The 3rd Annual UC Hastings Cleantech Roundtable will take place on April 13 at the UC Hastings School of Law in San Francisco. Registration is free for this all-day event, which will features panels on topics including "Legal Issues in Launching a Cleantech Startup." The specific panels are:
Panel 1: Startup 101: Legal Issues in Launching a Cleantech Startup
This panel will explore the numerous important legal issues facing cleantech startups. These topics will include: the main legal steps in establishing a cleantech business, including corporate structure, founders shares, compensation issues, and others; structuring early stage financing; the investor’s perspective, including how investors evaluate a business idea, pitching venture capitalists, trends in VC funding, and the amount of early stage funding available; and how to manage intellectual property, including patenting and protecting your business ideas.
Panel 2: Making the Desert Bloom: Key Issues in Developing Renewable Energy Projects
This panel will address the unique legal challenges involved in developing a utility-scale renewable energy project. This panel will discuss: the governmental programs to incentivize renewable energy development; the unique risks inherent in renewable energy projects; how those risks are allocated in the key project contracts; negotiating the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA); and structuring financing for renewable energy projects.
Panel 3: The Legal Minefield: Mergers and Acquisitions in the Cleantech Industry
This panel will address the current trend toward consolidation in the cleantech industry and how the parties can navigate what has been called a legal minefield of requirements on the way to successfully closing a deal. The topics will include: an update on recent M&A activity in the cleantech industry; an overview of the steps in the M&A process; common M&A deal structures; recent examples of successful cleantech transactions and how the parties evaluated the business case for the deal; negotiating the key terms of the M&A agreements; and legal requirements for public companies, including legal duties of corporate directors and compliance with federal securities laws.
Additional information and registration is available on the event website.