O’Melveny & Myers LLP announced today that Mark Peterson will rejoin the Firm as a partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice within the Transactions Department. He will be based in O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office.

Since beginning his legal career in O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office 20 years ago, Peterson has served as a general counsel, senior vice president, and corporate secretary at some of the top public and private companies in the region, including Meade Instruments, Targus Group International, and Conexant Systems. In those roles, Peterson oversaw all significant M&A activities, equity and debt offerings, SEC reporting obligations, intellectual property, litigation management and strategy, labor and employment issues, and corporate governance matters. Notably, in his role as general counsel for Conexant Systems, Peterson played a critical role in the technology company’s restructuring, turnaround, and eventual sale.

“We are excited to have Mark help lead the Transactions Department and provide seamless legal advice to our clients throughout Orange County, and the world,” said Jeff Walbridge, managing partner of the Newport Beach office. “His deep connection to the business and in-house legal communities of Orange County will augment the wide range of services we already offer to companies in our local community.”

Peterson will build on the solid platform that O’Melveny’s transactions partners have established for its clients globally. Peterson brings with him a solid reputation as a hands-on corporate lawyer and counselor in the Orange County corporate community, which will enrich O’Melveny’s comprehensive approach to advising its clients through their acquisitions and dispositions, as well as with general corporate advice and support.

Peterson started his legal career in O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office in 1991 as a corporate and securities associate. In 1997, after assisting Meade Instruments through its initial public offering, he joined Meade as its general counsel and senior vice president of international operations. In 2007 he was recruited to Targus Group International as its general counsel. Peterson then served as the general counsel of Conexant Systems from 2008 until the company was acquired earlier this year.

Peterson received a BS degree in accounting with honors from Brigham Young University in 1988, before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law with his JD in 1991. A native of Orange County, he is actively involved in the local legal community, chairing the Forum for Corporate Directors GC Affinity Group, vice-chairing the Orange County Bar Association Corporate Counsel Group, and serving on the board of the J. Ruben Clark Law Society in Orange County. He has been an active volunteer with the Boy Scouts and frequently speaks at the University of California, Irvine, as a guest lecturer for the MBA program.

“I am thrilled to rejoin the team at O’Melveny and apply my experience as in-house counsel to the Firm’s well-rounded, client-focused M&A practice,” said Peterson.

www.omm.com