Paul Hastings Continues Recent Growth of ECVC Platform With Addition of Rising Star Partner

CHICAGO – Paul Hastings LLP today announced the addition of partner Winston Gu, further strengthening its premier ECVC practice.

Joining from the Band 1 emerging companies practice at Cooley, Gu advises startups, emerging growth companies and investors throughout the full business life cycle, from formation and organizational matters through debt and equity financings, strategic transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and exits, including IPOs.

“We are committed to building a leading ECVC platform, which we believe is essential to gaining market share with high-growth companies across the life sciences and technology sectors,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “Winston’s deep experience and industry relationships will enhance our ability to advise companies at all stages of their life cycle. Our goal is to be the leading trusted adviser for premier high-growth clients from earlier stage financing to IPO to every type of complex transactional and litigation matter for investors, boards and C-suites.”

Gu started and grew his ECVC practice in California, with clients across the West Coast, East Coast and Chicago. His work spans venture capital, growth equity and strategic investments, and he regularly represents venture capital and private equity funds, family offices and corporate venture groups in connection with investments and portfolio company matters. He frequently serves as outside general counsel to company-side clients, providing strategic advice on day-to-day corporate, governance and commercial matters.

Gu’s clients have included ARB Interactive, Bitnomial, Builders Vision, Catch Financial, Lightbank, Momofuku, Ngen Mission Critical, Orange EV, Pathos AI, Reserv, Sentera, S2G Investments, Somethings and a number of other private companies and venture capital funds.

At Paul Hastings, Gu reunites with former Cooley colleague David Ambler and a team in Palo Alto. His arrival further builds out the firm’s ECVC practice after the additions of James Huie and Mike Pestana from Wilson Sonsini in San Francisco and Palo Alto and teams from Goodwin Procter in Boston and New York, including Ian Engstrand in the technology sector and Seo Salimi in the life sciences sector.

“I’m excited to join Paul Hastings and contribute to the firm’s impressive growth and ambitious, entrepreneurial culture,” said Gu. “The opportunity to work alongside the firm’s incredibly talented bench, including my former colleague David Ambler, and help build a true destination ECVC practice at the top of the market for clients and the lawyers that serve them is one I simply couldn’t pass up.”

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.