Ann Yvonne Walker is a corporate securities partner in the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California, where she has practiced law since graduating from law school in 1979. She primarily represents high technology companies located in the "Silicon Valley" and specializes in corporate and securities law, including public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters and general corporate representation, with a particular emphasis on public company disclosure obligations and SEC compliance issues.
Ms. Walker is an active member of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the Section of Business Law of the American Bar Association and is currently serving on its Subcommittees on: Securities Registration; Disclosure and Continuous Reporting; Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Section 16; Small Business Issuers (immediate past Chair); Securities Law Opinions; and Proxy Solicitations and Business Combinations. She has served on drafting teams for many ABA comment letters on SEC releases, principally relating to the numerous SEC rulemaking projects under the JOBS Act of 2012, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Section 16 rules, the executive compensation disclosure rules, Form S-8, Rule 701, securities offering reform and rules for smaller reporting companies and emerging growth companies.
Ms. Walker is a former member of the Council of the ABA Section of Business Law (2001-2005) and a past Chair (1997-2001) of the ABA Section of Business Law's Committee on Lawyer Business Ethics (now renamed the Committee on Professional Responsibility), having served on that committee since its founding in 1993. She was recently appointed to the Editorial Board for Business Law Today (2011-present), the e-zine published by the Section of Business Law. Ms. Walker previously served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism (1996-1999) and the ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Services (2005-2008), for which committees she now serves as liaison from the Section of Business Law. She also served as Chair of the ABA Section/Division Committee on Professionalism and Ethics from 1999 to 2001 and as a member of the ABA Section of Business Law's Publications Board from 2000 to 2004.
Ms. Walker is also active in the State Bar of California. She served as an Advisor to the Council of State Bar Sections (2002-2003) immediately following her term as Co-Chair of the Council (2001-2002). She has also served as an active Advisor to the State Bar Business Law Section's Executive Committee (2000-2005 and 2010-present), having previously served as its Chair (1999-2000), Vice Chair (1998-1999) and Legislative Chair (1997-1998). Prior to that, she was on the Corporations Committee, where she served as Co-Chair (1995-1996), Vice Chair - Legislation (1994-1995) and Secretary (1993-1994). More recently, Ms. Walker served as Chair of the State Bar Business Law Section's Lifetime Achievement Awards Committee (2005-2008).
A frequent speaker at securities law and ethics programs, Ms. Walker is also a past editor of the forms for Marsh's California Corporation Law.
Ms. Walker was born in San Francisco and raised on the Peninsula. She graduated from Burlingame High School as co-valedictorian in 1972, received her B.S. in Mathematics (with distinction) from Stanford University in 1976 and her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1979. In her spare time, she plays violin in and serves on the board of directors of Redwood Symphony (a non-profit community orchestra), sings with Schola Cantorum (a non-profit 90-voice community choir) and spends time with her husband, David M. Jones (married May 25, 1985), and her son, Charles Richard ("Rick") Walker Jones (born July 16, 1990), at their home in Atherton or traveling.