The Legal 500

Within Bank lending: West Coast,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Driven out of the its San Francisco head office and leveraging off deeply entrenched ties with many of the region’s leading banks and corporates, Morrison & Foerster’s 12-partner bank lending team offers ‘very responsive and astute advice’, say clients.

In addition, the group has diverse industry and work-product experience and knowledge of traditional lending products such as syndicated lines of credit. Expertise across a number of niche areas has ensured that the bank lending practice has been relatively well insulated against the recent vagaries of the market.

At the vanguard of financing in the renewable energy industry, the bank lending group is an integral component of the cleantech practice group. In this capacity, its lawyers advised a client in relation to a $18m term loan facility, which utilized a unique structure that provides a royalty return to the lender based upon the gross revenues for the developed wind projects.

Given Morrison & Foerster’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley, the banking group is frequently called upon to advise borrower and lender clients engaged in entertainment-related financing. For example, it recently represented First Bank as a syndicate member in a $78m financing for Echo Bridge Entertainment, in order to facilitate the financing of the acquisition of film libraries.

‘We are very happy with the firm’s overall service and have developed a very efficient working relationship with them’, say clients.

CLIENTS: Clients include the Campbell Group, International Commercial Bank, Bank of America, Textainer Group, Bank of Taiwan, Lloyds TSB, Bank of the West, Integrated Healthcare Holdings and Cadence Design Systems.

INDIVIDUALS: ‘Very thorough’, say clients,
San Francisco-based chair of the firm’s
financial transactions group William Veatch is regularly involved in transactions with a
significant overlap between credit and structured finance.

San Francisco-based partner Jill Feldman ‘is excellent’, rave clients. ‘She is a reliable and responsible attorney’ who is regularly instructed by financial institutions on single lender and syndicated credit transactions.

Within Capital markets: debt offerings: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Following a year of complex and industry leading manager transactions, Morrison & Foerster LLP sits in the upper echelons of the market in terms of the number of matters handled and the collective dollar amount of transactions done, attracting complex and large matters over the last year and offering clients ‘top priority client service’. This service is described by one client as an ‘unparalleled service’ with ‘great responsiveness’, with a ‘very good bank regulatory practice’.

While the practice is described as ‘not up there with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP or Davis Polk & Wardwell , not for the tough questions’ by clients, the range of products that the firm offers and has acted on tells another story. The practice recently acted for the underwriters regarding the largest issuance of US government guaranteed debt in 2008 which involved four tranches of fixed and floating rate senior notes. These were made under the new FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

The practice also represented underwriters Citigroup, Barclays Capital, ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Greenwich Capital Market and RBC Dain Rauscher regarding the offering of $1.5bn of senior notes of Capital One Financial.

The team also advised Banc of America as the dealer and arranger regarding a $20bn covered bonds program for the Bank of America affiliate BA Covered Bond Issuer.

On the issuer side, the practice advised Morgan Crucible regarding the offering of $350m of its guaranteed senior unsecured notes. For client ADESA, it advised it regarding a $135.8m offering of senior subordinated notes, the matter involving a debt exchange and a consent solicitation.

CLIENTS: Clients on the manager side include Piper Jaffray and international banks Glitnir Banki and Landsbanki Islands. Issuer clients include Lee & Man Manufacturing and Belron.

INDIVIDUALS: With clients highlighting that her way of ‘developing viable solutions is noteworthy’, partner Anna Pinedo advises a range of manager and issuer clients regarding securities and derivatives matters, and stands out to clients for her particular ‘focus on service’.

Clients single out James Tanenbaum for his ‘sage advice’ and for having ‘always proven himself to be an extremely competent attorney’. Tanenbaum is the chair of the firm’s global capital markets practice.

Both partners are based in the New York office.

Within Capital markets: equity offerings: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Described by clients as a ‘solid mid-tier firm’, Morrison & Foerster LLP has been in fighting form in terms of IPOs, US equity and related equity matters and complex convertible and preferred stock matters, particularly in large matters on the manager side.

Despite the firm’s strong East and West Coast presence, its comparatively youthful capital markets practice is described as ‘not in the same stratosphere’ as rival firms in terms of matters worked on and the caliber of clients recently worked for. Despite not enjoying the same deep relationships with a spread of top financial institutions, the practices is noted to be ‘trying to deepen its depth of knowledge’ by clients.

Illustrating a strength in the representation of financial clients, the practice enjoys ongoing relationships with clients such as Bank of America and its affiliates, for whom Morrison & Foerster LLP has acted for as designated underwriters counsel regarding a number of equity and equity-linked offerings in 2007 and 2008.

