Eric D. Kline

Partner

Eric D. Kline is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Business and Finance Practice. Mr. Kline provides legal and business advice to growth companies from startup through exit. He also advises Fortune 500 companies in their strategic partnering and joint venture transactions, and has represented venture capital, private equity, and economic development agencies in their investments. Mr. Kline brings more than 20 years of legal experience to his clients. With a combination of business acumen and creativity, Mr. Kline focuses on achieving clients' business objectives.

Primarily, Mr. Kline acts as an outside general counsel to his clients, where he works with a team of lawyers to provide advice in all areas that affect a client’s business. These activities span the spectrum from establishing the form of entity, to developing and implementing equity compensation plans, to negotiating important contracts and licensing agreements with private sector and government parties, to structuring financings, acquisitions, and divestitures. As clients grow, these activities also include overseeing material litigation, international expansion, and intellectual property strategies. He also counsels boards of directors and senior management on corporate governance, securities law, and other strategic matters. Mr. Kline’s philosophy in representing clients is to understand the client’s unique strategy within its industry and apply practical problem solving to the legal and business issues encountered.

Mr. Kline is an active member of the region's emerging business and venture capital communities. He is a director of the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association and has chaired various committees of the Three Rivers Venture Fair since its inception. He established Morgan Lewis's Capital Connection program, which assists companies seeking financing to reach a national network of funding sources. Mr. Kline was previously a lecturer for Carnegie Mellon University's "Commercialization of Technology" course for executives and regularly speaks on business topics relevant to growth companies.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Kline was an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1989 to 1992 and has practiced in Pittsburgh since 1993. His clients are involved globally in the Internet, software, clean tech, medical device, and drug development industries.

Mr. Kline is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.