LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28, 2008 — Craig Gatarz and Arturo Sida have joined Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP as partof the firm's Corporate practice group. Gatarz,most recently chief operating officer and general counsel with JAMDAT MobileInc. in Los Angeles, will be based in the firm's Century City office. Sida, most recently assistant general counselwith Internap Network Services Corporation in Costa Mesa, will be based in thefirm's Orange County office.
"We're very pleased to welcome Craig and Art tothe firm and to the Corporate practice group," said Randy Short, head ofthe firm's Corporate practice group. "As in-house counsel of two clients, we have worked closely with Craigand Art for years. They are excellent businesslawyers who will be valuable additions to the Corporate practice, combiningtheir respective in-house emerging growth technology industry expertise andprior private practice experience."
At JAMDAT Mobile Inc., Gatarz built out and directlymanaged the team responsible for all non-studio operations, including legal,human resources, facilities, infrastructure, inter-company matters andinternational operations. He directlyoversaw and managed the international expansion of business operations.
Gatarz' JAMDAT transactional experience includes fourrounds of private financing aggregating $33 million in capital raised, oneinternational and two domestic acquisitions (with an aggregate value ofapproximately $150 million) in which JAMDAT acquired intellectual property andstudio assets to enhance its operations (including the wireless rights toTetris, one of the world’s most popular interactive games), and completion of a$101 million initial public offering and consummation of a $680 million mergerwith Electronic Arts Inc., the world’s leading publisher of interactiveentertainment.
AtVitalStream Holdings, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company that was recently acquiredby Atlanta-based Internap Network Services Corporation, Sida served as thechief legal officer and secretary responsible for developing and managing thelegal, corporate secretary and human resources functions. He implemented Sarbanes-Oxley Act complianceand was responsible for securities law compliance, including the preparation ofSEC '33 and '34 Act filings. Sida'sexperience includes various financing deals aggregating approximately $35million in available capital, as well as two strategic acquisitions and themerger transaction with Internap. Additionally,he was responsible for all aspects of IP protection, including the evaluationof technology and management of patent applications.
Previously,Sida was VP, legal affairs and assistant secretary for AmerisourceBergenCorporation, a NYSE-listed leading pharmaceutical services company. There he was responsible for a broad range ofcorporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and jointventures, defense or prosecution of lawsuits, investigations and claims, andcorporate governance, stock exchange and regulatory matters, including FDA,DOT, DEA and OIG issues.
Gatarz earneda J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and M.A and A.B., summacum laude, from Boston College in 1984. Sida earned a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall)in 1980 and B.A. from Stanford University in 1977.
About Sheppard Mullin Richter &Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 520attorneys in 10 offices located throughout California and in New York,Washington, D.C. and Shanghai. Thefirm's California offices are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, SantaBarbara, Century City, Orange County, Del Mar Heights and San Diego. Founded in 1927 onthe principle that the firm would succeed only if its attorneys deliveredprompt, high quality and cost-effective legal services, Sheppard Mullinprovides legal counsel to U.S. and international clients. Companies turn toSheppard Mullin to handle a full range of corporate and technology matters,high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include morethan half of the Fortune 100 companies. Formore information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.
