Benjamin Sowards

Mr. Sowards' practice is focused on estate planning and advising small and family owned businesses with their general corporate needs.  Mr. Sowards serves as outside general counsel for numerous San Francisco Bay Area businesses.  Prior to opening the Sowards Law Firm, Mr. Sowards was an associate attorney at the international law firm of Morrison Foerster LLP and started his career at San Diego's oldest and largest law firm, Luce Forward Hamilton and Scripps LLP.  His experience working with the Fortune 500 has taught him how to address complex challenges in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 

Mr. Sowards received his B.S., magna cum laude, from San Jose State University where he was a President’s Scholar. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law where he was a member of the U.C. Davis Law Review and the Senior Articles Editor of the U.C. Davis Business Law Journal. He is also a recipient of the Witkins Award for Securities Regulation. While in law school, Mr. Sowards was a law clerk with the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office and also worked for the California Resources Agency in Sacramento. Prior to law school, Mr. Sowards worked in the notebook computer industry.

Mr. Sowards presently resides in South San Jose with his wife and three children. 

Mr. Sowards is a member of:
    WealthCounsel - the premier organization for estate planning attorneys
    The Milpitas Chamber of Commerce
    The J. Reuben Clark Law Society
    The BYU Management Society
    The Surfrider Foundation
    The California Bar Association
    Boy Scouts of America

Mr. Sowards’ recent corporate matters include:

• Represented ALJ Regional Holdings in its $42 million corporate restructuring.
• Represented Live Nation, the world’s leading concert promoter and venue operator, in its $354 million acquisition of the House of Blues.
• Represented Acon Laboratories in a $175 million cross-border acquisition by Inverness Medical Innovations.
• Represented John Deere in its cross-border acquisition of T-Systems International.
• Represented Greenbook Financial Services in its $25 million acquisition by Advanced Equities Financial.
• Represented Orange 21, Inc. (SPY OPTIC) in proposed acquisition of No Fear, Inc.
• Represented Smith Micro in its $16 million cross-border acquisition of the assets of Insignia Solutions.
• Represented Smith Micro in its $8 million cash acquisition of Ecutel Systems.
• Represented San Diego Magazine in its acquisition by CurtCo Media Publishing.
• Represented Multi-Fineline Electronix in its $500 million acquisition offer of Singapore based MFS Technology.
• Represented Market Creek Partners, a non-profit sponsored community asset-building entity, in its IPO.
• Represented Crdentia Corp. in its $5 million PIPE financing transaction.
• Represented Cell Biosciences in its $27 million Series B financing.
• Represented NovaRx Corporation in its $33 million Series D financing.
• Represented Fuji Food Products in its corporate restructuring and Series A preferred stock offering.
• Represented On The Record Sports in its Series A preferred stock offering.
• Represented Supreme Wall Building Systems in its Series A preferred stock offering.

 Recent Publications:

• Contributing Author, Fiduciary Duties and Other Responsibilities of Corporate Directors and Officers, R.R. Donnelley Capital Markets, 2008 edition.