Overview
Susan E. Pravda is a partner and business lawyer at Foley & Lardner LLP. Susan’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, initial public offerings and related securities transactions. She is the sector head for the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practices and a member of the firm’s Private Equity & Venture Capital and Transactional & Securities Practices. Susan serves as chief strategic talent acquisition partner for the firm and is a managing director of Foley Ventures LLC, a venture capital fund. She chaired the Technology Industry Team for 10 years from 2004 to 2014 and served on the firm’s national management committee from 2009 to 2016.
Susan represents high-growth and emerging businesses, including companies in the telecommunications, Internet, software, wireless and service industries, as well as health care IT, clinical research, life science and biotechnology companies, from start-ups to public companies.
Susan also frequently acts as special mergers and acquisitions counsel for private and public companies in the manufacturing, service, distribution, technology, health care, life science and pharma sectors, including buyers, sellers and management groups. She also advises clients with respect to valuation issues, stockholder relationships and incentive compensation plans.
Thought Leadership
Susan 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. Susan'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.
Education
- Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1983)
- Wesleyan University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1980)
Recognition
Susan has been peer review rated as AV Preeminent®, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ system. Since 2004, Susan 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 Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2007-2024). In 2010 and 2012 – 2016, The Legal 500 recognized Susan for her work with mergers and acquisitions and venture capital and emerging companies. 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 – 2017) 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).
Affiliations
Susan serves on the boards of a number of healthcare, technology and manufacturing companies including Nexus Health Systems, Wasabi Technologies, Green Wave Electronics and Kids2.
Admissions and Professional Memberships
Susan is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Illinois and New York. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association, where she was 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