Mike Denker
CEO at Transactency | Fixing contract negotiation | 30 years of redline scars
- Role
- Senior Advisor at Diversified Waste Solutions
- Location
- Wayne, IL, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Mike Denker
Decades in the legal trenches taught me this: business runs better when people trust each other. and their contracts.I’ve spent 30+ years navigating deals, solving problems, and asking “why” way more than was probably comfortable for the people around me. It’s made me a better attorney, a sharper operator, and a relentless builder.I started Transactency a while back after too many years of redline-induced PTSD from watching contract negotiations slow things down, stir up conflict, and waste time. I put the idea on hold for a while—life, career, timing—but I recently revived it with an incredible core team, and we’re finally taking it to market.Transactency is a legal tech platform that rethinks how contracts get formed: collaborative, transparent, and designed so both sides get to “yes” faster without sacrificing trust.Before coming back to Transactency, I held C-suite roles at INGENIOUS.BUILD, a venture-backed SaaS company in the AECO space. As CLO during my entire tenure, I led legal ops and risk. I also took on the role of COO during a portion of my time there and built the financial models that helped raise our Series A and scaled internal operations. When tasked with putting on the CPO hat, I helped grow the team from 12 to 147 while keeping culture, clarity, and trust at the core.Before that, I ran a boutique law firm for 15 years, advising founders, startups, and multinationals on everything from M&A to tech licensing to bet-the-business disputes. Typical boot camp in BigLaw for 7 years to start my career.What ties it all together? I believe in solving real problems, cutting through the noise, and creating things that make people’s lives easier. Legal shouldn’t be a bottleneck. Contracts shouldn’t kill deals. And business should be built on trust—not friction.I’m persistent. Curious. Collaborative. And allergic to posing and posturing.Always open to connecting with fellow builders, investors, and people doing work that matters.
Experience
Senior Advisor
Jan 2024 — Present · Geneva, IL, US
Education
University of Southern California
B.A., Magna Cum Laude, English Literature
1988 — 1992
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
J.D.
1992 — 1995
Skills
- Commercial Litigation
- Corporate Law
- Intellectual Property
- IT Law
- Litigation
- Contract Negotiation
- Licensing
- Joint Ventures
- Civil Litigation
- Mergers
- Start-Ups
- Business Litigation
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Cyberlaw
- Trade Secrets
- Business Transactions
- Torts
- Legal Advice
- Legal Research
- Privacy Law
- Commercial Real Estate
- Outsourcing
- Corporate Governance
- Arbitration
- Wills
- Class Actions
- Copyright Law
- Patent Litigation
- Dispute Resolution
- Product Liability
- Data Privacy
- Securities Regulation
- Entertainment Law
- Trial Practice
- Mediation
- Venture Capital
- Bankruptcy
- Legal Writing
- Dispute
- Appeals
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