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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 8 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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Silicon Valley Presence: Expanding Impact, Advancing Reach

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Thompson Hine has launched a Silicon Valley office by integrating the team from Turner Boyd Seraphine into its national Intellectual Property &amp; Technology Litigation practice, significantly expanding the firm’s trial bench, technical depth, and geographic footprint in a key innovation market. “The addition of Turner Boyd Seraphine is a tremendous next step in our national growth strategy, materially enhancing our trial capabilities and technical coverage across key venues,” said Thompson Hine managing partner Tony White. This strategic expansion enhances the firm’s value proposition to startups and venture capital clients by providing high-caliber, locally anchored IP and tech litigation capabilities that can protect and defend emerging technologies, support portfolio company innovation strategies, and strengthen competitive positioning in Silicon Valley and beyond. <a href="https://www.thompsonhine.com/insights/thompson-hine-expands-into-silicon-valley-by-deepening-its-national-ip-amp-technology-litigation-group-with-turner-boyd-seraphine/">Read more</a>.

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Delaware Corporate Annual Reports and Franchise Taxes Due Soon

Every domestic or foreign corporation must file an annual report with the Delaware Secretary of State <strong>on or before March 1 of each year. </strong>The easiest way to file this report is via the <a href="https://corp.delaware.gov/">Delaware Secretary of State website</a>. Corporations that fail to file by the deadline are subject to a $200 penalty, plus 1.5% interest per month on the tax and penalty. <a href="https://www.thompsonhine.com/insights/delaware-corporate-annual-reports-and-franchise-taxes-due-soon/">Read more</a>.

Building the Future of Cleantech with the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub

Thompson Hine will be kicking off a new partnership with <a href="https://gacth.org/cox-cleantech-accelerator/">The Cox Cleantech Accelerator</a>, a 12-week startup program in Atlanta developed by Cox Enterprises, gener8tor, and the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub to support early stage companies addressing climate and sustainability. Each cohort includes about five startups and provides $100,000 per company, tailored mentorship, hands on coaching, and introductions to customers, pilots, and capital partners. The curriculum emphasizes commercialization, go to market execution, and access to a Southeast ecosystem of Fortune 1000 corporates, research institutions, and venture investors. Thompson Hine is partnering with the accelerator to enhance the cohort’s legal and strategic readiness for scale. The New Ventures team will deliver a concise five course series for founders discussing topics such as core legal issues for grants and non dilutive funding; how to navigate SAFEs and convertible notes; choosing C corporation vs. LLC, formation jurisdiction, and practical governance basics; IP protection and regulatory compliance; talent acquisition and long term retention; and go to market contracts.

WEI Intellectual Property Workshop: Protect What You’re Building

On January 28, Thompson Hine is partnering with the <a href="https://weiatlanta.com/">Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI)</a> to host an intellectual property workshop for their founders and local women business owners, focusing on why an IP strategy matters for women-owned and women-led businesses. WEI is the nation’s only municipality-funded accelerator for early-stage women entrepreneurs. They provide the structure, support, and sisterhood to grow sustainable, scalable businesses founded by women in Atlanta.

Sponsoring the 2026 Rattan L. Khosa SeedCon Conference

Thompson Hine is the Gold Sponsor for the upcoming 2026 Rattan L. Khosa SeedCon Conference taking place Friday, January 31, at the University of Chicago. Rattan L. Khosa SeedCon is Chicago Booth’s flagship entrepreneurship and venture capital conference. Through keynote fireside chats, panel discussions, and various networking sessions, SeedCon provides opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors, and passionate members of the startup ecosystem to explore emerging industry themes and connect over shared ideas. With an impressive lineup of speakers, the conference extends beyond the campus and attracts a broad audience from the greater startup and investor community. On behalf of Thompson Hine, <strong><a href="https://www.thompsonhine.com/professionals/aisling-susan-olaoire/">Aisling O’Laoire</a></strong> will present a workshop on The Founder’s Legal Toolkit: Incorporation, Equity, and More. Click <a href="https://luma.com/polsky-01-30-2026-event-1325?utm_source=website">here</a> to learn more.

JumpStart Trailblazer HealthTech Accelerator Sponsorship

Thompson Hine is excited to sponsor the <a href="https://jumpstartinc.org/startups/healthtech">JumpStart Trailblazer HealthTech Accelerator</a> program. The HealthTech Accelerator is a dedicated platform for Ohio’s health care startups, offering targeted support and critical resources to fuel innovation and prepare startups for venture capital investment. It is designed to help founders level up by providing a deep dive into regulatory, clinical, reimbursement and commercialization strategies. This includes quantifying clinical and economic potential and building a roadmap for commercialization to prepare startups to raise capital, navigate the regulatory path, and demonstrate commercial value.

Turning the Pages: Book Review by <a href="https://www.thompsonhine.com/professionals/jacob-j-denham/">Jake Denham</a>

Our New Ventures clients are rarely short on ambition. We love hearing about the big ideas, the audacious goals, and the moonshot outcomes. However, ambition alone often fades as chaos takes over. Founders and fund managers need something reliable to maintain momentum amid the unpredictable nature of the venture and startup lifecycle.

That’s why I recommend Atomic Habits for anyone building a company, launching a fund, or doing anything that requires consistent effort. While it seems to focus on small habits, the book actually highlights how to build long-term success amid uncertainty, which is a key skill for new ventures. A basic example is a founder who launched a small startup. In the beginning, they implemented a small daily marketing outreach of three potential clients per day. Eventually, this led to a huge client base, proving that small “atomic” habits can indeed translate to not-so-small outcomes. <a href="https://admin.thompsonhine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Atomic-Habit-Book-Review-Denham.pdf">Continue reading</a>.

Data Insights: Startup Valuations by Dollars Raised

New data reinforces a reality founders and seed-stage VCs need to plan for: building a venture-backed company is a decade-long journey. In 2025, the median startup reaches Seed at 1.2 years, Series A at 2.8 years, Series B at 4.9 years, Series C at 6.7 years, and Series D at 7.6 years—well before most liquidity events, which remain increasingly rare at that stage. Startups are staying private longer, with large private companies now rivaling public peers in scale, fundamentally reshaping venture timelines and fund economics. While a slight acceleration at some stages may reflect AI companies moving faster, the broader takeaway is clear: longer paths to exit mean investors need larger outcomes or interim liquidity strategies to generate returns. For founders, it’s both a sprint and a marathon—requiring endurance, capital planning, and long-term alignment from day one.

QuickLaunch: Experienced Guidance for Startups and Investors

Our QuickLaunch program is tailored to entrepreneurs, startups and investors, providing guidance on growth and funding cycles and offering cost-effective counsel on day-to-day legal matters from formation to funding to exits. Our seasoned team helps navigate the confusing waters of growth, funding, expansion and those tricky legal issues that can arise, often at fixed or budgeted pricing by using our firmwide proprietary SmartPaTH™ tool. To learn more about our tailored, value-enhancing solutions, please visit our <a href="https://www.thquicklaunch.com/">site</a>.

New Ventures Update – January 2026

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