Education

Law School/Year: Harvard Law School, 1994

College/Year: Georgetown University, 1991

Bar Admissions

California, 1994

Practice Areas

Commercial, Corporate Business, Intellectual Property, International, Labor

Major Cases

In 2007, Websense transformed from a U.S.-based, single product company with a single engineering location, into a company with twice the number of employees, global operations and engineering centers in the U.S., Israel, the United Kingdom, China and Australia, developing multiple product lines. In January 2007, Websense acquired Israeli-based PortAuthority Technologies to obtain and develop market-leading technology for data loss prevention (DLP) software. In October 2007, Websense acquired one of its primary Web filtering competitors, SurfControl, a London stock exchange listed company, for $400 million, expanding Websense’s global presence and product portfolio to include e-mail security and hosted security solutions.

Professional Background

Michael Newman is currently senior vice president and general counsel for Websense, leading an 11-person, in-house legal team (seven of whom are attorneys) to provide legal guidance for Websense’s worldwide operations, including commercial contracts and licensing, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, securities and finance, employment and litigation. Prior to Websense, Newman was employed by Gateway Inc., where he managed numerous equity investment, merger and acquisition, stock sale and asset divestiture transactions. Earlier, Newman was an attorney with the San Diego offices of Cooley Godward and Latham & Watkins, working with numerous local technology and emerging growth companies.

Professional Affiliations

Newman has been the general counsel of Websense since 2002, also serving as a vice president from 2002-‘07 and as a senior vice president since 2007. Websense is a global leader in integrated Web, messaging and data protection technologies, providing essential information protection for more than 42 million employees at more than 50,000 organizations worldwide. Websense has approximately 1,200 employees, and generates $350 million in annual sales. Websense software helps organizations block malicious code, prevent the loss of confidential information and enforce Internet use and security policies to provide a secure and productive computing environment.

Personal Background

Newman was born in New York City and spent most of his childhood in New Jersey. He and his wife, Beth, moved from the East Coast to San Diego when they graduated together from Harvard Law School in 1994, which is also where they met. They currently live in Rancho Santa Fe with their 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, and spend most of their time involved in the children’s activities. Newman is head coach of a Pop Warner football team, and regularly attends cheerleading and gymnastics events. Personally, he enjoys golf, camping and snowboarding/skiing.