Holland & Knight has added Jay Bettinger as a partner in in its Los Angeles office. Mr. Bettinger has been a business attorney for more than 20 years, including four years as in-house counsel in the internet and mobile technology industry. He previously practiced at Brown & Streza in Southern California.
Mr. Bettinger advises privately owned companies, investors, funds, family offices, trustees, entrepreneurs and executives on domestic and international business transactions, commercial agreements, formations and entity selection, joint ventures, private equity and debt security offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance, corporate governance, executive employment and compensation agreements, and regulatory compliance. He also advises owners and founders on coordinating efforts on business and personal trust and estate planning. For numerous clients, Mr. Bettinger essentially functions as their outside legal counsel, overseeing all legal matters for them, seeking to bring the highest quality and best value counsel into each situation.
“Jay has deep corporate experience and strong client relationships, especially in California,” said Stephen Dietrich, leader of Holland & Knight’s Central/West Corporate Practice Group. “He’s a great addition to our team and will play an important role in expanding our corporate practice on the West Coast.”
“Jay’s business practice dovetails nicely with our Private Wealth Services group, given his experience in structuring and managing businesses owned by trusts and estates,” said Vivian Thoreen, the executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Los Angeles office. “His extensive background in representing technology companies also integrates well with the firm’s strategic focus on growing our presence in the technology industry on the West Coast.”
An avid entrepreneur, Mr. Bettinger founded several companies including a reputation management company and is named an inventor on several patents. He previously founded a nonprofit organization that reinvented startup contests by using patents as topics for competitions for universities and colleges to educate students and to help patent owners. In 2017 Mr. Bettinger formed and led a business and technology team that participated in the XPrize that was focused on artificial intelligence. The team submitted a sophisticated artificial intelligence solution focused on solving the global issue of fresh-water scarcity, and the team finished in the top 32 teams out of 187 initial teams and thousands of applicants.
Mr. Bettinger received an LL.M. degree in taxation from the University of San Diego; a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; an M.B.A. degree from Loyola Marymount University; and a B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