Illustrating the firm’s ability to act on large and complex mandates, the practice acted for underwriters in tandem offerings of $6.9bn of non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series L, of Bank of America, underwritten by Banc of America Securities, which to date is the largest convert offering in the world. The other matter is of depository shares, representing an interest in a share of fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative preferred stock of Bank of America, underwritten by Banc of America Securities, Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities and which is the first of its kind.

In a similarly weighty matter, the practice acted for Natixis Financial Products regarding the establishment of its $2bn Warrant Programme.

On the issuer side the firm illustrates its industry strength in acting for REITs. The practice recently acted for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, regarding it offering of $220m of convertible preferred stock and an offering of $192m of shares of common stock.

CLIENTS: On the issuer side the firm has acted for UDR, Oceania Cruise Holdings and Sourcefire. On the manager side, clients include Sourcefire, Sandler O’Neill+Partners and Raymond James and Associates.

INDIVIDUALS: Partner Anna Pinedo is a member of the firm’s capital markets, corporate and life sciences practices, and is described by clients as having her ‘hand on the pulse of the marketplace’.

‘Responsive, knowledgeable, and insightful’ partner James Tanenbaum is praised by clients for his ability of ‘viewing legal matters from a business point of view’. Working on international and nation capital markets matters, Tanenbaum acts for companies in a broad range of areas, from technology to biotech clients.

Both partners are based in New York.

Within Capital markets: global offerings: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: The fact that Morrison & Foerster LLP has five offices in Asia and two in Europe illustrates the firm’s concentration in the Asia arena, allowing the firm’s US based offices to tap into a rich sources of Asian expertise.

Also setting the firm’s ‘very pragmatic and smart’ capital markets practice apart from competitors in the market, the practice has a continued leaning towards financial institution representation, boasting a strong client list including BNP Paribas and Glitnit Banki. The firm has the ability to act for financial institutions as both manager and issuer, in which arena clients note that the firm is ‘the market leader’.

The practice illustrates this strength on the financial institution side through long running relationships, such as representing
Landsbanki Islands in all of its offerings and being designated underwriters’ counsel for Bank of America. The team recently acted for Landsbanki Islands regarding its $16bn update to structured notes supplement to offering circular for its Euro Medium-Term Note Programme. In another large matter for a financial
institution, the practice acted for Glitnir Banki regarding its $21bn medium term note program update.

The practice also recently represented Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities and Nikko Citigroup in connection with a $994m global public equity offering and a US Rule 144A offering of 170,000,000 shares of common stock of Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings. On the advice to corporate side, the team acted for G4S, an international security solutions group, in a number of offerings of senior unsecured notes, specifically Series A, B, C, D, E and F, totalling $582.5m.

CLIENTS: Financial institution clients include BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, Intermediate Capital Group and Banc of America. Corporate clients include Maoye International Holdings and Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing.

INDIVIDUALS: ‘Extremely accomplished professional’ New York-based partner Anna Pinedo focuses her practice on acting for both corporate and financial institution clients in securities and derivatives matters, and has worked closely with foreign issuers regarding offerings in both the US and Europe.

Within Project finance: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Full-service firm Morrison & Foerster’s project finance and development practice has a particular leaning towards the representation of lenders with the representation of agency lenders being a particular niche for the firm, while the Washington DC office is strong in the representation of government agencies.

With access to expertise from other practice areas such as the energy law, financial transactions and tax practices, the firm offers clients a full range of expertise in large practices, from power, infrastructure, and mining projects to those involving energy, telecommunications and bankruptcy and insolvency issues.

The true hallmark of the firm is its international scope and its ability to reach clients in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

An example of the firm’s international and lender expertise is its representation of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) regarding the expansion of a power plant project in Indonesia. The Paiton 3 project is an extension of the first project, for which the practice assisted the client in the $2.5bn limited-recourse project financing and subsequent restructuring.

The Washington DC office has particular expertise in representing government agencies and has done a lot of work for the US Department of Energy, a staple client of the firm, in terms of US clean energy projects.

CLIENTS: Clients of the firm include JBIC, CH Energy, the US Department of Energy, GO Global Energy.

INDIVIDUALS: Washington DC partner Frederick Jenney focuses his practice on project finance matters as well as cross-border investment and political risk matters. Jenney’s strength is in acting on international matters in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Within Structured finance: derivatives and structured products: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster’s partners are ‘client-sensitive, commercially practical and very service-oriented’. The fairly small New York-centered practice, which has now established a London presence, is commended for ‘covering a fair segment of the spectrum from the prosaic drafting of a compliance manual to the highly complex structuring of equity derivatives’.

Morrison & Foerster has rapidly established a reputation for innovative work and regularly garners industry accolades. The practice is strong in equity derivatives, accelerated share repurchase programs and insurance-based products.

