David Eklund
Attorney and Manager
Principal at Pickford Ridge LLC
Background
Organized and incisive attorney with extensive experience in litigation, intellectual property, transactions, startups, SaaS, research, operations and project management.
Job experience
- September 2022 - presentPrincipal
Pickford Ridge LLCNew York, NY, USAConsult on a variety of legal matters with a focus on intellectual property, transactions, and issues faced by
emerging companies. - November 2021 - August 2022Associate General Counsel - Complex Transactions and Intellectual Property
DailyPay, Inc.New York, NY, USAAssisted various teams throughout the Company regarding legal and regulatory issues including the Company’s
compliance, public policy, finance, product, research and development, marketing, and sales teams.
- Intellectual Property: Created and implemented Company’s Patent and Trade Secret Program. Created
framework for identifying patentable inventions. Addressed infringement of Company’s intellectual
property.
- Patent: Collaborated with outside patent counsel on prosecution of Company’s patents.
- Trademark: Protected and enforced Company’s Trademarks through registration and monitoring in the
United States and worldwide. Counseled marketing and branding teams on brand protection, clearance
issues, and the use of Company trademarks as well as the use of Company’s partners’ trademarks.
- Agreements: Drafted, negotiated, and reviewed complex commercial agreements, technology agreements,
licensing agreements, SaaS agreements, data security agreements, privacy agreements, and a variety of
vendor agreements.
- Financing and Debt Deals: Worked with counsel for investors and financial institutions to negotiate, draft,
and finalize financing and debt agreements to assist in the growth of the Company.
- Training: Developed and implemented trainings regarding Intellectual Property and Company Intellectual
Property procedures. - August 2017 - November 2021Associate
Foley Hoag LLPNew York, NY, USAPracticed in Foley Hoag’s Business Department focusing on technology in the firm’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Practice Group and Licensing Group.
- Licensing and Strategic Alliances: Provided clients with strategies for future and existing technology portfolios. Drafted and negotiated influencer, promotion and marketing agreements. Drafted license and service agreements relating to development and commercialization, SaaS, manufacturing and supply, co-development relationships, and technology transfer.
- Intellectual Property: Counseled clients on Intellectual Property issues including protection of company IP and proprietary and confidential information, issues relating to opensource software use particularly concerning financings, and proper IP management and assignment for early stage companies.
- Entrepreneurial Services: Worked with start-ups and emerging companies throughout the business lifecycle from inception and incorporation to financings and exits. Assisted clients with a variety of issues including those relating to intellectual property protection, corporate governance, employment law, and general management, helping clients understand that their business and legal issues change as they grow and mature.
- Venture Capital Services: Assisted investors on issues such as organizational structure, financings, and issuance of securities and investments in their portfolio.
- Capitalization and Related Transactions: Built and managed cap tables for emerging companies to ensure proper records for share and note holders and other investors so that our clients could grow.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Represented buyers and sellers in transactions involving complex acquisitions and divestitures of technology companies. - February 2014 - July 2017President, CEO, General Counsel
Campus Hydration, LLCNew York, NY, USAFounding partner overseeing formation, launch, and operation of startup medical services company.
- Strategic Planning: Oversaw all aspects of startup phase including creating and vetting variations on business
model, strategic and financial planning, raising capital, and project management. Researched financial,
operational, communication, and marketing endeavors and oversaw employee recruiting, hiring and training.
- Business Formation: Worked with outside counsel to structure and incorporate captive PC model.
- Drafting Agreements: Drafted and reviewed formation and incorporation documents as well as all operation,
merchant, vendor and general business agreements.
- Legal Compliance: Worked with Chief Medical Officer to establish medical protocols and compliance.
Managed tax, regulatory, I-9, medical, and legal compliance as well as risk management.
- Business Administration: Developed and modified scalable business model and unique delivery model for
services that allowed company to develop a niche market. Managed relationships with the community and
clients. Built and managed relationships with business partners and vendors.
- Operations Management: Directed long term and day-to-day operations management, records management,
and resource management including vendor relationships. Worked with outside accountants in all areas of
small business financial management, planning and budgeting.
- HR Management: Oversaw recruiting, hiring, training, and development of staff. Managed all staff.
- Marketing Strategy: Developed marketing strategy, brand management and development including
intellectual property clearance and trademark management. Conducted extensive research and market
analysis of competitors and the potential market as a whole. Oversaw product launches, social media
marketing, and new media strategy. - August 2006 - February 2014Associate
Alston & Bird LLPNew York, NY, USAPracticed in both Alston & Bird’s IP litigation group and IP transactional group.
- Intellectual Property Litigation: Performed oral argument, took and defended depositions, conducted legal
research and wrote briefs, motions, and other court filings related to various corporate law matters with a
focus on the areas of copyright, trademark and patent law. Led discovery, subject matter, and trial teams and
assisted in the management of the firm’s resources and agents to get the most efficient positive results for our
clients.
- Corporate Law: Drafted, reviewed and negotiated commercial agreements and intellectual property license
agreements.
- Patent Specifics: Worked on all areas of patent law concerning, but not limited to, pharmaceuticals, medical
devices, furniture, transportation, electronics, and stock exchange trading platforms.
- Database Management: Developed an organizational structure for, catalogued, maintained, and culled
information from databases containing massive amounts of information on multiple database platforms.
Oversaw the use of these databases for the firm’s discovery efforts. Conducted and supervised due diligence
projects.
- Business Development: Generated new business opportunities and maintained relationships with existing and
potential clients.
- Risk Management: Counseled clients on various strategic courses of action regarding protection of
intellectual property including Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Rights of Publicity.
- Staff Management: As a Senior Associate, served as team lead for multiple matters throughout the pendency
of the matters. Oversaw large case teams made up of senior and junior attorneys, paralegals, and other support
staff. Trained and developed junior attorneys through formal training sessions as well as informal mentoring.
Education
- Cornell Tech/Cornell Law School
Master of Laws2016 - 2017 - Duke University School of Law
Juris Doctor2002 - 2005 - University of Michigan
Bachelor of Arts in History1996 - 2000