Ralph has over 20 years of compensation-related experience as both a consultant and executive compensation attorney. He specializes in providing advice to Compensation Committees and members of senior management on compensation and governance issues, with a particular focus on companies in the life sciences and technology industries. In addition, Ralph has substantial experience with public offerings; having assisted dozens of life science and technology companies as they transition from private company compensation structures to those of a newly public company. Ralph also has significant experience assisting life science and technology companies with compensation issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions and the U.S. tax issues (under Sections 280G, 409A and 162(m) of the tax code) and disclosure issues that arise in such transactions.
Ralph has also provided advice as a consulting expert, and testified as an expert, on executive compensation issues in several lawsuits. He has also spoken before a number of professional, business and academic groups on a wide range of issues and corporate governance concerns relating to executive compensation.
Prior to joining Compensia, Ralph was a partner in the nationally recognized Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, one of the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences and other growth enterprises worldwide. Ralph’s practice at WSGR focused on the representation of both private and public clients concerning executive compensation and employee benefit matters. Prior to his time at WSGR, Ralph had also been an executive compensation partner with DLA Piper in its San Diego office.
Ralph received a BA from California State University San Marcos, a JD from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and an LLM and Certificate in Employee Benefits from Georgetown University Law Center.