Career Path of a Founding Partner at VLP Law Group
David's career path began with a college internship at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, handling civil rights cases where "if you win, then you actually get the government will pay attorney's fees," followed by a traditional law firm summer job and then Morrison & Foerster. After five or six years, a move in-house to a startup and then co-founding a small law firm seventeen years ago marked a pivotal shift, resulting in their current position as a Founding Partner at VLP Law Group.
Legal Career Path, Entrepreneurship, Transitioning from BigLaw, In-House Legal, Start-up Experience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
David Goldenberg
Founding Partner
VLP Law Group
Stanford 1993
Law - JD - Stanford Law School
Philosophy
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing), Law
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. David's diverse internships in college, including one focused on ecological investing and another at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, demonstrate his early interest in law and social impact.
2. His experience at Morrison and Foerster, a large international law firm, provided him with valuable experience in the legal field. Then, transitioning to an in-house role at a startup gave him exposure to a different business environment.
3. David's entrepreneurial journey, co-founding a small law firm with a friend from law school and sustaining it for 17 years, showcases his determination, resilience, and the potential for career paths beyond traditional law firm models.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Do you have any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
In college, there wasn't much directly related to my current career. I did an internship for a foundation that was working on principles for foundations to invest in more ecological fashion. That was a little bit legal-related.
I also interned one college summer for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. They handled civil rights cases. Under a certain provision of the federal code, if you win, the government pays your attorney's fees.
The director won a big case on behalf of immigrant taxi drivers, of whom he was one. He took all that money and started his foundation, which was a great and noble cause. I worked for him for a summer.
Then, I went straight through from college to law school. Traditionally, during the summer in law school, you work at a law firm. I did that. If things go well, you typically return to that firm for your job. However, I ended up going somewhere else.
My first job was at Morrison and Foerster, a large international law firm based in San Francisco. I started in the Los Angeles office and moved to the San Francisco office a year later. I worked there for five or six years.
After that, I went in-house to a startup. It had about 35 people when I joined and about 50 something when I left. They were based in the Bay Area and made software for set-top boxes, allowing people to watch music, photos, and videos from their computers on their TVs, before that ecosystem fully existed.
I was there for three years. That company was bought, and a friend from law school who had recruited me into that company and I then started a small law firm. That law firm, through fits and starts, is where I'm still at today, 17 years later. That's my career path in a nutshell.