Yonida Koukio

Yonida is a corporate and intellectual property lawyer who works closely with innovative start-ups at all stages of their business from their inception up to an M&A or go-public transaction. Yonida regularly represents clients in corporate transactions, including reorganizations, acquisitions, and capital raising. She also assists foreign companies in establishing a presence in Canada to access the North American markets with work that includes setting up and structuring subsidiaries, IP transfer and brand protection, and corporate finance. Her work includes advising corporations throughout their lifecycle on strategy, as well as the preparation and negotiation of various corporate, financing, technology, licensing, privacy, and employment agreements.

As a tech and innovation enthusiast, Yonida also leads the firm’s innovation projects, including automation, software testing and implementation, development of tech-enabled solutions, and structuring legal services-as-a-product. Previously, Yonida worked at two full-service national law firms in roles relating to legal, knowledge management, innovation, marketing, and business development. She led projects pertaining to machine-learning contract analysis, automation of due diligence review of corporate, private equity, and financing agreements, and market recognition. She gained experience in marketing strategy, the business of law, and streamlining the practice of law. She also co-founded an award-winning B2B SaaS startup that simplifies the outsourcing of legal tasks between lawyers.

She holds two LL.M degrees, the most recent one from Osgoode Hall Law School, focusing on business and intellectual property. While at Osgoode, Yonida acted as an IPilogue editor, blogging about legal issues regarding Big Data, AI, and technology law.

Prior to her legal career in Ontario, Yonida practiced law in Athens, Greece. In her leisure time, Yonida enjoys cycling, photography, and vlogging, as well as traveling, having visited over 30 countries on four continents.