The "Full-Stack" Startup Lawyer

Antone Johnson has 25 years experience as a business lawyer representing technology and media companies, entrepreneurs and investors in a wide range of corporate, commercial and intellectual property matters. Growing up in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, California, he came to respect the unique culture of innovation that characterizes Silicon Valley, the world’s leading center of technology entrepreneurship.  Supplementing this background with years of experience in Wall Street dealmaking and the creative environment of Hollywood, Antone has developed a unique perspective on strategic matters that lie at the intersection of business, law, public policy, technology and media.

In a rapidly evolving, technical field where no single person can be an expert in all specialties, Antone views the role of general counsel as analogous to that of the prized “full-stack developer” in software engineering.  Prior to founding Bottom Line Law Group, Antone served as Vice President, Legal Affairs at eHarmony, Inc., where he built the in-house legal function from inception to serve the rapidly evolving needs of a growing, profitable $200+ million international consumer Internet business.  For more than three years, he directed the company’s internal and external legal and government affairs teams, including more than a dozen law firms across five countries, to support the worldwide operations of its flagship eHarmony® dating service and its network of related online communities.  eHarmony is the Internet’s #1 trusted relationship service, responsible for nearly 5% of all new marriages in the United States.  Throughout his tenure at eHarmony, Antone served as primary legal advisor to the senior management team and Board of Directors in strategic transactions, corporate governance, shareholder relations, litigation strategy, crisis communications and risk management.  Key accomplishments included forging strategic partnerships; completing four acquisitions; supporting major product launches; expanding and enforcing a valuable portfolio of patents, trademarks and domain names; reaching a landmark settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General to resolve a controversial, politically charged discrimination complaint; and leading litigation teams in several complex cases including patent infringement, consumer class action and employment litigation.