VLP's origin story stretches all the way back to Silicon Valley's zenith in the 80s and 90s. Well-versed in the business and legal needs surrounding startups, our beloved founder Craig Johnson initially broke away from the status quo by creating Venture Law Group in 1993 after leaving Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

As a highly specialized boutique law firm, VLG was heavily involved in matters related to venture capital, with its main office on Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto. Craig's idea of creating a law firm with a brand name rather than the last names of its partners was practically unheard of at the time — and carries over to VLP Law Group today.

In 1999, Craig founded Concept2Company Ventures, a seed-stage VC fund still in operation today. In 2001 he was recognized on the Forbes 'Midas List' as one of the top 100 private company investors in the world. Following VLG's merger with Heller Ehrman in 2003, Craig shifted his attention to venture capital and kept a close eye on emerging technology — which, in mid-2007, gave him a vision for a different kind of law firm.

Background

• Born 1946 in Pasadena, CA
• Yale (1968, Magna Cum Laude)
• Peace Corps — 2 yrs in Ethiopia
• Computer Programmer, Burroughs Corp.
• Stanford Law (1974)
• Venture Capitalist & Entrepreneur

At Work

• Consummate Deal Lawyer
• Founder, Venture Law Group (1993)
• Founder, VLP Law Group (2008)
• Founder, Concept2Company (1999)
• Forbes 'Midas List' Inductee
• 14th Partner to join Wilson Sonsini

Beyond Work

• Avid Cyclist (100km rider)
• Halloween Enthusiast
• Superpower-finder
• Loving father & husband
• Mentor to many
• Friend to all

Craig Johnson founded Virtual Law Partners in May 2008 based on the idea that through strategic use of new technology, top-tier legal services could be provided to clients in a new way that didn't require brick-and-mortar offices.

At the time, conventional law firm billing was exploding in costs for clients, and with an economic recession looming, Craig's idea was a win-win for both clients and attorneys.

Newly available tools — video conferencing, cloud storage, digital billing, and enhanced internet security protocols — meant a physical footprint was no longer a critical ingredient for providing legal services. By eliminating office overhead, VLP passed on significant savings to clients while empowering attorneys to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

"It's math — not magic." — Craig Johnson

Craig inspired an inaugural cohort of fifteen Founding Partners to join the firm, including Dan Burke, David Goldenberg and Chris La Chance, who remain at the firm to this day. The proprietary digital platform custom-built for VLP in 2008 still has parts in use today.

VLP's fully distributed practice model was built for the digital economy. With a highly qualified group of experienced attorneys, a small team of legal specialists, a world-class IT platform and elevated branding, VLP quickly established itself in a class of its own.

At the outset, the firm specialized in providing top-tier legal services supporting Silicon Valley startups. Cost-effectiveness was never the primary value proposition but rather an added bonus — and that's still the case today.

A founding principle: no junior attorneys whatsoever. Craig Johnson had seen firsthand clients' frustration at paying exorbitant fees only to have matters handled by less experienced lawyers. VLP was created to fix this fundamental flaw. VLP attorneys average 15+ years of experience prior to joining the firm.

As a fully distributed law firm where everyone works on a remote basis, VLP has always had a deep appreciation of the value of culture. Craig Johnson instilled this respect from Day 1, understanding the countless benefits of cultivating collegiality and camaraderie amongst colleagues.

VLP has historically been positioned to operate alongside the top law firms in the nation, and working on such challenging matters in a distributed practice model requires a high degree of trust and close contact with colleagues at all levels of the organization. Without brick-and-mortar offices, these bonds rise in importance and warrant deliberate, proactive nurturing.

Finding creative ways of building strong interpersonal relationships among members of the team has always been a priority at VLP. In fact, ever since we opened in May 2008, there's been a committee committed exclusively to building a firm culture. In Craig's words, "The interpersonal bonds among its people allow a law firm to navigate the challenges of the law business."

