Mr. Kraus brings over twenty-five years of legal, investment and corporate advisory experience to his practice with Alliance Counsel. He has represented private companies and principals in debt and equity placements, corporate formations and governance, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial real estate leasing, finance and sale transactions. He led all portfolio investments and divestitures in financial services, real estate, media, communications, technology and biotechnology companies for a boutique California private equity firm for the five years prior to joining Alliance Counsel. Focus areas of his practice are general corporate, partnerships, finance, employment, real estate and education rights law.

Prior professional roles include business advisory positions with a California community bank, American Century Investments, and Charles Schwab. Earlier, he served as in-house General Counsel to two private companies: a web development and telecommunications company, NetSource Communications, Inc. and an international aviation services company, IASCO, and was Senior Corporate Counsel to the publicly-traded lease syndication company, CIS Corporation. As lead counsel, he has structured and negotiated telcom and aviation joint ventures with European and Asian partners; completed a $25M series A investment from off-shore investors; restructured a $10M long-term debt facility secured by Hawaiian macadamia nut orchards with Bank of Hawaii; and negotiated acquisition, financing, management, leasing and disposition agreements for equipment portfolios of jet aircraft, rail and industrial equipment.

Mr. Kraus began his career as an associate with the commercial group at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in Minneapolis and later with the business and real estate groups at Pillsbury Winthrop (formerly Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro) in San Francisco.

Mr. Kraus earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1983, serving as an editor of the commercial law journal, and his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1980. He is admitted to practice law in California and Minnesota.