Advice and Counsel

Sheeva counsels innovative Silicon Valley companies—such as Calico Life Sciences, Khosla Ventures, Velo3D, Sixense, Calm and Scribd—on the most essential day-to-day issues in the employment lifecycle, including:

• Hiring, performance management and termination (including reductions in force)
• Leaves of absence and accommodation
• Wage and hour matters
• Employee privacy
• Non-competition, employee mobility and trade secrets
• Employee handbooks and policies
• Workforce training, including harassment prevention and treatment of confidential information

Employment Litigation

Sheeva is an experienced litigator. She regularly resolves disputes for her startup clients, including through settlement negotiations and pre-litigation mediation (before a complaint is ever filed). Her litigation practice encompasses harassment, discrimination and retaliation; co-founder and executive departures; trade secret and unfair competition and other employment matters.

Corporate Transactions

Sheeva is frequently called on to guide Fenwick clients on labor and employment questions arising in connection with financings, M&A deals and IPOs. She vets the employment practices of companies the firm’s clients are seeking to acquire or invest in, for example, and the results often affect the terms of the deal. She also represents startups looking to raise money or be acquired and helps them put their best foot forward.

Notable representations include WhatsApp in its record-setting $19 billion acquisition by Facebook and Facebook in its $2 billion acquisition of virtual reality pioneer Oculus VR. She has also advised on M&A transactions on behalf of Cisco, Intuit, Dropbox, Square and numerous other tech innovators. In addition, Sheeva has provided labor and employment due diligence counsel in significant IPOs handled by Fenwick, including recently in the firm’s representation of Bill.com.