At the start, when much of the team was based in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, there were museum days, happy hours and community service days that brought the team together in-person. As the firm grew and expanded across the country within that first year, regional gatherings became more regular, as well as the sharing of photos showcasing colleagues' personal passions and pursuits outside of work. Other examples include opportunities for friendly competition complete with firm-sponsored prizes, such as annual Oscar picks, fantasy football and baseball leagues, NCAA college basketball brackets, and Super Bowl squares.

In October 2008, VLP held its inaugural firmwide retreat at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, California. Unlike retreats at other top firms, our retreat is inclusive of everyone at the firm regardless of role. Inclusiveness has always been a founding principle of VLP, with equal respect granted to everyone across the organization. With the exception of the pandemic years, the firm has convened in-person at the VLP Fall Retreat every autumn since 2008. Favorite destinations include Scottsdale, Arizona and La Jolla, California — both of which are beautiful that time of year. These retreats offer us the opportunity to get to know each other better and better each year and strengthen the bonds that compel so many of us to refer to VLP as "a family."

In October 2010, VLP's five-person Executive Committee was restructured to allow for a more democratic means of steering the firm's continued growth. Comparable to a true partnership arrangement across the organization, this transparent format remains in place to this day. Each committee member serves a two-year term, with annual elections ensuring a balance of both continuity and variation as terms for each member offset on a rolling basis. During the summer months, a Nominating Committee communicates closely with all partners at the firm, working rigorously to identify candidates who are then voted on by the partnership in the fall.

In 2011, VLP officially rebranded as VLP Law Group, opting to drop the reference to 'virtual' that was previously part of our name. While our practice model was and still remains unique in that our entire team operates on a remote basis, our identity is more comparable to that of a fully integrated top-tier conventional firm than a collection of solo practitioners who can be found online. With such outstanding people and elevated work product, VLP is anything but 'virtual.'

Also in 2011, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC) recognized VLP with the 'Constance L. Belfiore Quality of Life Award,' which honors legal employers that have provided an exceptional quality of life — both professional and personal — through innovative policies that support significant flexibility and autonomy for attorneys and staff.

VLP continued to grow during this time, steadily onboarding partner-level attorneys and accomplished legal specialists. By 2012, we had partners in all four timezones of the continental United States. This expanded network enabled us to take on more work, establish more robust practice groups and bolster industry-specific capabilities.

In 2013, VLP hired our Director of Human Resources who further focused on improving VLP's benefits, employee engagement and relations. She continues to be a celebrated member of our team today thanks to her ongoing positive impact on culture and collegiality amongst colleagues. That same year we were also recognized by the Healthy Mothers Workplace Coalition with the 'Award for Excellence in Maternal Health and Equity' for creating a mother-friendly workplace with policies that support the health and wellbeing of mothers.

With several notable achievements over the past 10 years, VLP has continued to thrive as a firm that's not only highly valued by clients but also deeply loved by the wonderful people who make up our team.

At the helm of firm leadership is Tim Bowers, who became Managing Partner in 2019. He joined VLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in 2013. Since taking on this leadership role, Tim's commitment to upholding the highest of standards throughout the organization — while demonstrating the friendly and approachable demeanor VLP attorneys are known for — has enabled VLP to continue to compete alongside the largest law firms in the country.

By 2015, our presence grew to having partner-level attorneys with bar memberships in 13 different states across the nation. That year we also made an adjustment to the management fee owed to the firm, allowing partners with larger books of business to take home a higher percentage of their collections. During this time, we continued to expand our Counsel and Legal Specialist group, which provide exceptional senior-level support for our partners and practice groups in general. In 2016, we had our first promotion from Counsel to Partner — an exciting milestone for a growing firm.

When the world was thrown into the chaos of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, VLP was fortunate to have been able to continue operations in a 'business as usual' capacity thanks to our fully distributed practice model. Having a workforce that was already accustomed to working on an entirely remote basis presented us with an invaluable advantage over conventional brick-and-mortar firms.

