Douglas J. (DJ) Drennan

“As a business lawyer, I work with owners and companies throughout the entire life cycle of a business, including entity formations (type and jurisdiction); equity compensation; debt and equity financings; and mergers and acquisitions. In short, I help clients start, grow and sell their businesses.”

DJ Drennan’s practice encompasses a wide range of business transactions, with a core expertise in corporate finance, such as corporations/LLCs, securities law, equity compensation (including stock options, restricted stock and profits interest), private placements, bond financings, convertible note/bridge financings, venture capital and private equity financings, loan agreements, secured transactions, buy-outs and buy-ins, mergers and acquisitions, and succession planning. He has extensive experience working with owners and companies throughout the entire life cycle of a business, and he understands the unique circumstances of family-owned businesses.

DJ received his JD in 1995 from UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He received an LLM (Masters of Law) in Japanese and International Business Law in 1996 from Kyushu University in Japan, where he lived for three years. He received a BA in Japanese in 1992 from Brigham Young University. Prior to joining SMT in 2002, DJ worked in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices of Perkins Coie LLP and Brown & Wood LLP (now Sidley Austin LLP).

DJ is a member of the Business Law Sections of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the Sonoma County Bar Association. He has spoken on various topics at U.C. Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, Kyushu University Faculty of Law, Santa Rosa Junior College, as well other venues.