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Jessica C. Pearlman
Jessica C. Pearlman

Jessica C. Pearlman

Partner
Seattle
+1.206.370.8352
Email Jessica C. Pearlman @ jessica.pearlman@klgates.com
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Jessica Pearlman is a partner in the firm’s Corporate group and is based out of the Seattle office. Jessica represents emerging and established companies in various corporate, governance, and finance matters, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions for both public and private clients, domestic and international. She has particular depth of experience in various technology sectors, including healthcare applications, software, social media, data security, data storage, mobile applications, search and search engine optimization, and AI as well as in energy, digital and traditional media, biotechnology, and transportation.

Jessica is vice chair of the American Bar Association’s M&A Committee, is a former chair of the M&A Committee’s Market Trends Subcommittee, and has served as chair since 2010 of its flagship Private Target M&A Deal Points Study.

She is a frequent presenter on mergers and acquisitions topics and is listed in the Chambers USA guide as a leader in Corporate/M&A and listed in the Best Lawyers in America® in Mergers and Acquisitions Law, in The International Who’s Who of Merger and Acquisition Lawyers, in Who’s Who Legal, and as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Washington, as well as being selected to the Washington Super Lawyers list. Jessica was also selected by Lawyer Monthly for a Women in Law Recognition Award. Jessica has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University School of Law and as a member of the Thomson Reuters Business Law Solutions Advisory Board and is a member of the Practical Law Company Corporate Advisory Board.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
  • Recognized by Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A in Washington, 2021-present
  • Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m), 2024
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Mergers and Acquisitions Law in Seattle, 2024-2025
  • Recommended by Lexology Index (f/k/a Who's Who Legal) for M&A and Governance, 2015-present
  • Named to the Seattle, Washington Super Lawyers list, 2013-present
  • Top Women Attorneys in Washington, 2013-present
  • Women in Law Recognition Award by Lawyer Monthly, 2017
  • Rabbi Dan Bridge Leadership Award, Hillel University of Washington
  • Member, Washington Corporate Act Revision Committee
  • Vice Chair, American Bar Association Mergers and Acquisitions Committee
  • Chair, American Bar Association Private Target Deal Points Study
  • Member, American Bar Association Revised Model Asset Purchase Agreement Editorial Working Group
  • Former Chair, M&A Market Trends Subcommittee, M&A Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Business Law
  • Adjunct Professor, the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University School of Law, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Member, Practical Law Company Corporate Advisory Board
  • Member, Thomson Reuters Business Law Solutions Advisory Board
  • Member, Board of Directors of Jewish Family Service of Seattle
  • Former member, Board of Directors of Hillel at the University of Washington and Board of Governors of Washington Athletic Club
  • “M&A,” Northwestern Securities Regulation Institute, San Diego, CA, January 2025
  • “ABA National Mergers & Acquisitions Institute,” American Bar Association, November 2024
  • “Mock Negotiation of Earnouts and Contingent Consideration,” The University of Texas School of Law's 20th Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, Dallas, TX, October 2024
  • “That's not Market...Or is it? Lessons Learned from the 2023 Private Target Deal Points Study,” American Bar Association, via webcast, March 2024
  • “2023 ABA Women in M&A Panel Discussion” University of Washington School of Law, April 2023
  • “Top 10 Trends of 2022 from the ABA M&A Committee,” American Bar Association/Hotshot Market Check video series, March 2023
  • “25th ABA National Mergers & Acquisitions Institute,” American Bar Association, November 2022
  • “ABA Women in M&A Panel Discussions for Law Schools,” American Bar Association, October 2022
  • “User’s Guide to the ABA Private Target M&A Deal Points Study,” The National Association Of Women Lawyers, via webcast, June 2022
  • “Private Company M&A: 2021 ABA Deal Points Study,” Strafford Live CLE Webinars, via webcast, May 2022 
  • “Market Trends in M&A Deal PointsーUnderstanding the Data,” Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI), via webcast, May 2022
  • “That's not Market...Or is it? Lessons Learned from the 2021 Private Target Deal Points Study,” American Bar Association, via webcast, March 2022
  • “2021 ABA Women in M&A Panel Discussions for Law Schools” (students from UC Berkeley School of Law, UCLA School of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center), American Bar Association, via webcast, October 2021 
  • “Traps for the Conventional M&A Thinker,” The University of Texas School of Law's 17th Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, via webcast, October 2021
