Lois Novotny

Current

• Attorney at Law

Past

• Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Houghton Mifflin
• Associate at Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett
• Associate at Hartman & Craven LLP

• Associate at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

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Education

• New York University School of Law

Recommended

4 people have recommended Lois

Connections

109 connections

Industry

Law Practice

Lois Novotny’s Summary

Seasoned corporate and intellectual property attorney with extensive experience in publishing (both print and software), focusing on corporate, copyright, trademark, securities, and general business matters. My background includes major law firms in both New York and Boston and as in-house counsel, providing a broad base in a variety of different areas, from licensing and distribution arrangements to major transactions to routine commercial contracts.

I can provide smaller and emerging companies lacking both the budget and the workload to support an internal lawyer with the benefits of experienced in-house counsel, on a basis appropriate to the company’s needs. I can also assist corporate legal departments with as-needed support to handle occasional overflow work. I enjoy working with management to assist them in evaluating business risks to prevent problems, which is always easier and more cost-effective. My goal is ensure that legal advice is seen as part of the solution and not as an obstacle to getting the task accomplished in a timely and efficient manner—not only in the day-to-day legal work that is part of every company’s routine business and more significant transactions, but also in the more mundane task of keeping a company’s books and records in order so that they do not become an issue if reviewed in the course of a transaction.

Lois Novotny’s Specialties:

Corporate, securities, copyright, trademark, software licensing and distribution, publishing, and general business matters

Lois Novotny’s Experience

• Attorney

  Law

  (Law Practice industry)

  March 2008 — Present (1 year 5 months)

  General counsel services to smaller companies, particularly those whose business focuses on their intellectual property

• Vice President, Associate General Counsel

  Houghton Mifflin

  (Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Publishing industry)

  1987 — 2008 (21 years)

  Counseled major educational publisher on corporate, finance, securities, and governance matters; provided legal support to several business units, including, for the last 16 years, the largest divisions. Major transactions included acting as lead in-house counsel in spin-off and public offering of a division, debt offerings, the sale to Bain, Lee, and Blackstone, and the acquisition and sale of publishing programs. Managed all aspects of SEC compliance; co-authored corporate compliance programs, governance standards, codes of ethics; and created audit and compensation committee charters. Divisional support included advice on a wide range of issues, including author, consultant, outside developer contracts and preparation of standard form agreements; licensing, and distribution arrangements; electronic publishing; sales representation matters; compliance with federal privacy regulations affecting children; and advising divisions regarding trademark selection, registration, and use.

• Associate

  Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett

  (Partnership; Law Practice industry)

  1984 — 1987 (3 years)

• Associate

  Hartman & Craven LLP

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Law Practice industry)

  1983 — 1984 (1 year)

• Associate

  Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

  (Partnership; 501-1000 employees; Law Practice industry)

  1980 — 1983 (3 years)

Lois Novotny’s Education

• New York University School of Law

  1977 — 1980

Lois Novotny’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch