Lynda Galligan is co-chair of Goodwin’s Business Law department. She practices in the area of executive compensation and benefits and was formerly the co-chair of the firm’s ERISA & Executive Compensation practice group. Lynda is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Management Committee. She previously served on Goodwin's Allocations Committee and Partnership Committee. She is a former chair of Goodwin’s Silicon Valley office.
Recognized as a leader in her field by Chambers and The Legal 500, Lynda represents clients in all aspects of executive and employee compensation. For over 15 years, her focus has been almost exclusively on emerging growth companies in technology and life sciences. She advises both public and private companies, including companies planning initial public offerings, on tax and securities law issues in connection with equity-based arrangements and other types of incentive plans. She regularly advises clients on the unique compensation issues that arise in the context of corporate transactions. She represents both employers and executives in the negotiation of employment, change in control, severance and equity participation agreements. Lynda also has experience advising venture capital and private equity funds on compensation matters impacting their portfolio companies.
Experience
Lynda works with clients throughout the corporate life cycle, advising on compensation matters at the time of incorporation, and in connection with venture capital financings, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.
Representative Matters
- Advising companies, such as Guidewire Software, Zendesk, Atlassian, Rocket Lab USA, Twilio, Slack, Doximity, Okta, and major investment banks, on executive compensation disclosure requirements
- Citrix Systems in its 2022 go-private transaction pursuant to which affiliates of Vista Equity Partners, and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P., will acquire Citrix
- Qualtrics in its $8 billion sale to SAP
- AppNexus in its sale to AT&T
- Lynda.com in its $1.5 billion sale to LinkedIn
- Xoom in its $890 million sale to PayPal
- Citrix in spin off of Go-To business to LogMeIn
- Select executives of GitHub in connection with its sale to Microsoft
- Opower in its sale to Oracle
- Atlassian in several acquisitions
- Onyx Pharmaceuticals in its $10 billion sale to Amgen
- ANSYS in numerous acquisition transactions
- Trulia in its acquisition by Zillow
- Trunk Club in its $350 million sale to Nordstrom
- Flurry in its sale to Yahoo!
- Public companies: Citrix, Moderna Therapeutics, Atlassian, Affirm, ThredUp, Doximity, Guidewire Software, Global Blood Therapeutics and Rocket Lab USA
- Private companies: Clubhouse, Quora, GoodLeap, Outschool, Menlo Security, Goldbelly, Guaranteed Rate, Rippling, Hopin, Step Mobile, Workato and Scopely
Professional Experience
Prior to entering law school, Lynda was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Lynda is a member of the Board of Directors of Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto.
Lynda previously served on the Bay Area Advisory Board for BUILD.
Credentials
Education
JD
Boston College Law School
(cum laude)
BA
Purdue University
Admissions
Bars
- California
- Massachusetts
Recognition & Awards
Lynda is ranked by Chambers USA 2023-2024 for her work in Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in California. Lynda is ranked as a key lawyer for Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Design and recommended for Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional by The Legal 500 United States.
Publications
Lynda is a contributor to Founders Workbench and frequent author and panelist on various executive compensation topics. Her recent publications and speaking engagements include:
- “Double-Trigger RSUs and Stock Options in Private Companies: Key Provisions, Tax Implications, Risks, and More,” Strafford Publications Webinar, November 2022
- Co-Author, “When Perquisites Stop Being Fun and Create Serious Liability Risks to an Issuer,” Goodwin Alert, March 2021
- “Issues Facing Public Co Boards,” Presentation, August 2020
- Co-Author, “Shareholder Suits Target Non-employee Director Compensation at Public Companies,” Goodwin Alert, February 2019
- Co-Author, “Tick Tock of Stock Options,” Founders Circle, 2018
- Author, “No Cash on Hand? 3 Tips for Attracting Top Talent with Stock Options,” Entrepreneur, March 2014
- “Navigating Executive Compensation Pre-and Post-IPO for Healthcare Companies,” JP Morgan Seminar, June 2014