  • “What’s Academics Got To Do With It? What M&A Practitioners Can Learn From Law Professor Research,” American Bar Association, via webcast, September 2021
  • “General Business Considerations and Letters of Intent in Private Acquisitions or Sales,” PLI’s Acquiring or Selling the Privately Held Company, via webcast, May 2021
  • “Delaware Law Traps for M&A Practitioners,” NCBA Business Law Section, via webcast, February 2021
  • “Know Your Delaware Precedent: Key Issues in M&A,” American Bar Association, via webcast, October 2020
  • “Letters of Intent - Preliminary Considerations for Private Transactions,” PLI’s Acquiring or Selling the Privately Held Company, via webcast, May 2020
  • “Ultimate User’s Guide to the ABA Private Target M&A Deal Point Study,” National Association of Women Lawyers, via webcast, February 2020
  • “M&A Negotiation in the Wake of Deal Point Studies: A Lost Art?” Mergers and Acquisitions Committee Meeting, Laguna Beach, CA, January 2020
  • “Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception in Private Company Acquisitions,” Stafford CLE Webinar, Via Webcast, January 2020
  • “Women in M&A Discussion,” Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, March 2019
  • “Earnouts: Nuts & Bolts,” DealLawyers.com, via webcast, February 2019
  • “Market Check: Negotiating MAE Post-Akorn (Anything Really New?),” with Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine, Mergers and Acquisitions Committee Meeting, Laguna Beach, CA, January 2019
  • “Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception in Private Company Acquisitions,” Strafford Live CLE Webinars, via webcast, October 2018
  • “Venture Backed M&A: Special Considerations,” The University of Texas School of Law’s 14th Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, Dallas, TX, October 2018
  • “How Do You Do It?” 2018 Women Deal Lawyers Forum, Dallas, TX, October 2018
  • “Cultural Nuances in Deal Making – Perspectives from India, China, and Ireland,” International Mergers and Acquisitions Subcommittee at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, September 2018
  • “U.S. and Canada Cross-Border M&A: Deal Activity to Date and Emerging Growth Industries,” Northwestern M&A and Corporate Integration Forum, Thomson Reuters, Seattle, WA, May 2018
  • “Insider's Insights from the Deal Points Study,” American Bar Association Business Law Section In The Know series, via webcast, March 2018
  • “Deal Trends in Private Company M&A: How Do You Use Deal Points Data in a Negotiation, And What Results Should You Expect if You Do?”, 2017 Mergers and Acquisitions Conference, The Seminar Group, Seattle, WA, November 2017 
  • “Negotiating Contractual Indemnity in M&A Deals: Transactional and Litigation Considerations,” Strafford CLE Webinars, via webcast, August 2017
  • Private Practice Attorney Panel, National Association of Women Lawyers Conference, Seattle, WA, May 2017
  • “Mock Negotiation: The Locked Box versus Price Adjustment Method in M&A Transactions,” International Mergers and Acquisitions Subcommittee at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, New Orleans, April 2017
  • “Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception in Private Company Acquisitions,” Strafford Live CLE Webinars, via webcast, March 2017
  • “What’s Changed in M&A and Alternative Liquidity--M&A Insurance, and ABA Deal Point Study Trends,” 2016 Mergers and Acquisitions Conference, The Seminar Group, Seattle, WA, November 2016
  • “Exit, Stage Right - Planning for Your Private Company’s Ultimate Exit,” Boston Business Journal Power Breakfast Series, October 2016
  • “Negotiating Contractual Indemnity in M&A Deals: Transactional and Litigation Considerations,” Strafford CLE Webinars, via webcast, August 2016
  • “Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception in Private Company Acquisitions,” Stafford Live CLE Webinars, via webcast, March 2016
  • “M&A Negotiation Trends: Insights from the 2015 Private Target Deal Points Study,” American Bar Association Business Law Section In The Know series, via webcast, March 2016
  • “Enforceability of Obligations Against Non-Signatories in Private Mergers,” The University of Texas School of Law’s 11th Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, Dallas, TX, October 2015
  • “Deal Point Considerations in Venture Backed M&A,” American Bar Association Business Law Section In The Know series, via webcast, July 2015
  • “Deal Point Considerations in Venture Backed M&A,” American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2015
  • “Private Equity and Venture Capital Jurisprudence,” American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2015
  • “M&A Negotiation Trend: Insights from the 2013 Target Deal Points Study,” American Bar Association Business Law Section In the Know series, via webcast, June 2014
  • “Private Company M&A: A Potpourri of Practical Pointers,” American Bar Association Business Law Section In the Know series, via webcast, September 2013
  • “Private Company M&A: A Potpourri of Practical Pointers,” American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, August 2013
  • “Negotiating the M&A Deal: A Mock Negotiation of a Corporate Acquisition,” Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA, and simulcast to UC Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley, CA, February 2012
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