Susan E. Pravda is managing partner of the Boston office of Foley & Lardner LLP and serves on the firm’s national management committee. She is chair of the firm’s Emerging Technologies Industry Team, and a member of the Private Equity & Venture Capital and Transactional & Securities Practices and the Food & Beverage and Energy Industry Teams.
Ms. Pravda’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and securities transactions. She represents high-growth and emerging businesses, including companies in the telecommunications, Internet, software, wireless and service industries, as well as life science and biotechnology companies, from start-ups to public companies.
Ms. Pravda also frequently acts as special mergers and acquisitions counsel for private and public companies in the manufacturing, service, distribution, technology, life science and pharma sectors, including buyers, sellers and management groups. She advises clients with respect to valuation issues, stockholder relationships and incentive compensation plans.
Ms. Pravda lectures frequently to businessmen/ businesswomen and professionals on buying and selling companies and is a frequent keynote presenter for Vistage International meetings nationwide. Her articles on mergers and acquisitions, creative financing tools, and negotiating techniques appear in a variety of business publications. Ms. Pravda's extensive knowledge as a negotiator of mergers and acquisitions is highlighted in the book, "Swim with the Dolphins: How Women Can Succeed in Corporate America on Their Own Terms," by Connie Glaser and Barbara Steinberg Smalley.
Ms. Pravda received her J.D. from Harvard Law School (cum laude, 1983) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University (magna cum laude, 1980).
Ms. Pravda has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system. She is also a director of the Boston Public Library Foundation and serves on the boards of a number of technology and life science companies. Since 2004, Ms. Pravda has been selected annually in the Massachusetts Super Lawyers® list, an honor received by only 5% of Massachusetts attorneys. She also appears in the Top 50 Female Massachusetts Super Lawyers® list for 2007. She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2007-2013 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of mergers and acquisitions. In 2010 and 2012, the Legal 500 recognized Ms. Pravda for mergers and acquisitions. She has also been selected for inclusion in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2010 - 2012) for her work in venture capital investment. She was recognized by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as a Top Women in Law Honoree for her outstanding accomplishments in the practice of law (2010).
Ms. Pravda is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association, where she is co-chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions Committee.
Publications:
- Editor of MCLE publication, Buying and Selling a Privately Owned Business in Massachusetts
- Co-author, "Surveying the Damage: Execs from Emerging Tech Companies are Increasingly Cautious as They Face a Challenging Economy," Deal Magazine
- Author, "Maximize VC evaluations in Uncertain Market," Boston Women’s Business
- Author, "Get Ready to Bootstrap Your Start-Up Longer Than You Expected," Boston Women’s Business
- Featured, "Few Certainties for Startups," Deal Magazine
Presentations:
- Vistage International Mergers & Acquisitions Resource
- Guest Speaker, "Planning for Sale," The Exit Planning Exchange (XPX)
- Speaker, "Tips to Maximize Value," National Association of Chemical Distributors
- Speaker, "Negotiating Venture Capital Term Sheets," Babson College
- Chair, Foley’s Boston Emerging Technologies Conferences
- Moderator, "Growing Your Business Through Acquisitions," Foley’s Boston Emerging Technology Conference
- Speaker, "Finding the Money," Foley’s Executive Briefing Series
- Speaker, "M&A Trends and Insights," Foley’s Executive Briefing Series
- Speaker, "How to Prepare Your Company for Sale in Challenging Times," Foley’s Executive Briefing Series
- Speaker, "Building and Motivating a Management Team for Growth," Foley’s San Diego Emerging Technology Conference