Jefferson D. Norton

Jeff began his private practice in 2008 after overseeing the sale of his employer at the time…a success story that resulted in the elimination of the company’s General Counsel (GC) position. He founded the Norton Law Firm the following year to answer the growing corporate need for experienced GC support that is neither in-house nor full-time.

Since then, Jeff has leveraged his extensive corporate legal experience to proactively deliver tactical, legal, and business results for his clients, primarily in the technology sector.  Jeff has particular expertise in supporting strategic initiatives including major commercial transactions, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate fundraising. 

Among his myriad of accomplishments, Jeff has:

• Provided integrated and experienced advice for all stages of the business lifecycle from formation, through growth, and ultimately to exit;
• Overseen exit events ranging from multiple nine-figure transactions (in coordination with global 50 law firms) to upper six-figure aqui-hires of early stage founders;
• Supported dozens of rounds of fundraising, from convertible notes and SAFE investments through later-stage rounds and recapitalization;
• Assisted in refining product offerings and transitioning from traditional perpetual-licensing-plus-annual-support to subscription or SaaS models; built go-to-market strategies as well as the legal, contractual, HR and operational support for the selected models;
• Helped develop and implement IP protection strategies, including managing outside patent firms;
• Managed litigation on behalf of clients, including managing outside litigation counsel

For a complete list of Foundry General Counsel’s services and capabilities, click here.

A trusted and valued legal advisor, Jeff enjoys positive, long-term relationships with his clients; many are repeat clients who have hired him and the Foundry team to support them at multiple companies.

Prior to transitioning to his own version of private practice, Jeff served as the first in-house counsel for NexTone Communications, Inc./NexPoint Networks, Inc., a venture-capital and private equity-backed developer of software and hardware systems for international telecommunications providers. A core member of the firm’s management team, Jeff was instrumental in facilitating rapid international growth through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

From 2000-2004, he served as the Chief Legal Officer for Visual Networks, Inc, a publicly-traded (VNWX) provider of network performance management solutions to Tier 1 global and telecommunications providers. He provided valuable corporate, litigation, and restructuring counsel to the firm’s senior executives during a highly challenging time for the telecommunications sector.

Jeff holds a Juris Doctor degree from American University’s Washington College of Law, where he served as Internet and Production Editor for the International Law Review. Jeff holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and International Business from Ohio State University and has completed Executive Education Programs at Wharton Business School (Mergers and Acquisitions) and Harvard Law School (Negotiations), enhancing his value to his clients as both a business and legal advocate.