Nathaniel Kelly Attorney

First Admitted: 2009, California

Professional Webpage: https://www.natekelly.com

Bar/Professional Activity:

Member of the California Bar; in continuous good standing since becoming a member in January of 2009. , 2022
Supreme Court of California, 2009
U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 2016
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 2010
Vice-Chair; The Bar Association of San Francisco's delegation to the California Conference of Bar Associations; California’s most influential legislation-writing organization. , 2018
San Francisco Bar Association Intellectual Property Section Member. , 2015

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

Settled business owner dispute for $1.5M. Corporate dissolution action in San Francisco Superior Court. Partners could not agree on reasonable buy-out and made various claims against each other. Was victorious in Motion for Preliminary Injunction and then able to obtain successful resolution in mediation. , 2024
Breach of Contract (Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) dispute - $1.3M Negotiated Settlement Pre-litigation. Represented Illinois based steel parts supplier and manufacturer who had outstanding invoices of over $700,000 and half-complete inventory of $700,000 due to Unicorn Startup company coming into funding issues. The fairly informal agreement between the parties included an allowable out upon notice, but provided little detail as to how the notice should be executed, effectuated, and enforced. So the negotiation focussed on the half-complete inventory in-process at the time the "notice" was formalized. Not only was the client paid in full but the business relationship was also maintained positively allowing an additional $1.1M in further orders to be completed. , 2024
Defended former pharmacy division COO of large national pharmacy services company in Federal Trade Secrets litigation out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Defended preliminary injunction motion - stipulated to then settled in mediation. Client was able to retain his position at his new company. , 2024
Appellate Court Victory. Represented the Respondent in a breach of contract appeal following a bench trial. The primary issues were: 1) whether the terms of an addendum, which was referenced generally and specifically in the body of the main agreement but the Appellant claimed to not have been provided a copy of prior to execution, was incorporated by reference and enforceable against the Appellant; and 2) whether the parole evidence rule had been properly applied by the lower court. The Appeal was defeated complete with costs and attorneys fees awarded to my client. , 2024
Settled breach of contract dispute on behalf of trucking company; San Francisco Superior Court. , 2023
Settled dispute between San Francisco Airport authority and airplane servicing company. Originally, the company (client) received a notice of penalty exceeding $500,000. After approximately four weeks of representation, we reached a final agreement by which the amount was reduced to $60,000, with a payment for program that made it affordable for the company to pay., 2023
Obtained monetary judgment against Board of Directors in Derivate Action stemming from the failing of a private company; representing group of 16 plaintiffs. , 2022
Settled breach of fiduciary duty claim brought by clients against co-investor stemming from a failed hostile takeover. , 2021
Settled Breach of Contract Complaint on behalf of renewable energy developer. , 2020
Successfully fended off Patent Infringement and Copyright claims against client made by Allbirds relating to the launch of a bamboo shoe on Kickstarter. , 2019
Settled breach of contract case re stock options; brought by former contractor for startup following the sale of Company. , 2018
Seven figure settlement on behalf of data company stemming from breach of contract with "unicorn" startup. , 2017
Settlement in Patent Portfolio Dispute on behalf of business broker. , 2018
Defended Top Shelf Beverages against claims that their trademark, Clearly Kombucha, infringed upon the mark, Clearly Canadian. Won partial summary judgment and achieved excellent settlement for client. , 2015

Videos:

Nate Kelly Discusses Business Representation, Startups, Financial, Fashion, 2016
About my law practice as chair of the USC legal resource. , Nate Kelly Discussed General Counsel Services (2012)

Representative Clients:

Represented COO and co-owner of Bay Area development negotiate a pay-over-time buyout of his passive investor partners. , 2023
Futuremood, manufacturer of uber-stylish sunglasses that claim to alter moods with their saturated psychedelic optics, is expanding its lens and deepening its connection with the tastemaker community. Rapper Lil Yachty has come onboard as an investor in the company, which recently sealed an investment from music duo the Chainsmokers. Both relationships go much deeper than a monetary infusion. Lil Yachty and Futuremood have been at work since 2020 on a Yachty-inspired product line slated to drop this fall to coincide with his first new music in more than two years. See, https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyolson/2022/07/07/lil-yachty-is-latest-investor-as-sunglasses-company-futuremood-expands-its-pop-culture-lens/?sh=3f5ef52f5286 Nate Kelly has represented the company since its inception to the present date; guiding the company through initial fundraising, product development, launch, celebrity partnerships and further fundraising. See, https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/27/angling-to-be-eyewears-next-big-thing-futuremood-launches-with-mood-altering-sunglasses/, 2022
Venice Ball LLC signs exclusive clothing line collaboration and shoe deal with PUMA basketball. , 2021
Champs Sports non-profit partnership and content production. See, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciH6FNS-CgQ&feature=youtu.be, 2021
Paulette Jordan may become the first Native American governor in US history: Here’s her story https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/paulette-jordan-first-native-american-governor-idaho-us-donald-trump-women-a8390451.html., 2016
Paulette Jordan for Senate. See, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/28/1990457/-CNBC-Paulette-Jordan-running-to-be-1st-Native-American-woman-in-U-S-Senate., 2018

