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Bernard Vogel, III

bjv@svlg.com
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Phone: (408) 573-5700

One North Market St. Suite 200
San Jose, California 95113

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Bernie Vogel is a shareholder and the CEO and President of Silicon Valley Law Group. His practice emphasizes complex corporate transactions, investment financings, mergers and acquisitions, as well as the formation and maintenance of partnerships and limited liability companies. He provides ongoing business counseling to a variety of entities, ranging from venture capital firms and start up high tech and biotech companies. Advices on directors & officers liability, corporate governance, stock option plans, licensing, and contracts, as well as advice on complex tax issues with respect to transaction structuring, entity formation, reorganizations, and business succession planning. Before practicing law, Bernie was a certified public accountant.

Education

J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles

Admissions California
U.S. Tax Court
Professional Associations

Vice President and Director of Business San Jose Chamber PAC

President and Trustee of Order of Malta, San Jose

Director and Past Chair of the Board of Directors, COMPAC (a business and political action committee)

Co-Founder & Director of Fat Tuesdays

Former Chair, Corporate Counsel Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association

Representative Clients
  • MapBox, Inc.
  • TEGSCO, LLC, dba AutoReturn
  • Premier Wireless Solutions, Inc.
  • Spectros Corporation
  • Point B, Inc. and Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA)
  • Redwood Electric Group, Inc.
  • Mednition, Inc.
  • Bridge Bank (Part of Western Alliance Bank)
  • Goodwill of Silicon Valley
  • MNM Partners
  • EDC Biosystems, Inc.
  • Zeno Semiconductor, Inc.
  • Streamline Circuits, Inc.
Representative Engagements
  • Served as Corporate Counsel for Point B, Inc. in connection with tax free spin off reorganization of its wholly owned subsidiary Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) (January 2022).
  • Lead Corporate Counsel to Premier Wireless Solutions, Inc. in connection with its tax free for reorganization and acquisition by OptConnect (December 2021).
  • Served as Corporate Counsel for TEGSCO, LLC in connection with Nexa Equity LLC, a private equity firm focused on rapidly scaling lower middle market software and fintech businesses, acquisition of its subsidiary AutoReturn Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of towing and parking enforcement SaaS software (August 2021).
  • Served as Corporate Counsel for TEGSCO, LLC in connection with tax free spin off reorganization of its wholly owned subsidiary Joyride Autos, Inc., an online auction platform for undervalued unclaimed automobiles and liened vehicles (January 2021).
  • Served as lead corporate legal counsel to Mapbox, Inc. on its successful $52,600,000 Series B Financing with DFJ Growth, Foundry Group, DBL Partners, Thrive Capital, Pritzker Group, Promus and Ventures.
  • Served as corporate legal counsel to Peak Travel Group on its successful sale to Direct Travel, Inc.
  • Served as counsel for Blueprint Ventures and other VC investment firms in the private placement of $10,000,000 of Series A preferred stock by Platform Solutions, Inc.; $6,000,000 of Series A Preferred Stock by Smartcatch Systems, Inc. and $7,500,000 of Series A Preferred Stock by Astoria Software, Inc.
  • Court Appointed Liquidator in involuntary wind down and dissolution of Solar Notion, Inc., a ventured-back Delaware corporation.
Special Recognition
  • "Northern California Super Lawyer," San Francisco Magazine and Law and Politics Media, 2004-2006, 2008-2015, 2016-2020
  • Member of The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, often called the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John
  • Former Director and President, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley. 
  • Past Director (20 years) of YMCA of Santa Clara Valley
  • Member, San Jose Rotary Club
Publications
  • “Oh, Where, Oh Where will my Corporation go? Oh Where, Oh Where can it be?,” discussing common misperceptions incorporating a California business in Nevada
  • Directors Face Increased Scrutiny, Need To Stay Well Informed – Silicon Valley Business Journal
  • "How to Permanently Reduce Your Property Tax" - San Francisco Daily Journal / Daily Journal Corporation
  • “The Legal Eagle” – Gentry Magazine
  • Various articles in The Daily Journal and San Jose Magazine
Client Reviews
★★★★★
For creative solutions to complex legal issues, I often turn to the attorneys at Silicon Valley Law Group. They are one of the law firms I have come to trust for providing consistently superior, responsive legal services. John A. Sobrato
★★★★★
The litigation team gave me the muscle, organizational skills and attention to detail I needed against our major competitor and got us a great result. Jon Burney
★★★★★
I expected legal competence from SVLG and they delivered on that expectation. But they went beyond my expectations in two important ways. Dick Haiduck