In March, Latham recruited former Wilson Sonsini co-managing partner John “Jack” Sheridan as a partner for its emerging companies practice in Silicon Valley. Sheridan declined to comment Wednesday, but in July, Latham also picked up emerging companies partner Page Mailliard, a former Wilson Sonsini partner who left the firm three years ago to care for a family member.
Sheridan’s departure was followed by the loss of Brussels antitrust partners Michael Rosenthal and Götz Drauz to Sullivan & Cromwell; at least a half-dozen life sciences litigators to Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco; former national security practice head Donald Vieira to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C.; and three corporate technology partners—Adam Dinow, Sacha Ross and Robert Sanchez—who joined Cooley in New York and the nation’s capital.
Another individual with ties to Cooley and no longer at Wilson Sonsini is Larry Sonsini’s son, Matthew Sonsini, who returned to the firm in early 2016 after eight years away. Matthew Sonsini’s Wilson Sonsini biography page, which archived internet records show was live on the firm’s website as of Sept. 1, disappeared this week.
A phone call to Matthew Sonsini at Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto confirmed that he was no longer listed in the firm’s employee directory. An email to the younger Sonsini inquiring as to his status at Wilson Sonsini went unreturned by the time of this story. Matthew Sonsini’s profile on professional networking website LinkedIn lists him as a founder and managing partner at an investment fund called Ravello Capital and as chairman of the investment committee at The Sobrato Organization, a privately held real estate development firm based in Cupertino, California.
Matthew Sonsini’s father-in-law is John Sobrato, a billionaire real estate developer. The younger Sonsini first left Wilson Sonsini in 2008 to serve as an executive vice president at The Sobrato Organization, where he is currently listed on the company’s website as holding several executive-level roles. Lisa Sobrato Sonsini, Matthew Sonsini’s wife, is a board president and trustee at the company. She is also an attorney who once worked at now-defunct Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.
Dorman, Wilson Sonsini’s COO, said that Matthew Sonsini actually left the firm for a second time several months ago to return to The Sobrato Organization. “We were certainly disappointed to see him go but completely understand,” Dorman said.
