The California stem cell agency may have found the man who will be its new general counsel once the money really starts rolling in.
He is Daniel R. Bedford who is working fulltime pro bono at CIRM while he winds up affairs at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP of San Francisco.
It is our understanding that Bedford will fill the general counsel slot at a later point, but neither he nor CIRM would confirm that. Currently CIRM has put a hold on new hiring because of its budget crunch.
Bedford is assisting "CIRM generally on its many legal matters," says Nicole Pagano, a spokeswoman for CIRM. "At the moment most of his time is devoted to helping CIRM put together its Grants Administration Policy and advising on internal governance questions."
According to Orrick's web site, Bedford focused his practice on complex asset-based and lease financing, with an emphasis on agribusiness, domestic and international project financing, and tax-advantaged leasing."
His work has included representation of John Hancock Life Insurance in areas concerning equity and debt direct private placements. Other clients included public transit districts and Banc of America Securities. Much of his work involved various kinds of debt, which would seem to be a good fit with the needs of CIRM in connection with the issuance of state bonds.
Bedford has also participated in complex negotiations for natural gas pipelines involving government agencies, both in the US and involving Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Bolivia. Orrick's site did not list any involvement with biotech firms.
Orrick is bond counsel to California, but Orrick's site does not show any work by Bedford for the state.
Bedford received a B.S., M.B.A. and J.D. from Stanford University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
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