J.D., Yale Law ’14
Yale ’14. Editor, Yale Law Journal. Bilingual EN / ES (Salvadoran-American household).
About Mateo
Big-Law Bench. Founder-Side Practice. Yours for the Long Run.
Mateo studied law at Yale, clerked at the Southern District of New York, spent six years at Wachtell Lipton on cross-border M&A and venture financings, and founded Calderón Counsel PLLC in 2022 after watching one too many Series A founders get out-lawyered. If you want the calm one in the room, that’s him.
The Journey
From Big-Law Memos to Founder-Side Counsel
SDNY Clerk
One year clerking at the Southern District of New York. Learned what a clean record actually looks like.
Associate, Wachtell Lipton
Six years at Wachtell on cross-border M&A and venture financings. Worked with two unicorn founders who eventually became repeat clients.
Founded Calderón Counsel
Took the California bar, opened the firm at One Embarcadero Center, and quietly built a practice around founder-side outside GC.
Bar Admissions & Memberships
Mateo is admitted in California (Bar #312587) and New York (Bar #5641278), and is a member of the State Bar of California Business Law Section, the New York City Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. All work is conducted under his California license.
Northern California “Rising Star”
Super Lawyers recognition for emerging-companies practice (under 10 years out of law school).
Clockless “Built With Care” Partner
Selected partner for Clockless’s outside-GC program, serving Series Seed–Series B technology founders.
Calderón Counsel
A small, deliberately low-roster firm. Mateo handles every engagement personally and is backed by a trusted partner attorney and a specialist support bench for the parts that need a different lens.
Mateo Calderón
Founder · Outside GC
Priya Anand
Of Counsel · IP & Trademark
James Park
Paralegal · Filings & Diligence
Sarah Chen
Contract Drafting & Review
David Morales
Of Counsel · Employment
How I Work
01
Flat Fee, No Surprises
A fixed monthly retainer with a disclosed hour cap. Pass-through filing costs at cost. No partner-track associate billing ‘client research’ for 0.4 hours.
02
Everything in One Portal
Each founder gets a private dashboard with their matters, documents, billing, and messages — so nothing lives in a lost email thread.
03
Founder-Side Always
Mateo reads the term sheet, the indemnity carve-outs, and the diligence list himself. You get a plain-English summary before you sign anything.
Let’s Talk About Your Next Year of Counsel
Whether you’re three quarters out from a Series B or just incorporated last month, it starts with a conversation.
Book a Consultation