Groupon Outsources Legal Executive Role to Winston & Strawn (1)

Groupon Outsources Legal Executive Role to Winston & Strawn (1)

Groupon Inc.’s common counsel Dane Drobny will move down next 7 days to return to legislation organization Winston & Strawn as a husband or wife.

The Chicago-based business disclosed Drobny’s voluntary resignation Thursday in a securities submitting. Groupon said Drobny, who officially departs Feb. 24 for Winston, will continue as its outside normal counsel through at the very least the stop of the year.

Drobny’s exit comes as the e-commerce marketplace moves to restructure its functions. Groupon introduced previous summer months that it was laying off 500 workforce. The company minimize one more 500 employees in a next layoff spherical final month.

Drobny and Winston did not reply to remark requests.

Groupon spokesman Nicholas Halliwell claimed the company will not identify a new lawful chief to triumph Drobny.

“He will continue to collaborate with and help Groupon’s board of administrators, senior management group, in-household legal, and organization associates as we generate our transformation,” Halliwell explained. “He will commit a sizeable amount of money of his time to this new advisory part and will continue being focused on assisting Groupon leverage its complete likely to develop into the ultimate desired destination for nearby activities and providers.”

Drobny acquired nearly $5.1 million in total compensation from Groupon in 2021, according to the company’s most current proxy assertion.

That sum was comprised of $3.9 million in stock awards and extra than $1.1 million in income, including a $590,000 once-a-year base salary. Groupon claimed Drobny been given his reward in January 2022 “in gentle of administration variations and to ensure security and retention through the transition” of Kedar Deshpande as the company’s new CEO.

Deshpande has sought to slice fees to offset mounting losses considering the fact that using more than the company’s best leadership part in 2021.

Drobny joined Groupon as its top rated law firm in 2014. He succeeded previous basic counsel David Schellhase, who last calendar year joined Sullivan & Cromwell. Drobny had beforehand been a litigator at Winston and lawful chief for Sears Holdings Corp.

Bloomberg knowledge demonstrates that Drobny owns far more than $1 million in Groupon stock.

Winston Pipeline

Winston has near ties to Groupon, which the organization took public in 2011, and its co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Bradley Keywell. The agency has completed fundraising work for Tempus Labs Inc., a precision drugs startup launched and led by Lefkofsky.

Previous Winston legal professionals Tracy O’Flaherty and Kevin McCormick provide as a deputy normal counsel and senior director, respectively, at Groupon. Erin Stone, an ex-Winston associate, was also a deputy basic counsel at Groupon right until very last calendar year. She’s now the top rated lawyer at non-public holding firm StoicLane Inc.

Richard Ginsberg, the previous head of Winston’s engineering and rising organizations apply, has also suggested Lefkofsky and Keywell. Cooley hired Ginsberg in 2021 to aid the West Coastline firm develop into Chicago. Cooley’s clients contain Keywell’s computer software startup Uptake Technologies Inc., which Groupon sued final month seeking $1.5 million in allegedly unpaid hire from a Chicago sublease agreement.

Drobny “will receive no positive aspects underneath his severance advantage settlement in relationship with his resignation,” Groupon explained in its filing. The company has the correct to terminate Drobny’s outside the house basic counsel products and services settlement at any time.

Drobny’s unvested equity awards in Groupon will go on to vest so long as he continues to offer companies to the organization. A just one-time funds retention bonus provided to Drobny final year will be subject to clawback provisions on a professional rata basis for the length of his new arrangement with the corporation.