The SPAC Boom – Current Trends & What You Need to Know

Amanda Galton Partner

San Francisco

Amanda uses her legal experience, business acumen, professional network and industry knowledge to see down the pike and navigate anticipated and unforeseen obstacles and developments. She advises at material stages of the corporate life cycle (formation, financings, and exits, including M&A’s and public offerings); and provides guidance and trusted governance advice on founder, board, advisor, employment, separation, and other commercial and transformative matters. To further help companies thrive, Amanda keeps clients informed about recent developments in their industries and connects entrepreneurs and investors with one another and other thought leaders. Amanda has also served in other leadership roles within Orrick including as Deputy Chair of Orrick’s Corporate Business, and co-leader of Orrick’s Technology Companies Group practice.

Amanda started her post-undergraduate professional career in West Africa as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer – a place where she got to deploy her French and Arabic language skills. Though the focus of her service was health education and community development, she also developed friendships and spent time in her village with Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees interested in, among other things, implementing windmill technology. Her time in the Peace Corps remains a foundational experience for how she approaches her work today — and she continues to be inspired by the power of technology, and those who are bold and want to solve problems.

Now, at Orrick, Amanda works with companies, entrepreneurs and investors in a number of industries including advanced manufacturing, financial services, food and agriculture, mobility, energy infrastructure, climate tech, and health and biotech.

In addition to her practice, Amanda also dedicates time to advancing women in leadership in the U.S. and abroad. She has served as a cultural and professional resource for emerging women leaders from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa through Tech Women, a U.S. State Department initiative dedicated to empowering technology leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and has previously served on the Board of CodeChix, a non-profit corporation which recruits, retains and inspires women in science and engineering.

True to her professional roots in Peace Corps service, Amanda remains actively committed to advancing global economic development. As a member of Orrick’s Impact Finance and Investment group, she supports investors and entrepreneurs who make social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns.

Prior to joining Orrick, Amanda was a corporate associate at the Menlo Park, California office of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP.

Matthew Gemello Partner

Silicon Valley

He has earned recognition as a leading lawyer from numerous publications, including Legal 500, and was selected by the San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of California’s top 10 Innovative Corporate Lawyers.

Matthew, who formerly served as the leader of Orrick’s global Corporate Business Unit, today works closely with Orrick leaders in London and across Europe to drive strategic growth and support the firm’s expanding transatlantic practice.

He is an innovator, thought leader and frequent speaker at Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, where he shares insights on topics including emerging M&A trends and the transformative impact of technology and AI on legal practice.

A dedicated mentor, sponsor and coach, Matthew is deeply committed to developing the next generation of legal talent at Orrick and within the broader legal community.

Albert Vanderlaan Partner

Boston

Albert is involved in a broad range of corporate legal engagements for high growth technology companies, including IPOs, follow-on public offerings, private and public company securities law compliance matters, public company disclosure obligations, venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, de-SPAC transactions and SPAC IPOs. He also regularly advises public and private companies and their boards of directors on corporate governance issues.

Albert's clients include public and private companies in technology, energy, automotive, Internet related industries, real estate, finance and the life sciences (including, among others, immuno-oncology, gene therapy, restorative cell therapy and medical device companies). He also represents underwriters in initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and PIPE offerings and venture capital firms in a variety of investment transactions.

Albert was named to the Deal’s Top Rising Stars 2021 list, which recognizes top new partners at U.S. law firms who are “doing spectacular work in the field of deal-making and who have continued to progress in their career despite the obstacles put in front of them.”