Paul Hastings Brings In Tech M&A And VC Partner Ian Engstrand To Boston

By Amit Chowdhry • Sep 12, 2024

Paul Hastings announced that Ian Engstrand has joined the firm as a partner to strengthen the firm’s global M&A capabilities and emerging companies/venture capital practice and further expand its presence in Boston.

Working with M&A clients in the tech sector and in emerging companies and venture capital, Engstrand offers a unique focus on complex transactions for buyers and sellers, venture capital financings, and the life cycle of emerging growth companies. And he represents diverse clients involved with financial technology, enterprise software, blockchain, and medical technology, as well as venture capital, private equity, and investment banks working in these sectors. He has advised clients, including Algorand, Ancera, Chainlink, Current, Fuze, IAG Capital Partners, Starburst, Toast, and TripAdvisor.

Engstrand joins from Goodwin Procter and is the latest Boston arrival, as the firm continues to grow its presence in the market. And he follows former Goodwin colleague, M&A partner Andrew Goodman, who joined in August, and theseven-lawyer private equity buyout team led by partners Alex Temel and Bill Schwab that established the firm’s Boston office in April. Plus, he will further support a corporate platform that represents leading clients such as ABRY Partners, Accel-KKR, Barnes & Noble Education, Francisco Partners, Deerfield Management, General Catalyst, Great Hill Partners, Goldman Sachs, G42, H.I.G. Capital, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Nokia, Oakley Capital Investments, Providence, Prudential Financial, Sixth Street Partners, Symphony Technology Group (STG), and Thoughtworks Holding.

Paul Hastings added a series of elite corporate and transactional lawyers to its premier global M&A platform in the last two years, such as Goodman; a three-partner, seven-lawyer corporate team including David Elder, Chris Centrich, and Patrick Hurley in Houston; private equity and infrastructure M&A partner Frederik Muhl and leading corporate and M&A partner Nikolaos Paschos in Frankfurt; M&A partner Jon Kubek in New York; an insurance M&A team including partners Kirk Lipsey, Chad Vance, and Sanjiv Tata, along with Brad Drake, in New York and Chicago; and top-ranked infrastructure M&A partner Jessamy Gallagher in London.

Engstrand brings depth to an expanding emerging companies/venture capital practice that has added partners in key technology markets, including California, New York, and Boston, from firms including Cooley and Goodwin. Additions include a three-partner team in Palo Alto and New York led by Scott Joachim (one of Silicon Valley’s leading private equity/M&A and venture capital lawyers), and including Ryan LaForce (a preeminent lawyer in technology transactions), both from Goodwin, and David Ambler (a rising star in emerging companies/venture capital who represents technology companies), from Cooley.

KEY QUOTES:

“Continuing to strengthen our M&A platform and expand our emerging companies/venture capital practice are strategic priorities. Ian’s experience as a trusted advisor on M&A and venture capital within the technology sector will enhance our transactional capabilities in Boston and globally, while adding depth to our emerging growth/venture capital practice, providing synergistic opportunities to capture more market share.”

– Firm Chair Frank Lopez

“I am excited to join Paul Hastings and have the opportunity to contribute to building out the M&A platform and venture capital/emerging growth practice in a new office. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues in Boston and globally to continue the firm’s strong trajectory.”

– Ian Engstrand