04 Mar 2026
Phil Rothenberg Joins Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as General Counsel in Residence
"Phil Rothenberg joins Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's General Counsel in Residence program to advise clients on IPO preparation, securities, and regulatory compliance."
Rothenberg is a veteran general counsel with extensive experience in IPO preparation, securities matters, and regulatory compliance. He is entering Wilson Sonsini as part of the GCIR program. He most recently served as chief legal officer for Tensor Auto, where he led the company’s legal efforts covering autonomous vehicle manufacturing, sales and service agreements, commercial partnerships, litigation, bespoke insurance issues, patents and trademarks, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and securities offerings.
Prior to Tensor Auto, Rothenberg was general counsel for Univers, leading its global legal team and handling matters that included pre-IPO bridge loan financing, trademark and patent strategy, contract clause escalation reviews, and litigation. Earlier in his career he held senior legal positions at Sonder Holdings, where he served as general counsel and secretary and oversaw corporate inversion, private securities offerings, a SPAC merger and de-SPAC IPO and Nasdaq listing, and co-led litigation and ESG initiatives; at Tesla, where he managed securities offerings, SEC filings, and legal operations in Asia; and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, where he served as a corporation finance attorney reviewing public company filings and advising on federal securities law compliance. He began his career as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, advising clients in Tokyo and New York on securities and mergers and acquisitions. Rothenberg has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center teaching IPOs and securities regulation.