Paula G. Atkinson

Paula Atkinson is a resourceful and creative problem-solver who brings a vast wealth of experience to the firm in leading corporate and business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity/venture capital financings and investments, finance (loans, workouts and restructurings), real estate transactions (acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing) and real estate leasing (commercial – retail, warehouse, industrial, and residential – homes, apartments and short-term rentals).  She’s a skilled and intuitive negotiator in deals and contracts, from simple to highly complex (up to $1B).

Paula also offers sophisticated experience in all things related to technology law (hardware licensing and software licensing), cloud (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), open-source software, app development, ecommerce, privacy and data security and related intellectual property issues. Paula has over 20 years of experience representing major software developers, a Fortune 100 cloud and software provider, a microchip manufacturer and numerous ecommerce-based companies.

Before joining CM Law, Paula advised clients (in the US and internationally) at AmLaw 100 and 200 law firms and also gained valuable insight in areas such as corporate governance and Board relations and regulatory compliance from past senior in-house counsel roles, including as General Counsel for a technology start-up navigating pre-IPO fundraising rounds (now a major publicly traded company).  She has hands-on experience making decisions in the real world and under the time and resources pressures clients face.  She likes to distill issues down into understandable options for business leaders.

Prior to attending law school, Paula worked as a Certified Public Accountant for Big4 KPMG in both audit and tax, focusing on the financial institutions industry (banks and savings & loans), mutual funds, the energy industry and on manufacturing clients.  She’s never been afraid of a spreadsheet and never met an internal control she didn’t like (you can’t take accounting out of the girl).

In her free time, Paula enjoys a good hike (though she stops to take pictures and identify native trees and plants), swings an occasional golf club, enjoys live music, has frequented wineries and breweries not only in every wine-producing region in California but also across New Mexico, Texas, Virginia and New York, is known as a prolifically unpublished creative writer who loves to travel and explore the world.