The Tectonic Defense Summit

Laura Lariu Partner

Santa Monica

She is primarily focused on space & defense transactions, venture capital financings and providing external general counsel guidance. Before joining Orrick, Laura led companies through transformational growth as general counsel and practiced ECVC law.

Laura was an early employee of rocket manufacturer Relativity Space and guided the company's legal strategy through the company's (and world's) first launch of a predominantly 3D-printed full-scale rocket. Throughout that period, Laura helped negotiate $1.3 billion in private funding. She helped secure millions of square feet of physical infrastructure, including a former Boeing C-17 factory and facilities at NASA's Stennis Space Center. She also negotiated customer contracts of over $1 billion with major global satellite operators, and laid the foundation for complying within a national security framework and developing an innovative IP portfolio.

Prior to Relativity Space, Laura was general counsel at Virgin Hyperloop. Before that, Laura was as a corporate attorney with Gunderson Dettmer in New York and worked on innovative deals (venture financings, M&A, IPO) throughout the city's tech boom of 2011-2016. She also applied her fluency in 5 languages to work on a wide array of international deals.

Laura is a founding member of the L Suite, formerly TechGC, a platform of over 2,000 in-house legal leaders at leading tech companies and venture capital funds. She previously served on its Executive Board and Steering Committee and co-led the Los Angeles chapter. She is also on the Steering Committee of Space Beach Law Lab, the leading platform for legal leaders and policymakers to shape the future of the space industry.

Montana Ware Partner

Austin

Montana primarily represents emerging growth companies, venture capital funds and other strategic investors in a wide array of corporate matters, including early and late-stage venture funding rounds, formation and corporate governance, securities issuances and mergers and acquisitions.  Montana's practice spans commercial industries, with significant experience representing frontier technology companies and "dual use" companies such as those in the defense, nuclear and space industries. 

Prior to practicing law, Montana served in the U.S. Air Force.

Select engagements Montana has advised on include:

• Represented Stripe in its $6.5 billion Series I financing
• Represented Radiant Nuclear in its $12.6 million Series A, $40 million Series B, $160 million Series C and $300+ million Series D financings
• Represented Castelion in its $14.2 million Series Seed, $100 million Series A and $350 million Series B financings
• Represented Standard Nuclear in its $140 million Series A financing
• Represented Firehawk Aerospace in its $60 million Series C financing
• Represented Supabase in its $30 million Series A, $80 million Series B, $200 million Series C, $200 million Series D and $100 million Series E financing
• Represented Speakeasy Labs ("Speak") in its Series A, Series B (and follow-on) and $78 million Series C financings
• Represented Solugen in its $350 million Series C and $200 million Series D financings
• Represented Zeno Power in its $45 million Series B financing
• Represented Merama in its $225 million Series B and $80 million Series B follow-on financings and its $45 million Series C financing
• Represented Next Insurance in its $250 million Series C financing, $250 million Series D financing and $250 million Series E financing
• Represented Coatue Management in its investment in the $100 million Series B financing of Mercury Technologies
• Represented D1 Capital Partners in its investment in the $450 million Series D financing of Anduril
• Represented Inspire Semiconductor in its $2.5 million Series A financing and acquisition of Greenfield Acquisition (TSX:GAC.P), a publicly-traded SPAC, by way of a reverse merger
• Represented Codecademy in its $525 million acquisition by SkillSoft (NYS: SKIL), a New Hampshire based provider of educational software
• Represented Gym Class in its $8 million Series Seed financing and in collaborative licensing deal with the NBA
• Represents Squadra Ventures, Decisive Point and other venture investors on defense and frontier technology investments

*Please note: Montana’s experience includes that prior to joining Orrick.