About WS Investments

WS Investments Co. is the private investment fund of law firm, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The fund's contributions come from Wilson Sonsini partners. Wilson Sonsini's fund, which the firm uses to invest in promising tech clients. WS Investment is sometimes thought of as a source of a conflict of interest for the law firm because a lawyer's judgment could be swayed by his investment interests in the client's eventual IPO. WS Investments was created in 1978 to give lawyers skin in the game. Partner Mario Rosati manages the investment fund. Annually, Rosati sets a budget which the firm partnership agrees upon and then these partners suggest clients that may be worth investing in. WS Investments typically has one but maybe two funds and requires partners to participate in line with their partnership interest in the firm. WS Investment is relatively secretive but there is a bit of mythology about the fund given some of its past success which reports have suggested outperformed VC firm returns. The firm's notable investments include a $72,000 investment in Google which reports indicate became worth $28 million. The fund's investment also include Juniper Networks, Avanex and Brocade Communications which provided handsome returns during the dot com boom. There have also been losers including the likes of Telseon, Workstation and Zelerate. Partners who've invested in the WS Investment fund estimate that it has returned 20% annually over time. Despite concerns about conflicts of interest, WS Investment continues. And other law firms with a Silicon Valley presence have also created similar investment funds.