WELCOME TO VELA | WOOD. We are a boutique corporate law firm with a local feel and a global impact. We focus our practice in the areas of M&A, Private Equity, Fund Representation, and Venture Transactions.

We provide a full suite of services to our clients. With a flexible billing model that focuses on relationships, not time, we seek to enable our clients to fulfill their personal and professional goals. We thrive on turning an initial consultation into a successful, long-term relationship.

Our Practice Areas

Meet Our Attorneys

• “Fall seven times. Stand up eight.”

  – Japanese Proverb

  Zach Jones

  Senior Tax Counsel

  Zach is Senior Tax Counsel at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice on tax disputes with government authorities and complicated business transactions. Read More

• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

  – Mark Twain

  Tyson Attaway

  Attorney

  Tyson is an Attorney at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice in the areas of M&A, venture capital, and private equity.  Read More

• “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

  – William Ernest Henley

  Rich Sapien

  Senior Attorney

  Rich is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. He represents startups through all stages of their lifecycle – from incorporation, to fundraising, to go-to-market, to exit. Read More

• “The important thing is to not stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein

  Paul Wolpert

  Senior Attorney

  Paul is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. He practices in all areas of corporate law, including securities and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and fund formation Read More

• “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

  — Arthur Ashe

  Myra Dioquino

  Attorney

  Myra is an attorney at Vela Wood. Her experience includes representing a variety of startups and established businesses in transactional and intellectual property matters. Read More

• “Among reasonable men problems of business could always be solved.” – Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather

  Mina Saifi

  Senior Counsel

  Mina Saifi is Senior Counsel at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice in the areas of M&A, commercial agreements, and technology contracts. Read More

• “Don’t count the things you do, do the things that count.”

  – Zig Ziglar

  Lindsey Altmeyer

  Senior Attorney

  Lindsey is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice in the areas of venture financing, securities exemptions, and general corporate governance. Read More

• Give them what they never knew they wanted. – Diana Vreeland

  Lara Bubalo Manor

  Senior Attorney

  Lara is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions, and private placements. Read More

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  “A [wo]man’s got to have a code.”

  – John Wayne

   

  Lacey Shrum

  Attorney

  Lacey is an attorney at Vela Wood where she serves businesses that use blockchain technology and digital assets. She serves as a subject matter expert and expert witness to attorneys and advisors as they encounter digital assets in their traditional legal practice. Read More

• “Don’t count on motivation. Count on discipline.”

  – Jocko Willink

  Justin Sievert

  Senior Counsel

  Justin is Senior Counsel at Vela Wood and chairs the firm’s sports and compliance practice group. His practice focuses on contract drafting and negotiation, marketing and promotions compliance, NCAA compliance matters, and Title IX. Read More

• “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

  – Elon Musk

  Jeff Villalobos

  Senior Attorney

  Jeff is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice in the areas of intellectual property, technology commercialization, privacy, advertising, and corporate transactional matters. Read More

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  “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”

  – Marcus Aurelius

  Fernando Avelar

  Senior Attorney

  Fernando is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice in the areas of M&A, venture capital, and private equity. Read More

• “The detail is as important as the essential is.”

  – Christian Dior

  Elizabeth Hattrup

  Attorney

  Elizabeth is an attorney at Vela Wood. She represents clients in a broad range of general business law and transactional matters, with a focus on venture capital financings and corporate governance. Read More

• “A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

  Denise Rizo-Patron

  Senior Attorney

  Denise is a senior attorney at Vela Wood. Denise’s experience includes representing clients ranging from public companies to startups in transactional matters. Read More

• “I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”

  ― Langston Hughes

  Brandon Flowers

  Attorney

  Brandon is an attorney at Vela Wood. He represents clients in a broad range of general business law and transactional matters, with a focus on venture capital financings and fantasy sports and gaming matters. Read More

• “Curiosity is the spark behind the spark of every great idea. The future belongs to the curious.”

  – Unknown

  Blake Hart

  Attorney

  Blake is an attorney at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice on contract drafting, review, and negotiation on behalf of sports and entertainment individuals and enterprises. Read More

• “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

  Amanda Montgomery

  Senior Counsel

  Amanda is Senior Counsel at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice on serving private companies and small business owners in the arts, retail/e-commerce, and entertainment industry. Read More

• “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

  – Anais Nin

  Jenny Young

  Partner

  Jenny is a partner at Vela Wood. She focuses her practice in employment law and general corporate representation. Read More

• “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

  – Anonymous

  Carr Staley

  Partner

  Carr is a partner at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and real estate transactions and investment activities. Read More

• “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
  — Marcus Aurelius

  Radney Wood

  Partner

  Radney is a named partner at Vela Wood. He divides his practice between commercial litigation and general corporate matters, concentrating on partnership disputes, corporate governance, venture financing, and contract negotiations. Read More

• “Vela, stop shooting so much.”

  – Coach Cranfill

  Kevin Vela

  Partner

  Kevin is the managing partner at Vela Wood. He focuses his practice in the areas of M&A, venture financing, fund representation, and gaming law. Read More

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