For 24 years, Antone Johnson has served as a business and technology lawyer representing emerging growth tech and media companies, entrepreneurs and investors in a wide range of corporate, commercial and intellectual property matters. Growing up in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, California, he came to respect the unique startup culture of innovation that characterizes Silicon Valley, the world's leading center of technology entrepreneurship. Supplementing this background with years of experience in Wall Street dealmaking and the creative environment of Hollywood, Antone has developed a valuable perspective on strategic matters that lie at the intersection between business, law, public policy, technology and media.
Prior to founding Bottom Line Law Group, Antone served as Vice President, Legal Affairs at eHarmony, Inc., where he built the in-house legal function from scratch to serve the rapidly evolving needs of a growing, profitable $200+ million international business. For three years, he directed the company's internal and external legal and government affairs teams, including more than a dozen law firms across five countries, to support the worldwide operations of its flagship eHarmony® dating service and its network of content and community sites. eHarmony is the Internet’s #1 trusted relationship service, with more than 20 million registered users, and is responsible for more than 2% of new marriages in the United States. Throughout his tenure at eHarmony, Antone served as primary legal advisor to the senior management team and Board of Directors in corporate and commercial transactions, corporate governance, shareholder relations, litigation strategy, crisis communications and risk management. Key accomplishments included forging strategic partnerships; completing four website acquisitions; supporting major product launches; expanding and enforcing a valuable portfolio of patents, trademarks and domain names; reaching a landmark settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General to resolve a controversial, politically charged discrimination complaint; and leading litigation teams in several complex cases including patent infringement, consumer class action and employment litigation.
Antone has deep roots in the consumer Internet and digital media industries, having served as Corporate Counsel to pioneering broadband Internet content and access provider [email protected] from 2000 to 2002 and media, entertainment and technology company Gemstar-TV Guide from 2002 to 2004, and as Assistant General Counsel at Intermix Media, Inc., which operated MySpace.com during its period of hyper-growth and global expansion, culminating in the company's $650 million sale in 2005 to Fox Interactive Media. Prior to [email protected], Antone spent four years in private practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the world's preeminent technology law firm, as well as Wall Street firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, where he represented emerging growth technology companies and financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, joint ventures, technology and content licensing transactions and general corporate matters. He holds a J.D. from Columbia University, where he earned the honor of Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a B.A. cum laude in Economics from Williams College.
Practice areas
26 years
18 years
24 years
24 years
24 years
26 years
26 years
Languages spoken
English
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
CA | Active | 1997 | 02/06/2022 |
Award name | Grantor | Date Granted |
---|---|---|
Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar | Columbia University | 1996 |
Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary | eHarmony, Inc. | 2006 - 2009 |
Assistant General Counsel | MySpace.com / Fox Interactive Media / Intermix Media, Inc. | 2004 - 2006 |
Director of Legal Affairs | Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. | 2002 - 2004 |
Director, Corporate Counsel | [email protected] | 2000 - 2002 |
Associate | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 1998 - 2000 |
Associate | Stroock & Stroock & Lavan | 1995 - 1998 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Los Angeles County Bar Association | Member | 2004 - Present |
State Bar of California | Member | 1997 - Present |
Association of Corporate Counsel | Member | 2004 - 2009 |
Publication name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Investor's Business Daily | Mastering Digital Language Equals Reaching Customers | 2015 |
Los Angeles Times | Yelp's tactics feel 'nefarious' and 'fishy,' even if they're legal | 2014 |
VentureBeat | The case for firing Snapchat’s CEO, & why the Silicon Valley frat will never let that happen | 2014 |
Forbes | Was It Appropriate For Adria Richards To Tweet A Photo Of Two Men At PyCon And Accuse Them Of Being Sexist? | 2013 |
Forbes | Why Are Lawyers So Expensive Even With The Excess Supply Of Lawyers? | 2012 |
TechCrunch | Facebook's High-Stakes "Poker" Game | 2012 |
The Recorder | Silicon Valley Lawyers Back JOBS Act—Cautiously | 2012 |
ReadWrite | Facebook's Biggest Risks Explained | 2012 |
Wall Street Journal | 5 'IP' Mistakes Start-ups Should Avoid | 2012 |
Forbes | Is writing specific instructions on the Internet on how to do an illegal activity protected under free speech? | 2011 |
NFIB | Legal Guidelines for Small Businesses Using Social Media | 2010 |
Wall Street Journal | eHarmony Settles With NJ AG | 2008 |
ABA Journal | eHarmony Lawyer Says Calif. Gay Bias Suit is Moot; Plaintiffs Disagree | 2008 |
National Law Journal | In-House Counsel for Online Matchmaker Helps Keep Legal Harmony | 2007 |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
Columbia Univ SOL | JD - Juris Doctor | 1996 |
Williams College | BA - Bachelor of Arts | 1993 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
This Week in Law | NSA surveillance reach | 2013 |
Fifth Annual Comprehensive Conference on Social Media Law | Keeping an Eye Toward the Future: New Ideas Coming Out of the Social Media Startup World | 2013 |
Crowdfunding California Conference | Alternatives to Equity Crowdfunding | 2013 |
Stanford E-Commerce Best Practices Conference | Top 10 Best Practices for Startups | 2012 |
16th Annual Statewide Ethics Symposium | Social Networking and Professional Responsibility | 2012 |
Case name | Outcome |
---|---|
McKinley v. eHarmony | Settlement involving major new product launch |
Posted by anonymous
January 26, 2017
Posted by Kevin
January 31, 2010
Posted by Lisa
December 28, 2009
Seth Weisberg, Corporate and incorporation Attorney on Jan 11, 2010
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse Antone's work. Antone and I went to law school together and have remained in close touch over the years, as each of us has worked in law firm and in-house settings. Antone is a trusted friend and colleague. He is a veteran in high tech law, especially in the Internet setting. We have brainstormed on many occassions, and I can highly recommend Antone for help with any of the transactional and counseling legal issues an Internet/media/software company might face. Seth
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