Michael C. Phillips specializes in the financing and structuring of start-up and other emerging businesses and in merger and acquisition transactions and other complete strategic relationships for public and private companies at all stages of their development.

Mr. Phillips has handled the initial public offerings of several key clients as well as general representation of many start-up companies in various areas of high technology. From 1998-2003, Mr. Phillips was Senior Vice-President, Business Development and General Counsel at JDS Uniphase Corporation. His experience in turn provides clients of Morrison & Foerster with an opportunity to obtain counsel during critical stages of an acquisition or other significant transaction from a lawyer who has an understanding of their responsibilities as a client and the business risks associated with any successful acquisition or complex commercial relationship.

Mr. Phillips rejoined Morrison & Foerster in 2003 after his five year stint at JDS Uniphase.

• Handled the merger of then Uniphase with JDS Fitel of Ottawa in early 1999 and JDS Uniphase's acquisitions of three other public companies, Optical Coating Laboratories, Inc., Etek Dynamics, Inc. and SDL, Inc. for a total value in excess of $50 billion.
• Represented Avocent Corporation in 2006 in its $460 million acquisition of LanDesk Corporation.
• Represented Therma-Wave, Inc. in 2007 in its acquisition by KLA-Tencor Corporation.
• Represented BEA Systems, Inc. in its acquisitions of Plumtree Software, Inc., Fuego, Inc., M7 Corporation, Compoze Software, Inc., Connectra, Inc., and Solarmetric, Inc.
• Represented NDTV Networks PLC in its $20 million equity financing with ComVentures in 2007.
• Represented JDS Uniphase in 2005 in its $760 million acquisition of Acterna, Inc.