20 Aug 2026
Wilson Sonsini Welcomes Margaret Chow to General Counsel in Residence Program
"Wilson Sonsini adds former Couchbase CLO Margaret Chow to its General Counsel in Residence program; she will work on in-house legal leadership, corporate governance, legal operations and corporate transactions."
Chow brings more than 15 years of experience guiding high‑growth technology companies through pivotal stages, including IPOs, public company governance, global expansion, business transformations, and acquisitions. She joins Wilson Sonsini as a General Counsel in Residence, drawing on a practice focused on in‑house legal leadership, corporate governance, legal operations, and corporate transactions.
Most recently, Chow served as senior vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary at Couchbase, where she built and scaled the company’s global legal function, advised senior leadership and the board on governance and strategic business matters, and led the company through its 2021 IPO and its 2025 take‑private acquisition. At Couchbase she also served as interim chief people officer and as sponsor for the company’s ESG program.
Before Couchbase, Chow was vice president and deputy general counsel at Medallia, acting as a strategic advisor to the C‑suite as the company scaled from a Series C start‑up to a public company valued at more than $3 billion. At Medallia she oversaw legal teams responsible for commercial transactions, corporate, employment, and legal operations; served as lead attorney on equity and debt financings, M&A transactions, and the company’s IPO; and established legal infrastructure for operations spanning more than 20 countries.
Earlier in her career, Chow was associate general counsel at Usablenet, supporting the company during a period of substantial expansion by handling commercial transactions, corporate matters, intellectual property, data privacy, and litigation. She began her legal career as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
Chow has also served as a board member and secretary of the Anjiro Initiative, where she led the organization’s corporate governance efforts. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.