VLP was well equipped to expand during the pandemic years and continued our recruiting efforts and initiatives. In 2021, we received recognition from the San Francisco Business Times & Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the top "Bay Area Best Places to Work" — an award we've received in subsequent years as well. We also doubled the size of our Accounting team by 2022.

Despite our fortunate position, the horrifying realities of those years cannot be overstated. As a firm we collectively owe respect to all that was given, taken and lost during those years of uncertainty.

For the first time, we suspended our in-person annual Fall Retreat in both 2020 and 2021, but we held several virtual gatherings and activities in their place. Some favorites include 'the Friday TimeWaster', an informal email chain that builds rapport between colleagues in the context of a random, non-work related question. Initiated in May 2020, we've covered over 120 topics so far and the opinions keep coming. Also still in practice today are online cooking classes, which have become a fun way to get VLPeep spouses, significant others and kids involved in an inclusive, family-oriented activity. Most recently we made chicken tikka wraps, which were a real hit.

Everyone at the firm was especially grateful when we reconvened in-person for the 2022 Fall Retreat in La Jolla, California — held in May rather than October because folks were simply too excited to wait. We introduced a beloved new tradition at that retreat: the VLP Cornhole Tournament. In just a few years, this event has been the subject of much anticipation, banter and good-natured ribbing in the weeks leading up to the retreat, with some folks even putting in work practicing beforehand. The team pairings change every year, and it's a lot of fun to see the variety of playing styles folks have come up with. So far none of the winners have had any trouble making use of their year's worth of bragging rights.

Continuity and commitment remain strong suits of VLP Law Group, with over 1/3 of our people having been at the firm for over 10 years. Over 70% of our attorneys graduated from top-ranked law schools, and numerous have been selected for awards by organizations such as Chambers, Best Lawyers, LawDragon and Super Lawyers. In addition to our Founding Partners, both our Controller and our Talent Acquisition & Workplace Experience Manager have been at the firm since its founding in 2008.

In 2023, after undergoing an extensive vetting process, VLP was selected for membership in ALAS, a leading provider of professional liability insurance for the legal industry. ALAS handles insurance for nearly half of the firms on the Am Law 200 — yet another example of the prestigious position VLP holds alongside some of the biggest law firms in the country.

In recent years we've further established ourselves as the law firm for law firms — our partners support over 100 law firms including dozens of Am Law 100 firms. These firms refer their client work to VLP in matters related to corporate, trademark, copyright, tax, debt financing, executive and equity compensation, privacy and data security — demonstrating their trust in VLP's standard of excellence.

An additional component of establishing ourselves as the law firm for law firms is led by Partner David Jargiello and his representation of law firms in the internal affairs — often strategic or existential — of law firms as businesses. VLP is proud to be a go-to firm in matters of law firm partnerships, law firm tax, law firm acquisitions and professional responsibility.

In 2024, VLP added Employment Law as a new Practice Area, further expanding our service offerings to clients in both tech and beyond. Continuing our legacy of utilizing new technology to create efficiencies for clients, lawyers and staff, VLP has been proactive in adopting AI tools that have been identified and rigorously vetted by our AI Committee. AI is transforming the legal industry, and VLP is dedicated to being on the cutting edge — effectively implementing and safely utilizing such tools to deliver the exceptional legal services for which we're known. We've also taken a more active role in AI thought leadership.

In 2024 and 2025, VLP was again recognized by the San Francisco Business Times & Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the top "Bay Area Best Places to Work."

With partner-level attorneys practicing in 17 different states nationwide, VLP has had an incredible journey to come this far, and we're united in excitement about continuing to boldly step forward into the future.

We will remain grateful for and proud of our clients, colleagues and friends, knowing that above all else, it's all about people. We couldn't agree more.