Patrick Joseph Franke

I've worked with Pat for many years -- and his advice on investing in startups has been stellar. He's client-centric -- providing exactly the useful advice required for good decision making. On more than one occasion, following Pat's advice has proven to be absolutely the right thing in the long ru...n.

I first met Pat Franke and JJ Leary in January 2000. They were just forming the boutique law firm Leary-Franke. I think I was their first customer. Many clients followed them from their previous law firm of course, but I maintain that i was the first *new* customer of their *new* firm. Pat has ...been my legal counsel through four start-up companies, two acquisitions, and numerous legal travails for nearly ten years. In addition to his calm manner and deep understanding of the practical side of the law, he is a great human being. There have been a few lean years, where the funding for the various companies I was involved with wasn't what it should have been, and neither Pat nor JJ ever made that an issue. My legal services never suffered because a VC round hadn't closed and I was six months in arrears with regard to their legal fees. Their counsel to me has been battle tested. In ten years, I have never been surprised by the implications of a contract that Pat worked on for me. Whether the contract covered a wholly owned subsidiary in India, a lease agreement in Kirkland, multi-national financing and acquisition, employment disputes, client bankruptcy, estate planning, multi-national manufacturing agreements, crazy people, etc. Pat has called me the "one man bar test" because of the variety of issues that I have needed his counsel on. When he isn't the best person for the job, he has always given me a recommendation that worked well. His recommendations are always highly legally competent and fit with my work/personality style. I consider myself very fortunate to have found a lawyer that i can honestly call a *partner* for my various endevours. From Indian outsourcing companies, to experimental engines, Pat has been there for me time and time again. He is the only lawyer I have ever worked with that I think undercharges for his time. I think his billing rate is his biggest blind spot. I am glad I established my relationship with him before he figured this out...

For 10 years Pat has advised and represented multiple companies that I have worked for. I have worked very closely with Pat in first stage start-ups, fortune 50 companies and currently in another start-up. The work has been wide and varied from software licensing agreements, funding contracts to acq...uisitions and worker representation. Pat is a great listener and gets straight to the point with great clarity. What I appreciate most about Pat is not getting “standard safe’ attorney advice, he takes that time to really understand the issue and gives well thought through and properly weighted opinions. I trust Pat implicitly and I am willing to be a reference for him anytime.

Mr. Franke has counseled our firm since the start-up nearly a decade ago. His advice, which has covered a wide range of business issues, including, contracts, human resources, insurance, licensing, negotiation, growth strategies (to name just a few), have always been valuable. He listens extremely we...ll, is articulate, and is able to focus any business discussion on central issues. We have never received bad advice from Mr. Franke. He has always worked with us to keep legal costs down and payments manageable. Over the years has been willing to learn our growing and changing business, and consistently given us the sort of a detailed, well considered advice one would expect of an in-house counsel. In a number of contentious negotiations with clients, Mr. Franke has demonstrated a knack for keeping the talks moving forward to a positive conclusion. He is a superb communicator, and all work that we have received from him and his staff have been highly professional.