marketing agreements; (c) licensing agreements (e.g. software, copyrighted materials, trademark and patent); (d) terms of service, end-user license agreements and privacy policies; (e) payment processing agreements, (f) mobile advertising agency and ad network agreements; (g) outsourcing and services agreements; (h) real estate construction contracts and office leases; (i) loan and security agreements; (j) non-disclosure, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements; and (k) counsel clients to ensure compliance with promotions such as sweepstakes and contests, including drafting official rules, winner affidavits/releases and reviewing other promotional materials.

U.S. Market Entry

Our firm offers significant experience representing international companies that seek to enter the U.S. market. With particular emphasis in advising companies in entering the California market, we help our international clients navigate the complex legal and business issues they encounter when establishing a presence in the U.S. Specific areas include: (a) registration of branch offices or incorporation of subsidiaries; (b) advising on “flip” transactions to reincorporate foreign companies as U.S. entities; (c) protecting intellectual property rights; (d) drafting and reviewing commercial, employment, real estate and technology agreements; and (e) introducing specialists offering immigration, banking, accounting, tax and consulting services.

We also provide general corporate and dispute-resolution services to Japanese clients throughout the world, notably in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. Our lawyers have the requisite Japanese cultural and linguistic skills to advise, negotiate and create legal and business solutions that work for small and medium-sized Japanese clients as well as large multinationals. Both James Prenton and Kenji Iida are alumni of major global law firms in Silicon Valley and being fluent in Japanese, they have significant experience advising Japanese clients with acquisitions and divestitures, strategic investments, subsidiary formation, employment matters, IP protection, commercial transactions, and technology transfers and licensing.

Attorneys

James Prenton

(415) 272-5451
james@interfocuslaw.com

James represents domestic and international clients in a broad range of business law matters. He has significant experience with corporate structuring, formations and governance; start-up and emerging growth company private financings and strategic transactions; corporate venture capital and VC fund investments; M&A, joint ventures and strategic alliances. He also has significant experience in the technology and interactive entertainment industry advising clients on technology and content development, financing, publishing, distribution, licensing and merchandising agreements; terms of service, privacy policies and end user agreements; advertising and marketing promotions; intellectual property acquisition, disposition, licensing and protection.

James regularly represents Japanese companies with respect to their U.S. operations. In this capacity, he advises senior management and in-house legal teams in connection with entity formation, corporate finance, M&A, commercial transactions, intellectual property and technology-related counseling, dispute resolution, and employment matters. He currently represents 100+ Japan-related start-ups, private enterprises and public companies.

Prior to co-founding InterFocus Law, James was a corporate partner in the Palo Alto office of K&L Gates where he also led the firm’s Japan practice. He also practiced in the San Diego offices of several national and regional law firms. James was born and lived in Japan for more than eighteen years, and is fluent in Japanese. Utilizing his language and cultural background, he regularly counsels and negotiates in both English and Japanese.

James received his J.D. from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business Management and a B.A. from San Diego State University.

Bar Admissions: California, New York and Washington.

カリフォルニア州 / ニューヨーク州/ワシントン州弁護士。主な業務分野：会社法、 M&A, ベンチャー投資、知的財産、労働法. InterFocus Law 法律事務所設立以前には、大手国際法律事務所である、 K&L Gates (San Francisco/Silicon Valley) においてパートナーとして活躍。日本で生まれ。バイリンガル. エンジェル投資家日系企業に対して20年以上の弁護士経験をもつ。

Kenji Iida

(415) 505-0397
kenji@interfocuslaw.com

Kenji’s practice concentrates in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, intellectual property licensing and distribution transactions and general corporate law. His experience includes extensive corporate counseling to emerging growth companies and venture capital and strategic investors. Kenji speaks Japanese fluently and has considerable experience representing Japanese companies and investors in their international business transactions.

Kenji was most recently a corporate attorney in the Palo Alto office of Dorsey & Whitney where he led the firm’s Japan Practice Group. Prior to Dorsey & Whitney he was an associate with Ritchey Fisher Whitman & Klein in Palo Alto where as a part of his business law practice he was the firm’s principal trademark attorney. Kenji began his legal career as a corporate attorney with the San Francisco office of Thelen LLP.

Kenji received his law degree from Columbia University School of Law and undergraduate degree in Economics from UCLA.

Bar Admissions: California.