Fenwick & West

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HeadquartersSilicon Valley Center
Mountain View, California
No.ofoffices7
No.ofattorneys478
Major practice areasCorporate, intellectual property, litigation, regulatory, tax[1]
Fenwick & West LLP
HeadquartersSilicon Valley Center
Mountain View, California
No. of offices7
No. of attorneys478
Major practice areasCorporate, intellectual property, litigation, regulatory, tax[1]
Key peopleRichard Dickson, Chairman Dawn Belt, Managing Partner
Revenue$792,744,000 (2024)[1]
Date founded1972
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.fenwick.com

Fenwick & West LLP, now known as Fenwick[2], is a law firm of more than 500 attorneys[3] with offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Santa Monica, Washington, DC, and Boston. The firm focuses on the technology and life sciences sectors, advising clients at all stages from startups to public companies. The firm's practice areas include capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, patents, commercial litigation, and regulatory counseling.[2]

In 1972, William Fenwick, a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, formed Fenwick & West with three partners while an associate at Cleary Gottlieb.[4] Early clients included Pioneer Electronics and Apple Computer, which the firm incorporated in 1974.[5]

In 1976, the firm wrote the first shrinkwrap (contract law) license agreement, where use of a product was considered acceptance of the contracts that came with it.[6] In the '80s and '90s, the firm established the first copyright for a graphic interface, one of the first business method software patents, and the first cleanroom protocols to protect software Intellectual property.[7]

Fenwick also advised on early technology initial public offerings, including EBay's[8] IPO in 1998 and Oracle's IPO[9] in 1986.[10]

In 2025, Fenwick signed an amicus brief supporting law firm Perkins Coie after it and other law firms were targeted by the Trump administration.[11]

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