The Matau Legal Group is the “go to” law firm providing specialty legal services in the areas of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), web enabled and mobile technologies, digital content sharing, media, social networking and “green” technologies. Founder Gwyn Firth Murray brings over two decades of software and internet business experience from her roles as general and senior counsel at both private and publicly traded global companies. She founded the Matau Legal Group in 2002 to provide a unique combination of broad business law expertise and focused specialization, including the legal aspects of Free (Libre) and Open Source Software. The Matau Legal Group leverages small teams of highly experienced legal professionals, each of whom has served as in-house general and senior counsels in the past. The Matau Legal Group understands the scope of legal issues that emerging companies may face – including corporate, human resource and real estate matters – and is committed to supporting the health and growth of client businesses.

Our Practice:

The Matau Legal Group was founded in 2002 by Gwyn Firth Murray and is based in Silicon Valley, CA. The Matau Legal Group was created with the goal of providing premier legal services to privately and publicly-held companies in a cost-effective manner and with reasonable rates. Our philosophy is to serve our clients - and bill our clients - as we would want other lawyers to work for, and bill, us. Almost without exception, our attorneys have managed legal departments from the inside, we are familiar with, and able to handle, most legal matters that arise for our clients. However, we also know what we don't know -- and when it is appropriate for the client to locate another practitioner to handle a particular matter or area. We have “worldwide world view”, with connections to a broad international network of legal practitioners who practice in our own and other areas. We are able and pleased to assist clients in engaging attorneys with other specialties where appropriate and in line with our clients? needs and requests.

How We Collaborate With Other Firms:

Many of our clients use big corporate law firms like Wilson, Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Latham & Watkins; Davis Polk and Pillsbury for matters requiring an “army” of legal staff or lawyers with specialties outside our own, such as complex venture financing, securities law compliance, and litigation. The Matau Legal Group welcomes the opportunity to work side by side with these firms where such collaboration benefits our clients. We are happy to assist our clients in finding referrals for such services.

Our Commitment to Our Clients and to Each Other:

  • We are experienced business lawyers who understand the need to get agreements to closure quickly while protecting key client interests.
  • We invest in learning our clients' businesses and products, so that we can provide advice and assistance over the long term that is appropriate to the whole company - not just within an isolated project.
  • We aim for long-term relationships with our clients, based on mutual trust and respect.
  • We respond to client telephone calls and messages promptly, with a commitment to return all calls and messages within 24 hours.
  • We bill our clients as we would want ourselves to be billed. We want our clients to feel they are paying for value received, not to educate us in intricacies of the law. In other words, we won't spend time educating ourselves about the law on your dime without getting your express prior consent.
  • We believe that the world, and our practice, extends beyond Silicon Valley.
  • We thrive on innovation and seek new technologies and practice areas.
  • We strive to develop personal, face-to-face relationships with our clients and their employees.

Fundamental To Our Practice:

We believe that, central to our health as an organization, is how we manage ourselves internally and as we interact with others. Therefore, each participant in the Matau Legal Group is committed to acting with the highest degree of integrity and honesty with respect to each other, the organization as a whole, our clients, and how the firm and its people present themselves to the world.