Davis Polk Hires Goodwin Partner to Build Early Company Practice

Davis Polk hired Goodwin Procter partner Jared Fine as the Wall Street law firm builds an emerging company and venture capital practice.

Fine has been a Goodwin partner since 2016, representing early-stage technology companies and the venture capital funds that invest in them. He’s now based in New York after spending most of his career in Boston.

Davis Polk plans to “build an emerging company and venture capital practice to further strengthen our capabilities to serve clients earlier in their lifecycle,” Neil Barr, the firm’s chair and managing partner, said in a statement.

Top Wall Street law firms have historically shied away from representing early-stage companies, largely because they are seen as being sensitive to high billing rates. The startup practice has for years been led by tech-focused firms such as Cooley LLP, Wilson Sonsini, Gunderson Dettmer, Fenwick & West, and Goodwin.

But Davis Polk’s entry into the business comes as young companies stay private longer and require financing rounds that are larger and more complex. The artificial intelligence boom is also powering a surge in large venture investments in young companies.

Venture capitalists invested $192.7 billion into AI startups through the third quarter this year, according to PitchBook data. Established startups in the space like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI have been raising billions in funding rounds. Those companies are also driving an AI infrastructure boom that requires various types of work from large law firms.

Companies staying private longer is making so-called startups look more like the established public companies that flock to Wall Street law firms for legal advice.

In one example, large private companies are doing increasingly large deals called liquid private placements that allow existing shareholders to cash out as valuations grow. Davis Polk in May advised the placement agents in connection with a $1.6 billion equity investment in Hub International, the largest privately held insurance brokerage, which was valued at $29 billion in the latest of a series of liquid private placement deals.

For Davis Polk, strengthening its position with young, fast-growing companies could also bolster its status as a top law firm for initial public offerings. As AI startups gear up to go public, there will be intense competition among law firms for that work.

Through three quarters this year, Davis Polk topped the Bloomberg league tables as the law firm advising on the greatest value of IPOs for both companies and underwriters.

Its $1 billion-plus issuer-side US IPOs this year include digital bank Klarna Group PLC, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc., and liquefied natural gas exporter Venture Global Inc.

Fine represents investors and private and public companies in technology sectors including AI, digital health, fintech, enterprise software, consumer, robotics and cybersecurity, Davis Polk said.

“Jared has an impressive track record of guiding venture-backed clients from initial funding to scale and maturity, and we are excited to welcome him to our team as we expand our work with pre-IPO companies and VC funds,” Michael Kaplan, head of Davis Polk’s corporate department, said.