Christopher Sissons Email & Phone Number

United States

Awarded "Above and Beyond" for 2018; and the CEO Award in 2020 for being, "a true "partner" for the North American sales team," and a key contributor to its success.

Managed all corporate legal functions for a leading provider of monitoring and testing solutions within the global telecommunications market. Provided legal counsel to the senior management team regarding risk mitigation, corporate compliance and governance issues. Participated in management activities related to business development, growth and acquisition strategy of the organization. Responsible for compliance with the company's lending obligations to its private equity firm. Reviewed, negotiated and managed all transactional documents. Managed all legal issues relating to employment matters including the onboarding and transition process, sale and repurchase of employee stock and management of employee visas. Maintained company’s extensive intellectual property portfolio and stock capitalization table. Ensured all company affiliates remained in good standing in compliance with local law. Coordinated due diligence exercises with respect to various company initiatives. Facilitated compliance with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and international data privacy laws. Coordinated and managed outside counsel with respect to various employee relations and litigation matters. Served as Assistant Secretary of the corporation and General Manager of its Dubai branch.

Burlington, Massachusetts

Provided legal support for North America, South America, and Asia Pacific regions for a global provider of workforce management solutions based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Negotiated large, complex software licensing and professional services agreements with local and international utilities, governmental entities, and Global 500 companies. Worked collaboratively with local and Israeli executive teams to ensure such agreements comply with company risk tolerance and revenue recognition policies. Negotiated and managed leases for real estate in the Massachusetts, California, and Sao Paulo markets. Coordinated and managed outside counsel. Advised management regarding employment matters. Prepared and filed corporate governance and securities documentation as required. Employee of the Quarter (Q2/2013) and recipient of the 2013 Excellence Award in Recognition of Outstanding Performance.

Bedford, Ma

Negotiated and finalized complex software licensing and professional services agreements with various Global 500 companies within the financial services and high technology industries. Worked collaboratively with the executive team to ensure such agreements comply with company risk tolerance and revenue recognition policies. Analyzed contract terms, conditions, requirements and special provisions to ensure compliance with applicable laws and corporate policies. Advised the business team on the various legal issues and risks, business strategies, complex deal structures, approval processes, intellectual property and other issues related to technology transactions.

Supported a large international sales organization with a focus on negotiating transactions for enterprise medical transcription and speech recognition products. Negotiated complex contractual documents with sophisticated healthcare providers, such requiring a strong grounding in related statutory compliance issues applicable to the healthcare industry including HIPAA. Worked extensively with the finance organization to optimize revenue recognition for every engagement. Transactional experience includes enterprise licenses, ASP agreements, joint marketing and partnership programs, OEM and bundling agreements, volume licensing programs, reseller and distribution agreements, software development agreements, and professional services and maintenance contracts.

Responsible for all North American and Asia Pacific contractual engagements for a worldwide provider of e-learning solutions to Global 2000 companies. Coordinated and managed five contract negotiators. Created and implemented training programs for new and existing employees within the legal department in addition to personnel reporting to finance, sales, and product deployment. Proven ability to work in a fast paced environment while effectively managing multiple priorities and fostering a positive attitude to create an effective team.

Practice focused on business law with concentrations in high technology, e-commerce, Internet law, technology licensing, health care, employment, real estate, mergers, acquisitions, franchising, corporate and commercial contracts, sales and distribution agreements, loans, and financing arrangements. Also provided legal services to premier corporate clients such as E5 Systems, Concord Communications, and Shareholder.com with respect to the negotiation of service contracts, software licenses, commercial leases, and outsourcing agreements in addition to developing internal legal processes related to employment law, business development, licensing and various compliance issues.

Developed agreements for offerings including software licenses, outsourcing arrangements, strategic alliances, and service provider agreements. Negotiated and managed such agreements with third parties in addition to leases for prime real estate in Boston, San Francisco, and New York markets in addition to related construction and build-out agreements. Collaborated with finance and business groups regarding deal structuring and negotiation. Developed contracting process that reinforced revenue recognition and collections policies while maintaining customer satisfaction focus. Coordinated litigation matters with outside counsel. Prepared and filed required securities documentation. Ensured compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA. Engineered multiple staff actions implicating both WARN Act and ADEA issues resulting in no unplanned legal liabilities or business disruption. Oversaw contractual negotiations, due diligence exercises, and integration planning aspects for the Mergers & Acquisitions department.

Conducted negotiations and managed established contractual relationships applicable to the outsourcing of information technology services for Fortune 500 clientele. Ensured all proposals for new business contained sufficient risk protection with regard to the business benefit contemplated by the proposed engagement.

Conducted contract and lease negotiations for leading computer systems integration firm. Drafted contracts, lease and licensing agreements with variety of Fortune 500 companies. Managed firm's third party consulting agreements. Responsible for maintaining and updating department's proprietary database.

Conducted daily lesson development, evaluation and classroom management for 170 students. Coordinated Student Government Day. Bolstered professional skills as a member of the New England History Teachers Association.

J.D., Law

Activities and Societies: Dean’s List 1993 – 1996. Member of the Phi Delta Phi International Honor Society in Law, Massachusetts Bar.

B.A., History

Activities and Societies: History major with Secondary Education minor. Dean’s List 1987 – 1990. Member of the Phi Alpha Theta.