Jim Jensen Joins Orrick as Fund Formation Group Head

• Jim Jensen joins Orrick as the head of the firm’s Fund Formation practice in Silicon Valley. Counsel Margaret He will also be joining the firm. They arrive from Wilson Sonsini.
• Jim and Margaret counsel venture capital funds, private equity funds, angel investment funds, accelerators/incubators, SPVs, funds-of-funds and other private investment funds on the formation, operation and regulatory obligations of their funds, as well as on capital deployment, including investments. They also represent institutional investors in their investments in investment funds.
• Jim served as general counsel of emerging markets at investment fund VantagePoint Capital Partners for six years. As outside counsel, he has advised on 500+ investment and exit transactions across the AI, digital media, esports, biotech, mobile, security and software verticals.
• Jim is the eighth partner addition to Orrick’s Tech Companies Group practice this year, including last month’s arrival of Adam Freiman in New York, Mark Solakian and Jake Gatof in Boston, and a 4-partner/14-lawyer team in Los Angeles. Orrick also recently launched in Charlotte amid the addition of a transatlantic 37-lawyer CLO and asset-backed lending team, following its Miami launch with a 3-partner M&A and private equity team focused on serving the region’s growing tech and innovation ecosystem.

“Adding Jim and his team is a terrific opportunity to deepen our fund relationships, with investor-side transactions having grown to about half our practice,” said Orrick Chair Mitch Zuklie. “Our tech and VC team is on fire this year – acting for innovators in AI and tech, including those focused at the convergence with finance, energy and life sciences, on record-breaking transactions globally. It’s been an exciting year of investment in our tech platform.”

“Jim is a consummate deal lawyer with a uniquely broad value proposition for fund clients,” added Anik Guha, San Francisco-based co-leader of Orrick’s Technology Companies Group practice. “He and his team will be a force multiplier for our service offering to the tech sector, both in the Bay Area and more broadly.”

The team brings deep experience advising investment funds and startups on their regulatory obligations, including exclusions or exemptions, under the Securities Act, Securities Exchange Act, Investment Advisers Act and Investment Company Act.

“Orrick has built one of the most distinctive venture capital practices, with an extraordinary portfolio of companies and investors in dynamic verticals from AI and data to energy and space. The firm’s focus on building out sector-specific regulatory teams positions it to offer something truly special to companies and investors as they scale and innovate in this fast-changing environment,” said Jim. “I am greatly looking forward to collaborating with my new colleagues globally to serve our company and fund clients.”

Orrick ranks top 5 globally for venture capital (PitchBook), M&A (LSEG) and PE buyouts (Mergermarket). In addition, Orrick was named a 2024 Tech Practice Group of the Year for the second year in a row by Law360 and The Recorder’s Tech Industry Advisory Team of the Year in 2025.