Brown Rudnick recently announced plans to launch a firmwide initiative to increase the
number of successful tech startups in the communities surrounding or near the firm’s key offices.
The initiative is called the Brown Rudnick Institute for Development, Growth and Emerging Technologies, or BRIDGE. It will focus on community support, educating tech founders and sharing knowledge and best practices.
The first BRIDGE will open this fall in Princeton with a kickoff event that will bring together innovators, entrepreneurs and investors, as well as accelerators and incubators from universities and colleges in the region that are interested in advancing entrepreneurial education and empowerment. Brown Rudnick plans to open other BRIDGEs in New York, California, Boston and London over the next 18 months.
“This initiative underscores our longstanding commitment to the startup ecosystem,” Bill Baldiga, chairman and CEO of Brown Rudnick, said. “As one of the most active firms in this space, we are excited to leverage our connections to investors and successful companies for the benefit of the startup community.”
In January, the firm accelerated its growing Technology practice with the addition of five new partners internationally known for their work with venture capital firms and emerging growth companies. David Sorin, Scott Smedresman, Jared Sorin, Joseph Ferino and Matthew Uretsky’s move to Brown Rudnick catapulted the practice to global leadership among law firms focused on tech startups.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this initiative or its kickoff in New Jersey, the home state of Thomas Edison,” David Sorin said. “New Jersey has been one of the nation’s leaders in innovation for generations, and the launch of BRIDGE there will help ensure that it remains one for the foreseeable future. I’m also looking forward to the impact that our BRIDGEs will have on the startup communities in New York, California, Boston and London. I believe this initiative has the potential to usher in a new era of tech innovation.”
TechUnited: New Jersey, a trade group for New Jersey technology businesses, is among the supporters of the BRIDGE initiative.
“Our membership of more than 500,000 innovators has been eagerly awaiting an initiative like this: a bridge to a better future for all,” Aaron Price, CEO and president of TechUnited:NJ, said. “This will help fill a void in the greater New Jersey-area market, which is one of the top locations for Fortune 500 companies and emerging technology companies alike, as well as to some of the best universities in the country. We need a vehicle like this to connect them to a startup community hungry for opportunity and support.”