Neil H. Aronson

Partner

Neil H. Aronson photo

Bio

Education

  • Cornell Law School, J.D.
  • Boston University, B.A. American Civilization/English Literature, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

 

Lawyer Bio

Neil H. Aronson is one of New England’s most respected corporate and securities lawyers. Boston Magazine has recognized Neil on multiple occasions (including in its most recent surveys in each of the last six years (2018-2023) as one of Boston’s Top 100 Lawyers and as a recipient of the SuperLawyers® designation every year since 2006. Neil also holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV®Preeminent rating – ranking him at the highest level of professional excellence. Neil represents many publicly traded and private innovative and growing companies, many of them leading edge developers of new technologies in high technology, social media, medical devices and life sciences as well as rapidly growing service-based and retail businesses, as well as larger companies seeking to grow through acquisitions and joint ventures.

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Neil has extensive experience in advising companies from the earliest stage of formation through venture capital financings, IPOs and M&A events, including several of the region’s largest acquisitions of venture-backed companies by public companies. In addition, Neil represents a number of public companies in their public offerings and ongoing SEC filings. Neil also actively counsels clients in licensing, development and other critical business arrangements. Neil regularly serves as legal counsel to the special committees of boards of directors and advises both public and privately-held companies on corporate governance matters.

Prior to forming Gennari Aronson, LLP, Neil was a partner at Mintz Levin, an Am Law 100 firm, where he served as the Chair of the Business and Finance Section. Previously, Neil was a partner with O’Connor, Broude & Aronson, the first corporate and securities law firm on Route 128 representing emerging businesses.

Neil is a thought leader on legal issues of critical importance to emerging growth companies. He serves as a member of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Negotiated Acquisitions, the National Venture Capital Associations Committee on Model Legal Forms and is a regular lecturer and contributing author for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education’s Program on financing, M&A and technology licensing and outsourcing topics. Neil has also chaired multiple MCLE programs on mergers and acquisition, drafting representations and warranties and indemnification provisions for financing and business sale arrangements, and licensing agreements.

Neil earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. from Boston University, summa cum laude, with distinction, where he was named to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year.

Thought
Leadership

“Representations, Warranties, Indemnification & Termination Clauses” Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2015-16), Chair & Editor

“Investor Rights Agreements” published in Venture Capital Forms and Analysis (Law Journal Press, 2007)

Management Retention Plans Corporate Board Journal, (Spring 2006)

“Themes on Corporate Governance” Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, (September 2003)

Strategies and Best Practices in Outsourcing Agreements, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2004)

“Preventing Future Enrons: Implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002” (Stanford Journal of Law and Business, Autumn 2002)

“Venture Capital Financing Documents” Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2000)

“Representing a High Tech Startup,” Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2000)

“Financing Strategies for the Public Company,” Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (1998)

Representative
Engagements

Applied Science and Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ASTX)
Neil served as ASTEX’s outside counsel from its formation in 1987 through three private funding rounds, an IPO, two follow-on public offerings, six acquisitions and its merger with MKS Instruments, Inc.

Connected Corporation
 Neil represented Connected Corporation in connection with its acquisition of RChive-It, Ltd. and its acquisition by Iron Mountain Corporation (NYSE: IRM), one of the largest venture capital backed company sales.

Icoria, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICOR)
 Neil has represented Icoria in a follow-on public offering through J.P. Morgan Chase; a subsequent convertible debt financing, the acquisition of Tissue Informatics, Inc. the disposition of Icoria’s agricultural genotyping business to Monsanto, Inc.; and its Merger with Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA).

Inteq Corporation
 Neil represented this venture capital backed information technology company in its sale to Computer Associates (NYSE:CA)

iSkoot, Inc.
 Neil represented iSkoot, a mobile technology business, in three rounds of venture financing, multiple commercial arrangements with many of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, and its sale to Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM).

J. P. Sercel, Inc.
 Neil represented J.P. Sercel, Inc., a developer of complex semiconductor inspection equipment, in its sale of IPG Photonics, Inc.

NEXX Systems, Inc
Neil represented NEXX Systems, a developer of semiconductor capital equipment, in its management buy-out from MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI), multiple rounds of venture financing and bank financing, joint ventures with several of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, its proposed initial public offering, and its sale to Tokyo Electron for $204 million.

PLC Systems, Inc.
Neil has represented PLC (NASDAQ:PLCF) in its initial public offering, the sale of two business units, equity and debt financing arrangements and its ongoing securities law matters.

Thermo-Electron (NYSE: TMO)
Neil represented Thermo Electron in connection with several “going private” transactions for publicly traded affiliates of Thermo-Electron and in connection with the sale of four operating subsidiaries in the fields of commercial lasers, natural gas and biomass electrical generation facilities, rocket engineering and oil and gas services.

Y-Med
Neil represented Y-Med, a medical device company founded in Israel, in several rounds of venture financing, major distribution agreements and its sale to C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR)

Venture Capital
Neil has represented a number of venture capital and private equity investors including Highland Capital Corporation, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, North Bridge Ventures and Watermill Ventures.

Professional &
Community Involvement

Neil is a frequent lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, a number of local university MBA programs and has spoken before a host of organizations including: National Association of Corporate Directors; Financial Executives International; Licensing Executives Society; Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council; Massachusetts Biotechnology Council; and the MIT Enterprise Forum.