Wilson Sonsini was founded in 1961 as McCloskey, Wilson, Mosher & Martin in Palo Alto, California, with attorney Pete McCloskey and attorney John Arnot Wilson being two of the first named partners. Wilson was a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School's class of 1941, which included Supreme Court jurists Byron White and Potter Stewart as well as former President Gerald Ford. Since its launch, the firm concentrated on the representation of emerging technology companies and venture capitalists. In 1969, the firm helped form Mayfield Fund, one of the first major venture capital firms. In 1970, John B. Goodrich joined the firm. Larry Sonsini and Mario Rosati joined in 1966 and 1971, respectively. In 1978, the firm takes on the name it has had since: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC. The firm recently started to use the shortened name, "Wilson Sonsini" in conjunction with launching a new firm website, on November 6, 2019.