Meet the Geeks
Susanna Dokupil, partner at Practus llp
Susanna Dokupil is a partner at Practus LLP, where she serves as a fractional general counsel to technology companies on matters such as corporate formation, IP protection, as well as litigation strategy. Susanna’s experience as a successful technology investor and strategic consultant give her a unique perspective on a growing company’s need to interact with investors, regulators, and political environments.
Susanna has been a General Counsel to a major state political party, a government lawyer practicing before the United States Supreme Court, a litigator in private practice, and an advisor to technology companies on fundraising and government relations. She was an early investor in Luminar, then later advised the company on its political and government relations strategy as a consultant. She has advised tech CEOs on messaging and talking points for high-level meetings with United States Senators, heads of foreign governments, and Google executives.
As a government lawyer, Susanna learned to think about law in the context of a political operating environment. Both her roles at the Texas Solicitor General’s office and at the United States Senate Judiciary Committee required her to consider not only the best legal analysis, but also how to enroll relevant stakeholders in the legal strategy.
As a commercial litigator, Susanna has represented companies in multimillion dollar cases, and she understands the value of having solid corporate documents, contracts, and procedures in place to create a defense against future lawsuits.
As a former political activist and one-time candidate, Susanna has frequently interacted with politicians, donors, and activists, has hosted fundraisers at her home for numerous U.S. Senators and local officials. She has been a consultant to a presidential Super PAC, testified in state legislatures, authored over 75 op-eds on law and public policy topics, and appeared on talk radio shows and Fox News. She understands how to raise money and manage a company’s interface with investors and regulators.
She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She also holds a master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University and a master’s and bachelor’s, magna cum laude, from Baylor University.