Attorneys recently assisted broker-dealer Incapital with the design of a ground-breaking retail investment bond fund (Basics) designed to replicate an exchange-traded fund using a Delaware-registered investment trust as a wrapper - a structure which considerably reduced fund expenses.

CLIENTS: Morrison & Foerster acts for Wells Fargo Foothill, Advanta, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, First Citizens Bank, Humboldt Bancorp, Merrill Lynch, Maxtor, MBNA, Providian Financial, Bank of America, John Hancock, IXIS Financial and Standard Chartered Bank.

INDIVIDUALS: Clients note that ‘the quality of service sets the attorneys apart’. Anna Pinedo ‘is always responsive and provides thoughtful, crisp advice’ and David Kaufman is ‘always on top of the specific types of deals we do and the personalities involved’. Thomas Humphreys is ‘clearly one of a handful of the leading attorneys in the structured products area’. Shamir Merali ‘is a great resource for tax questions’ in the practice. All the partners mentioned are based in New York.

Within Patent licensing: National,

MORRISON & FOERSTER

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster has an active and diverse practice in adversarial patent licensing negotiations. Clients ‘highly recommend’ it for its ‘excellent capabilities’ in patent licensing. The practice has conducted a broad range of negotiations, from comprehensive cross-licences of hundreds of patents to specialized bilateral negotiations over a single patent.

For example, the licensing department was recently involved in setting up patent arrangements between Novell and Microsoft in order to offer inter-operability between open sources and proprietary software in mixed-source IT environments.

The practice also advised Yahoo! in its agreement with Miva concerning patent for internet searches. Following a settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit, the latter was required to pay ongoing royalties for Yahoo!’s licenses.

CLIENTS: Morrison & Foerster has negotiated licenses agreements and settlements for IBM, Smith & Nephew, AT&T, Nikon, British Telecom, Motorola, Samsung, Fujitsu and Hitachi.

INVIDUALS : Practicing in the field of patent prosecution, counseling and litigation, San Diego-based Peng Chen is a partner in the patent group. Chen’s expertise focuses on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Clients describe him as ‘phenomenal’.

Karen Hagberg in New York has been active in advising both domestic and international companies on IP-related issues, and is ‘a great issue spotter’.

Based in San Francisco, Paul Jahn has vast international counseling and licensing experience across the US, Europe and Asia.

Within Patent litigation: full coverage: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: About half of Morrison & Foerster’s 270 intellectual property attorneys are litigators. The practice handles contentious matters in the automobile, software, computing and electronics fields, and attends courts across the US. It has offices on both coasts and is strongly positioned in the patent litigation market.

The practice has an ‘impressive track record of successful cases’, and clients laud it for ‘providing a high standard of service’ and for ‘leaving a very positive impression’.

In the technology industry, Morrison & Foerster recently won a patent dispute involving plasma display-panel technology, brought in the eastern district of Texas on behalf of Pioneer against Samsung Electronics. A jury decided that Samsung had infringed three patents and awarded about $60m in compensatory damages.

CLIENTS: Morrison & Foerster acts for Abbott Laboratories, Intel, MHL Tek, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Funai Electronics.

INDIVIDUALS: Based in San Francisco, Harold McElhinny is the co-chair of the intellectual property group and represents both plaintiffs and defendants in patent litigation, copyright and trade secret violations. Also in San Francisco, Rachel Krevans is viewed by clients as ‘highly technically trained and extremely professional’. James Pooley, in Palo Alto, has extensive trial experience in IP matters in both state and federal courts and before the ITC. Steven Comer and David Doyle in San Diego are regarded as ‘smart and skilful’.

Within Patent litigation: International Trade Commission: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster LLP’s attorneys ‘have hands-on-experience’ with Section 337 cases and represent both complainants and respondents before the ITC, particularly in the electronics field.

Among recent highlights, the practice acted for respondents Thomson. and Thomson Consumer Electronics in a patent lawsuit involving removable electronic cards and card-reader devices. In this matter, the ITC found no Section 337 violation by the clients.

CLIENTS: The firm has an impressive track record of appearances in this forum, counseling and representing clients such as EchoStar, Fujitsu, Sharp and Sanyo.

INDIVIDUALS: Formerly serving as lead counsel before the ITC, Washington DC-based Alexander Hadjis ‘always goes the extra mile’, say clients. He has wide experience litigating cases involving technology standards and is ‘full of energy and initiative’.

Also based in Washington DC, Brian Busey has litigated more than a dozen Section 337 cases before the ITC.

Within Patent prosecution - plant patents: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Headquartered in San Francisco, full-service firm Morrison & Foerster is ‘highly regarded’ by clients, who appreciated the intellectual property attorneys’ ‘professionalism’. The plant patent practice offers protection for new plant varieties, such as oat, new walnut trees and wheat species. The group has also been active in licensing a strawberry-breeding program for a number of years.

