Christopher M. Cerrito

Christopher Cerrito is a Connecticut corporate attorney and focuses his practice on addressing the business needs of startups, as well as representing venture capital investors, middle-market and Fortune 1000 corporations. In addition to serving as general outside counsel for many companies across various industries, Mr. Cerrito handles mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance issues and intellectual property issues. He has specific experience with technology and consumer product companies and related transactions, with in-depth knowledge in licensing that complements the needs of his clients.

Mr. Cerrito works with early stage and middle-market companies whose growth and profitability are driven by technology products and services as well as consumer products. His representation includes advising clients on the formation structure of the entity; representing the companies in financings, day-to-day contracts and contracts that are significant to the growth of the company; advising on various other issues as they may arise; and assisting companies in preparation for and consummation of liquidity events, whether an equity sale, asset sale, merger or otherwise.

Often serving as special counsel, Mr. Cerrito represents private companies engaged in mergers and acquisitions or other strategic alliance transactions (with both public and private companies), as well as Fortune 1000 companies that are undertaking mergers, acquisitions or strategic alliances with private middle-market targets. He also represents individuals and entities that are providing seed funding and venture capital to growth companies, particularly when investments are in technology and consumer products companies.

Mr. Cerrito additionally represents licensors and licensees of various types of intellectual property, including software, patented technology, trademarks and trade secrets. He frequently advises the boards of private companies on various matters, including duties to shareholders or members of the companies.

Mr. Cerrito advises companies and executives in connection with employment contracts and incentive compensation. When acting as outside general counsel to emerging growth companies, his involvement with such structures – when he is not representing the company generally – extends to the representation of executives or subsidiary companies.

Mr. Cerrito's representative matters include: 

• representation of Solais Lighting, Inc. in connection with a merger with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of PowerSecure International, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company, where consideration was a combination of cash and stock
• representation of a gourmet popcorn manufacturer in connection with the negotiation and documentation of its equity financing and credit facility
• acting as general outside counsel for a well-known, fast-growing consumer products company that involved multiple rounds of financing, the negotiation of supplier and customer agreements, the advisement of the board on various issues (including the establishment of special committees), as well as working with the senior business team to provide practical advice in light of business positioning
• assisting in the various acquisitions of several entities in the healthcare information space by a Fortune 500 client and drafting the new form of the master licensing agreement to encompass both existing and newly acquired products and services
• assisting a startup in its negotiations with a large international healthcare entity for the licensing of the client's patented infrared light technology within the field of hematology, including validation testing of the application