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Alexander J. Civetta

Associate

[email protected]

+1.617.348.3075

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Alex advises companies on the intersection of law and business, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, technology transactions, and negotiation. He regularly handles licensing agreements, key commercial contracts, and financing matters for innovators in the software, technology, professional services, and biotechnology industries.  In 2021 and 2022, Alex was named a Top Lawyer in Corporate Law by Boston Magazine; in 2022, Alex was nationally ranked in Chambers USA for Start Ups and Emerging Companies.  He has taught venture capital law at Boston University School of Law and is a regular speaker at client trainings on everything from raising seed capital to negotiating company-defining collaboration agreements.

Alex is particularly focused on using interest-based negotiation to get the best possible results for his clients.  He was previously a teaching assistant for negotiation courses at Harvard Law School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and various executive education programs through Harvard’s Program on Negotiation. He also served as managing editor of the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. Alex facilitates negotiation trainings and workshops for companies and other institutions on a consulting basis.

Before Alex attended law school, he was a senior program manager at a private software-as-a-service company, where he advised clients on complex software integration projects.

Experience

Examples of recent commercial and licensing transactions include:

  • $100m+ exclusive licensing deal opposite a major media company
  • $40m sponsorship deal on behalf of a sportswear brand opposite a professional sports league
  • $250m+ long-term cross-border supply and services agreement in wafer technology
  • Long-term strategic partnership and integration agreement for a loan trading platform opposite a large bank
  • Software development and SAAS integration deal for AI-assisted tools opposite Fortune 50 retailer
  • Out-license of platform technologies and patent families out of MIT and Harvard
  • Grant agreement and long-term IP-related partnership between a venture fund and a large research institution
  • Company-critical 3PL deal on behalf of an ecommerce-based retailer
  • Strategic partnership and exclusive distribution agreement on behalf of a water filtration technology company
  • Development and distribution agreement for a smart-home technology provider opposite a major solar integrator

Examples of recent financing transactions include:

  • SAFE and side letter financings for multiple startups opposite incubator programs from top venture firms
  • $30m Series B financing for SAAS company, including 30+ transaction secondary sale alongside
  • $20m Series A financing for digital health company including strategic investors
  • $22m convertible debt deal for a gene editing company opposite a Singaporean government entity among other investors
  • $35m Series A financing for health care technology company, including secondary sale alongside
  • $12m Series Seed financing for synthetic biology MIT spinout
  • $7m Series A financing for gut biome medical device MIT spinout
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viewpoints

Energy & Sustainability Client Feature — Cultivo

March 1, 2024 | Article | By Alex Civetta

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Six Common Contract Traps: A Field Guide

March 25, 2022 | Advisory | By Alex Civetta

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Stock Vesting in Startup Companies

March 15, 2022 | Article | By Alex Civetta, Garrett Galvin

Building a company from the ground up is a risky endeavor for founders. In exchange for the founders’ efforts and devotion to the success of the company, the founders take a significant equity stake in the company, with the expectation that the value of these shares will grow substantially as the company grows.
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Enforcing Click-Through and URL Terms

March 30, 2021 | Advisory | By Alex Civetta, Kati P. Strzelczyk

Read about how companies can increase the enforceability of digital contracts, online terms incorporated by reference into non-electronic agreements, and updates of online terms.
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The Beauty and the Terror of Agile Software Development

March 24, 2021 | Advisory | By Alex Civetta, Garrett Galvin

This Mintz advisory reviews the challenges associated with agile software development contracts and provides best practices to avoid rising costs and legal disputes.
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News & Press

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A Mintz team led by Tom Burton and Alex Civetta advised Cultivo Land PBC on its recent $14 million Series A funding round, bringing the company to over $20 million. This investment will be used to advance the growth of Cultivo’s AI platform for large scale nature regeneration projects, specifically focused on carbon removal, biodiversity enhancement, and improved water storage.
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BOSTON – Twenty-five Mintz attorneys have been named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.
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Mintz is pleased to announce that 32 attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers and 27 attorneys have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars for 2023.
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Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.
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BOSTON - Mintz and ML Strategies were recognized with the prestigious Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration by the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) at the 30th Annual EBEE Awards in Boston.
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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.
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In its second annual edition, 28 Mintz attorneys were named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.
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Mintz took lead role for long-term client NanoView Biosciences in its sale to Unchained Labs, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group. NanoView, through its ExoView technology, characterizes exosomes and the company’s LentiView platform complements Unchained Labs’ tools for gene therapy researchers working with lentivirus, which is an immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
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Events & Speaking

Apr
1
2023
Feb
2
2023
Jun
1
2022

Negotiating Strategic Partnerships

Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship

Oct
1
2020

Contract Law Basics

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Boston

Guest Lecturer
Speaker
Jul
16
2020
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Recognition & Awards

  • Chambers USA: Start Ups and Emerging Companies (2022-2023)

  • Best LawyersOnes to Watch - Technology Law (2024)

  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Corporate Law (2021, 2022)

  • Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's Pro Bono Honor Roll (2021)

  •  Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Technology Transactions (2023)

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