Freshfields announced today that Nicole Cadman has joined the firm as a partner in Silicon Valley. Nicole was previously General Counsel at Y Combinator, the startup accelerator that has backed thousands of prominent companies, including Airbnb, Coinbase, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Reddit and Stripe. Nicole’s practice at Freshfields will focus on advising emerging companies and their founders across the corporate lifecycle, including on formation and governance, equity and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate counseling. U.S. Managing Partner Sarah Solum said: “Nicole is a trusted advisor to leading emerging companies and their founders throughout the vast Y Combinator network, helping them navigate their greatest opportunities and challenges, as well as their day-to-day needs. We are thrilled that she chose to join Freshfields, which has become a destination for companies in the technology sector in Silicon Valley and around the world. Her experience and reputation will be invaluable to our clients and our continued growth in the U.S.” On joining the firm, Nicole noted: “Freshfields combines a preeminent global platform with forward-thinking lawyers who have a deep understanding of law, business and the regulatory landscape impacting the next generation of companies. I’m thrilled to be able to bring this to clients and continue my mission of providing companies a unique advantage as they grow.” This news is the latest in a series of curated strategic partner additions in the U.S. The Freshfields corporate team has expanded in Silicon Valley with the additions of private equity M&A partner Eva Mak and M&A partner Denny Kwon, and in New York with the additions of capital markets partners Chris DeCresce and Jackie Marino, tax partner Steven Matays, M&A partners Sanjay Murti, Steven Li, Joshua Ayal and private equity M&A partners Neal Reenan and Ian Bushner. Most recently, antitrust partner Kevin Yingling joined in Washington.