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Donna M. Petkanics

Board Secretary
Donna M. Petkanics headshot
Retired Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Palo Alto, CA

Donna Petkanics was a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she retired in 2022. Her law practice focused on the representation of growth companies, with a particular emphasis on corporate and securities issues. She represents both privately held and public companies across a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, internet infrastructure, networking, life sciences, computer software and hardware, clean technology and energy, and electronics.

She has experience representing companies in many types of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and joint ventures. She also counsels clients who are starting new businesses with respect to general corporate matters and protection of their intellectual property. During her tenure at the firm, Donna has served in a number of management positions, including managing director from 2000 to 2006; member of the firm’s board of directors and Policy Committee; chair of the Compensation Committee; and co-chair of the Hiring Committee and Nominating Committee.

She served on the board of directors of the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation from 2000 to 2010. Prior to attending law school, Donna was a staff economist in the Executive Office of the President during Jimmy Carter’s administration and also worked for the House of Representatives. She began practicing at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich in 1985.