Eric B. Topel
Eric B. Topel, the founding member of ETopel General Counsel Services, is a business-focused and pragmatic in-house counsel with a proven track record of partnering with cross-functional leaders to foster a compliant, inclusive, and high performing work environment to ensure profitable and sustainable growth, while minimizing risk.
Eric has over 20 years of legal and business experience, with 14+ years serving in in-house legal leadership roles with global organizations across business sectors at various stages of maturity. Prior to going in-house, Eric was a litigator and employment attorney with law firms Proskauer Rose and Epstein Becker & Green.​​​​​
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Eric received his B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Go Blue!) and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and is admitted to practice law in California, New York, and New Jersey.
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To learn more about Eric's background, expertise, and perspectives, listen to interviews In the Press.

14+ Years of In-House Experience
Perchwell​
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Head of Legal of the modern data and workflow platform for residential real estate overseeing the entire legal function and working with the executive team and cross-functional leaders to continue to accelerate the growth and maturation of the Series B start-up.
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​Patsnap
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Global General Counsel and member of the leadership team of $100+ million ARR patent analytics and innovation intelligence business overseeing all corporate and commercial legal matters for Patsnap’s entities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Japan, and Singapore including: IPO preparedness and due diligence; M&A; corporate governance; general and AI compliance; litigation; employee relations; insurance; data privacy; drafting and negotiating of SaaS contracts; and IP strategy.
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Oversaw Information Security and Technology for Patsnap West (North America, UK, EU, Singapore) managing team accountable for all information security, GRC, and IT responsibilities including: information security assessments, responding to customer security questionnaires, ISO 27001 certification, data protection and retention, asset management, policy preparation, and trainings.​​
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Socure
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Associate General Counsel and member of legal leadership team for Socure, a leading digital identity validation and fraud prevention platform, responsible for all corporate legal matters including: pre-IPO due diligence and preparation; financing, tender offers, and strategic investments; overseeing M&A due diligence and negotiation of deal terms; cap table and equity incentive plan management and administration; preparation of Board of Director decks, meeting minutes, and consents; development and implementation of corporate compliance policies, trainings, and protocols; managing all litigations; insurance; employee relations; immigration; employee data privacy; and negotiating NDAs, DPAs, and SaaS license agreements.
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Regular interaction with Board of Directors and C-Suite on matters of significance.
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Served as Board Director for India subsidiary.
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Member of DEIBA Strategy Committee.
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Member of Governance, Risk & Compliance Steering Committee.
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Oversaw $70 million acquisition and post-merger integration of identity verification software company, and helped negotiate and secure $95 million debt facility with three major financial institutions.
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UiPath
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Legal Director and legal leadership team member for robotic process automation leader, UiPath, responsible for corporate legal matters in the Americas including: M&A and financing; corporate governance; compliance; litigation; employment; immigration; equity; data privacy and security; and negotiation of commercial SaaS and on-premise license agreements.
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Member of IPO team contributing to and responsible for drafting of S-1; overseeing IPO due diligence and data room management; drafting of public company policies and board committee charters; transitioning to a new equity platform; ensuring compliance with lockup agreements and insider trading policy; pre-clearing equity sales; and supporting SEC regulatory compliance and ESG initiatives.
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Legal lead and liaison with external counsel and internal tax and equity teams to ensure global equity compliance; drafted and oversaw Employee Incentive Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Program, China SAFE Registration, and equity-related employee education materials; prepared Board resolutions and Compensation Committee consents; and helped facilitate secondary sales.
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Served as HIPAA Compliance Officer and member of HIPAA Steering Committee, negotiated business associate agreements, and developed trainings and policies to ensure data privacy compliance.
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Helped mature legal infrastructure during a period of growth from a valuation of $3 billion to $35+ billion.
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Danone North America​
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General Counsel and member of leadership team for Danone Waters of America accountable for U.S. legal matters pertaining to the North American water business including: negotiation of distribution, sponsorship, broker, warehouse, and other commercial agreements; oversight of regulatory matters; management of labor and employment issues; and strategic and legal counseling on corporate governance and sustainability matters. Oversaw growth from $60 to $150 million.
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Associate General Counsel for Danone North America, responsible for all labor and employment matters pertaining to its approximately 6,500 union and non-union employees; supported U.S. commercial teams by negotiating sales, supply, distribution, broker, and trademark license agreements; and ensured compliance with applicable anticompetition and antibribery laws.
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Oversaw B-Corp certification and conversion to Public Benefit Corporation.
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