Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Meyer
05.11.26
Continuing the expansion of Pillsbury’s global Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice, the firm has welcomed another well-known partner to the team: John Rockwell in Silicon Valley. Rockwell, who comes to Pillsbury from WilmerHale, brings valuable cross-border experience in Latin America and even greater depth to a practice that was recently ranked by LSEG as among the four most active in the world for the representation of company-side venture capital financings.
“Our clients increasingly strive to take advantage of the world’s most promising innovations and Pillsbury’s leading practitioners in the world of emerging companies and venture capital help to take them there,” said Firm Chair David Dekker. “Both in Silicon Valley and Latin America, John knows this world and its players intimately and brings our clients yet more tools to make the most of rapidly evolving technologies.”
Named an Emerging Leader by M&A Advisor, Rockwell works closely with early-stage and late-stage companies on a wide variety of corporate-related matters. He advises founders and companies on entity formation, venture capital, equity and debt financings and related transactions, as well as mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters, and U.S. investors in a range of financing and investment transactions. He also works with international-based founders, companies and investors—most notably in Latin America—in connection with corporate restructures, and cross-border investments, financings and acquisitions.
Rockwell joins Pillsbury following the firm’s recent additions of his former WilmerHale colleagues Glenn Luinenburg and Todd Rumberger.
“John is someone who is well-known to the venture ecosystem in Silicon Valley and to our own team,” said Christina Pearson, co-leader of Pillsbury’s Corporate and Securities team. “We are excited to have the benefit of his expertise in the U.S. and abroad, which complements and enhances our comprehensive Emerging Companies and Venture Capital platform globally.”
“Deeply connected with investors and founders in Silicon Valley and Latin America, John affords those he represents a unique, international perspective to venture deals,” added Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice group leader Steve Ryan. “That combination of cross-border understanding and experience on both sides of venture deals makes him an invaluable asset to clients. We’re thrilled to have him on the Pillsbury team.”
Rockwell’s arrival is part of an extended period of strategic growth for Pillsbury, which has welcomed 46 partners in the last 16 months. He is also the ninth ECVC partner to join the firm in the past 18 months, with other recent arrivals including Mike Flynn and Saarah Woodby in New York; Sarah Melaney in London; Scott Perlov in San Francisco; Andy Smetana in Austin; and Steven Green, Luinenburg and Rumberger in Palo Alto. In that span, Pillsbury also brought on VC-focused funds partners Eunice Choi in San Francisco and Silicon Valley and David Holland in Washington, D.C., and Technology Transactions partners Adam Chernichaw in New York and Daphne M. Higgs in Silicon Valley and London.
“Pillsbury’s roots in the technology sector are incredibly deep,” Rockwell said. “The firm and its lawyers are consistently among the most active in the ECVC space and have a deserved reputation for going to great lengths to support their clients. It’s exactly the kind of dedicated, highly collaborative platform I was looking for and I’m excited to be a part of it.”