Paul G. Sweeney – (On Leave)

Biography

Paul Sweeney is Professor of the Practice of Law and Director of the Transactional Law Program at BU School of Law. Professor Sweeney brings to the School of Law over 26 years of experience as a leading transactional business lawyer, including 19 years practicing in the Boston office of Foley Hoag, LLP, where he was a partner, Deputy Chair of the firm’s Business Department, and Chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee.

While in private practice, Professor Sweeney was named one of the Ten Most Innovative Lawyers in America by the ABA Journal in its Legal Rebels series, and was listed as one of the Top 20 Startup Lawyers in Boston by CB Insights.

During his career in private practice, Professor Sweeney advised companies, boards of directors, and investors in connection with a wide array of business matters, including venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions (both buy and sell side), reorganizations, strategic alliances, and related business transactions. His clients ranged from start-up and emerging growth technology companies to well-established venture-backed portfolio companies operating in a wide array of industries, including robotics, mobile commerce, big data, networking, cloud computing, computer security, information technology and enterprise software. Professor Sweeney also advised leading venture capital firms in connection with their portfolio investments in early and growth stage companies. Over the years, he helped his clients raise or invest hundreds of millions of dollars in seed and venture capital financings, and completed dozens of mergers and acquisitions ranging in size from $50 million to $2 billion.

In addition to his private practice, Professor Sweeney has a long history of teaching entrepreneurs, students, and junior lawyers. For several years he delivered a series of popular lectures to students at several top business schools, including Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, focusing on topics such as venture capital transactions, corporate formation, and team building. While Chair of the Hiring Committee at Foley Hoag, Professor Sweeney designed and oversaw the firm’s Summer Associate training program, and was one of the core instructors in the firm’s Business Department Bootcamp, a 12-month educational series for first-year associates.