John Chory is the chair of the WilmerHale Venture Group and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1988. His practice focuses on the representation of early-stage and venture-backed technology and life sciences companies.
Practice
Mr. Chory advises both private and public companies in the areas of initial- through late‑stage venture capital financings, public offerings of securities, mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing and securities law. His current clients include A123 Systems, LogMeIn, Akorri, Camiant, Connective Orthopaedics, Demandware, Empirix, On-Q-Ity, Optiant, Polychromix, Semprus BioSciences, Vlingo, Zintro and Zipcar. Other clients have included Akamai, AppIQ, Archivas, EqualLogic, GoldPocket, Imagitas, ImLogic, Oxford Global Resources, Relicore and SilverStream Software. Mr. Chory also advises many entrepreneurs in early-stage company formation and strategy.
Prior to attending Harvard Law School, Mr. Chory, a West Point graduate, was a US Army intelligence officer. While at Harvard, he taught negotiation as a teaching assistant to Roger Fisher of the Harvard Negotiation Project. Mr. Chory served in the US Army Reserves until 1998.
Professional Activities
Mr. Chory lectures frequently and has had several articles published on legal issues facing emerging companies. He currently serves as Secretary for TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur) and is a former member of the Advisory Board of MIT Enterprise Forum.
Honors and Awards
- Recognized as a Massachusetts leader in the Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment field in the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of corporate law (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and venture capital law (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- Named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in securities and venture finance in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 issues of Boston Magazine
- Honored by Mass High Tech as a "2002 High Tech All Star" and by Boston Magazine in 2002 as one of Boston's "Best Lawyers" for startup companies