Antone Johnson, Principal at Bottom Line Law Group

Antone Johnson

Advisor

Antone Johnson has more than a decade of 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 deal making 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.

Prior to founding Bottom Line Law Group, Antone served as Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary 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 business. 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 “Web 2.0” content and community websites. eHarmony is the Internet’s #1 trusted relationship service, with more than 20 million registered users, and is responsible for 2% of all new marriages in the United States. Antone served as primary legal advisor to its 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 IP portfolio; 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.

Antone has deep roots in the consumer Internet and digital media industries, having served as in-house counsel to pioneering broadband Internet service provider Excite@Home from 2000 to 2002 and entertainment guidance technology leader Gemstar-TV Guide from 2002 to 2004. He joined Intermix Media, Inc. as Assistant General Counsel and served as Director of Business and Legal Affairs at its MySpace.com subsidiary during its period of hyper-growth and global expansion, culminating in the company’s $650 million sale to Fox Interactive Media. Antone began his career in private practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the world’s preeminent technology law firm, and the Los Angeles office of Wall Street firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. He represented emerging growth technology companies and financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, joint ventures, technology and content licensing transactions and general corporate matters.

Antone holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he earned the honor of Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a B.A. cum laude in Economics from Williams College.  In addition to practicing law, he blogs at Mashtag (http://masht.ag) and tweets daily (@antonejohnson) on subjects related to social media, entrepreneurship, and the intersection of people, capital, technology, and creativity.