About Robert Sarafian

After a brief period as a general practice lawyer with a small Boston law firm, Bob pursued a career goal to become a General Counsel, starting as a staff attorney with Compugraphic Corporation, at the time a NYSE listed manufacturer of printing hardware and software, followed by increasingly responsible positions with Bayer Corporation, following its acquisition of Compugraphic. Bob’s career progression continued to his appointment as VP, General Counsel and Secretary of Agfa Corporation, where in addition to responsibilities as General Counsel of the North America Region, Bob led the legal team for Agfa’s global M&A practice during a very active period where the company was realigning its asset portfolio. After leaving Agfa, Bob took on the role of Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of H.C. Starck Inc, a global producer of refractory materials, following its acquisition in 2007 by private equity investors Advent International and The Carlyle Group.

Some examples of Bob’s work include:

• Leading and/or participating in the structuring, due diligence, negotiation and closing of M&A transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $5 billion.
• Creation and implementation of efficient contract management practices, reducing cycle time.
• Negotiation and closing of a wide variety of commercial transactions.
• Development and supervision of cost-effective intellectual property practices protecting the client’s key technology utilizing a mix of internal and external resources.
• Structuring and management of lean budgets for law and patent spending right-sized to the business.
• Successful resolution of complex, high exposure litigation, both domestically and internationally, in a range of subject matter areas including patents, employment, environmental/regulatory and disputed commercial transactions.
• Working with business development teams to structure business models and associated legal contracts.
• Leading the carve-out of corporate divisions from their corporate parent and establishing legal, HR, compliance and other administrative systems and internal controls.
• Preparation and implementation of Corporate Codes of Conduct and Compliance programs tailored to the highest risk areas of the Client.

Bob is a graduate of Western New England University, where he graduated with honors and New England Law. Bob is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.

Lawyering Philosophy:

Bob has a professional objective to deliver cost-effective, value-added legal services to his clients. Bob believes that objective is best accomplished by actively listening to and working with clients to understand their business and then providing legal support that balances the service triangle of time, quality and cost in a manner that best serves the client. Overall SLS strives to deliver quality work product on many legal activities typically performed by in-house and outside counsel in a reasonable time (as measured by the client), and at a reasonable price. In short, to be a value added lawyer through the knowledgeable delivery of quality legal services generating measurable value to the client and his/her business.