Michael Jacobson

Of Counsel, Cooley LLP

Michael Jacobson helps public and private companies, boards and investors as they navigate the legal, regulatory and business challenges high-growth companies face today.

Mike is the former senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of eBay. Mike was one of the longest-serving general counsels in Silicon Valley, and members of his legal team at eBay have gone on to hold senior legal positions at innovative companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

During his distinguished 17-year tenure as eBay general counsel, he grew its legal department into a 400-person global team and guided the company through a wide range of high-profile legal matters, including its highly successful 1998 IPO; its 2002 $1.5 billion acquisition of fintech pioneer PayPal – the spinoff of which he completed in 2015 – and its $2.6 billion acquisition and later profitable sale of Skype.

At the helm of eBay’s legal department, Mike spearheaded the company’s regulatory relationships and its policy group. He also established several key internet and IP legal principles by winning seminal cases such as eBay v. Merc Exchange (patents), Tiffany v. eBay (trademarks) and eBay v. Bidder’s Edge (trespass applied to the internet).

Prior to joining eBay, Mike began his legal career at Cooley, and served as partner and head of the firm’s public securities practice. He has represented clients in private financings, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets offerings, including initial public offerings, convertible debt and high-yield debt offerings. He also has extensive experience advising public and private companies on general corporate issues, including securities laws compliance, corporate governance and corporate transactions.

While attending law school at Stanford University, Mike was a Nathan Abbot Scholar, recipient of the Hilmer Oleman Award and a member of the Order of the Coif.

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