Transactions:

Drafted, negotiated, and completed $1.7M intellectual property purchase on behalf of Client. Client, a FinTech education business (startup) had previously entered into a revenue sharing and IP ownership agreement with a developer in order to save money as an early stage startup; the terms of which had become a burden on their existing enterprise. We were able to successfully negotiate terms whereby my client was able to pay a similar annual fee as the prior license agreement required, except with ownership transferred upon execution. Client was very pleased. , 2024
Business / Asset Purchase and Franchise Agreement. Represented client buy out the owner of an ice-cream franchise location in Northern California and obtain franchise license from national parent corporation. , 2024
Negotiated and completed business purchase of nail salon in Hollywood, CA. Required: asset purchase agreement, ownership agreement, lease assignment agreement., 2024
Represented CEO and Founder of Sonr, a blockchain company, negotiate ownership and financing terms and agreements. Venture Beat — Sonr voted as a Top 3 Startup at Proof of Talk 2023. Sonr is a peer-to-peer identity and asset management system that leverages DID documents, Webauthn, and IPFS. Sonr specializes in software development, web design, information technology, networking, and blockchain solutions. Prad is a W3C Working Group Member for DIDs, WebAuthn, and WASM, and a prolific contributor to open-source software development, with the fourth most GitHub contributions recorded in the world during 2021. Prad is driven by the vision of empowering users with more control and privacy over their digital identity and assets. As the founder of Sonr, Prad is passionate about creating a secure, user-friendly, and decentralized solution for digital identity and asset verification. Sonr has secured over $5M in venture funding since 2023. https://www.sonr.io/home., 2023
Negotiated multi-year lease of hotel floor in the Fairmont Hotel and Broadmoor hotel, San Francisco. First of its Kind Postpartum Center Comes to SF. A luxurious postpartum retreat center, the first of its kind on the West Coast, is coming to San Francisco this summer — a modern twist on the community care new mothers receive in many traditional societies. It used an entire floor of the Fairmont Hotel and Broadmoor Hotel. See, https://villageretreatcenter.com/., 2023
Negotiated music performance, production and distribution agreement for DJ with manager and record label. , 2023
Asset purchase agreement for Super-Club in San Francisco, CA. , 2023
Business purchase - Bar in Berkeley, CA. Drafted and Negotiated Asset Purchase Agreement, UCC Lien, Ownership Agreement, Real Property Lease Assignment. , 2023
Negotiated $30M Investment / Ownership Restructuring. , 2022
Negotiated and drafted investment, collaboration, and licensing agreement with international superstars, The Chainsmokers; See, Futuremood Launches Sunglasses with The Chainsmokers., 2022
Negotiated and drafted collaboration and licensing agreement with international superstar Lil Yachty. See, Forbes: Lil Yachty Latest Investor in Futuremood., 2021
All contractual agreements necessary for the organization, management, and purchase of 3,300 acre property in Humboldt California; currently permit pending for cannabis cultivation. , 2016
Negotiated and completed Franchisee agreement to take Menchies to Dubai and Qatar. , 2011

Pro bono/Community Service:

Co-Founded Hoop Bus Inc., a Los Angeles based non-profit promoting amateur athletics and civic engagement. See, How The Hoop Bus Founders Used a School Bus and Basketball To Help Fight Racism., 2020
Co-Founded, Save the American Salmon Inc, a non-profit campaigning to remove the four lower snake river damns and save the American salmon from extinction. See, https://www.instagram.com/rescueoursalmon/., 2018

Honors/Awards:

Nate Kelly has been awarded as a Rising Start in the Northern California legal community each year since 2016. , Northern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2021
Nate Kelly has been awarded as a Rising Start in the Southern California legal community each year since 2016. , Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2021
American Jurisprudence Award in Torts, University of Southern California, 2005
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Graduate: College of Behavior and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, 2005

Educational Background:

University of Southern California, Gould School of Law; High Honors; Merit Scholarship. , 2005-2008
University of Maryland at College Park, B.A., Honors: cum laude, Honors: Phi Beta Kappa, Honors: Dean’s Scholar, Major: Government and Politics - 2005, 2002-2005

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

A legal analysis of Elon Musk's Twitter purchase and securities fraud cover-up; using factual information, the law, and some inspired speculation. , Author, The Real* Reason (and Problem) that Elon Musk is Buying Twitter, Medium, Startups, Financial, Securities, 2022

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Recognized as a Northern California Rising Star by San Francisco Magazine., 2022
Recognized as a Rising Star in the Southern California legal community by Los Angeles Magazine. , 2022

Industry Groups:

Entertainment
Fashion
Finance
Startups
Technology

Contact Nathaniel

All the below fields are required