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Antone F. Johnson

"Full stack" startup lawyer, former eHarmony VP/GC and original MySpace counsel

25 years of experience
Business Law, Communications & Internet Law, Securities Law ...
California

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Biography

For 24 years, Antone Johnson has served as lawyer, advisor, executive and advocate for emerging growth technology/digital media ventures, founders and investors in a diverse range of business and intellectual property matters. Raised in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, California, suffused with Silicon Valley's unique culture of innovation, he came of age professionally during the Internet explosion of the late 1990s, an entrepreneurial crucible of unprecedented wealth and job creation, reinvention of countless industries, and related venture capital and Wall Street dealmaking. Antone was fortunate to have a ringside seat at major Los Angeles and Silicon Valley law firms, followed by a series of in-house roles at household-name consumer Internet and media companies that further refined his perspective. • Prior to founding Bottom Line Law Group in 2010, Antone served as VP, Legal Affairs at eHarmony, where he built the in-house legal function from scratch to support a growing, profitable $200+ million business. He directed the company's internal and external legal teams, including more than a dozen law firms across five countries, to support its global operations and emerging social media sites. Antone served as primary legal advisor to the CEO, senior management and Board of Directors in strategic transactions, corporate governance, shareholder relations, litigation strategy, crisis communications and risk management. Key accomplishments included closing four acquisitions, launching new ventures and products, growing and defending a substantial IP portfolio, reaching a landmark settlement with regulators that made WSJ headlines, and leading defense teams in complex patent infringement, consumer class action and employment litigation. • Prior to eHarmony, Antone was a legal executive at MySpace and its parent company, Intermix Media, through its early period of hyper-growth and global expansion, where he helped execute the company's $650 million sale to News Corp

Practice Areas

Business Law: Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

Communications & Internet Law: Internet Law, Media & Advertising, Telecommunications Law

Securities Law

Entertainment & Sports Law

Intellectual Property

Fees

Free Consultation
Free initial consultation to investors, founders and executives of emerging growth companies, subject to availability.
Credit Cards Accepted

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

California
Since 1997

Languages

English: Spoken, Written

Professional Experience

Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary: eHarmony, Inc.; 2006 - 2009; General counsel and corporate secretary to eHarmony, Inc., the Internet's #1 trusted relationship service, with more than 20 million registered users and $200+ million annual revenue. Member of the senior management team responsible for the company's legal, regulatory and government affairs, privacy/data protection, risk management and stock administration, reporting to the CEO. Built the company's legal function from scratch. Led a combined in-house and external team including three direct reports and more than a dozen outside law firms across five countries with a budget in the $3 million range.

Assistant General Counsel / Director, Business & Legal Affairs: MySpace.com / Fox Interactive Media / Intermix Media, Inc.; 2004 - 2006; Represented MySpace.com, the premier online social networking site/lifestyle portal and one of the most highly trafficked sites on the Internet (with more than 45 billion monthly page views), in corporate and business development, entertainment and technology licensing transactions, policy enforcement, international expansion and related matters. Advised senior management team at its publicly traded parent company with respect to a broad variety of legal matters, with emphasis on complex transactions, public company governance and securities compliance. Helped execute the company's $650 million sale to Fox Interactive Media.

Director of Legal Affairs / Corporate Counsel: Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc.; 2002 - 2004; Corporate counsel to publicly traded publishing and broadcast media and technology leader in television guidance and home entertainment ($1 billion revenue), a News Corporation company. Responsible for corporate legal matters with emphasis on securities and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, financial reporting, corporate governance and M&A.

Director, Corporate Counsel: Excite@Home; 2000 - 2002; In-house counsel to publicly traded pioneering broadband Internet content and access provider ($600 million revenue). Advised the corporate and business development teams in strategic transactions (M&A, joint ventures, equity investments, content partnerships). Responsible for corporate governance, securities compliance and stock plan administration, reporting to the General Counsel.

Associate: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; 1998 - 2000; Corporate attorney at the world's leading technology law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto. Represented a broad variety of emerging growth technology companies in the Internet, IT and life sciences industries, as well as venture capital funds and underwriters. Emphasis on start-up, general corporate and intellectual property matters, private equity and debt financing, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions.

Associate: Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP; 1995 - 1998; Outside corporate/securities counsel to major NYSE and Nasdaq-traded corporations and financial institutions in strategic transactions including M&A, public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities, asset securitizations and syndicated credit facilities.

Education

Columbia Law School: J.D. (1996) | Law; 1993 - 1996; Honors: Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Activities: Production Editor, Columbia-VLA Journal of Law and the Arts