To cope with the increasing demand for bio-fuels, the practice is also handling a variety of feedstock patents for clients such as Syngenta and Monsanto, for which the practice is helping to protect a genetically modified maize variety with high starch content for ethanol production.

CLIENTS: The firm attracts clients such as BP, the University of California, the University of Illinois, Mendel Biotechnology, Bodegas Esmeralda, Dole Food Company, Progeny Advanced Genetics, Arcadia Biosciences and the California Table Grape Commission.

INDIVIDUALS: Michael Ward in San Francisco heads the life sciences patent practice and advises numerous life sciences companies, universities and research institutions on matters relating to microbiology and botanics. Clients describe him as ‘highly knowledgeable in agriculture-related biotechnology’.

Within Patent prosecution: utility and design patents: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Headquartered in San Francisco and with a total of ten national offices, full-service firm Morrison & Foerster counts about 350 ‘very professional’ intellectual property attorneys, including 71 patent prosecutors, plus a number of patent agents.

The practice handles numerous patent portfolios and provides counseling on licensing matters and patent clearance to universities and pharmaceutical companies, such as Novartis and La Jolla.

The intellectual property department is divided into life science and information technology practice groups, and is expanding its presence in the field of nanotechnology. In this arena, the practice recently helped to develop worldwide strategies for Abraxis BioScience’s breast cancer therapy product, Abraxane. The practice is drafting and prosecuting patent applications for several pipeline drugs that are either currently in clinical trials or in pre-clinical development.

Among highlights in the biotechnology arena, the practice is developing an overall patent strategy and patent application strategy on behalf of Genentech relating to therapeutic biologics, such as antibodies, drug targets, production and formulations.

CLIENTS: The practice attracts clients such as DreamWorks Animation, SKG, Guided Delivery Systems, Yahoo!, the University of California and Stanford University.

INDIVIDUALS: Catherine Polizzi in Palo Alto is the co-chair of the firmwide intellectual property group. With a PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry, Polizzi advises life sciences companies on patent prosecution and procurement matters as well as providing portfolio strategic counseling.

Peng Chen in San Diego is experienced in the fields of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and counsels clients on patent portfolios and prosecution matters.

Within Trademarks: litigation: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: With a growing force in trademark litigation and a well-established presence in San Francisco, Morrison & Foerster is seen by clients as being ‘very professional’. The firm has offices dotted on both the East and West Coast and is proud of its ‘strong technical knowledge’, appealing to clients from the computer, banking, entertainment and telecommunication industries.

Handling high-stage matters and with a growing force in trademark litigation, it is no surprise that Morrison & Foerster retains a large number of clients, who are happy with the ‘unique knowledge base of attorneys, which is well-suited for their needs’.

Among the firm’s successes, the litigation team proudly represented Lasting Impressions, the only trademark case heard by the Supreme Court in the US during its 2004-2005 team. In addition, the firm also won a final judgement on behalf the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on a trademark infringement, after defendants dismissed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

CLIENTS: The firm litigates cases having global ramifications, such as E&J Gallo, but also Aran Candy Company, French Sole, Yahoo!, LucasFilm, BestWestern and Intel.

INDIVIDUALS: Co-chair of the IP-group Harold McElhinny has vast expertise in both the general federal and state court litigation practice. Based in San Francisco, McElhinny is effusively praised by clients for being ‘professional, highly talented and for making clients feel in good hands’.

Within Venture capital funds: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster has six partners with a focus on venture fund formation, in a practice that has a small but nonetheless significant share of the market. The venture fund formation practice is instructed by a balanced spread of sponsors and LPs, and is considered by clients to provide ‘an outstanding level of service’, with lawyers who are praised as ‘responsive and timely’.

The firm’s work in this area generally reflects current trends in the market, with clients including funds focused on cleantech, consumer technology and life sciences. Highlights of 2008 include advising Longitude Capital on its $325m Longitude Venture Partners life sciences fund and Anthem Venture Partners on a $100m strategic fund.

CLIENTS: Anthem Venture Partners, Longitude Capital, Ford Ventures and Deep Fork Capital are all fund formation clients of the firm.

INDIVIDUALS: Paul Lion in Palo Alto is one of the central figures in the practice, and is regarded by clients as ‘very capable’ in this area. Kenneth Muller, who primarily works out of the firm’s San Francisco office, also comes ‘highly recommended’ for venture fund formation work.

Within Energy: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Although Californian firms have, by and large, a much more localized presence in the energy market and don’t compete on the same level as the dominant Texas and Washington DC practices, Morrison & Foerster LLP stands out for its continued efforts to litigate for a wider range of clients.

Although the California refund case and the work it engendered provided a plethora of work for the practice, pipeline representations, such as working on ADR related to the TAPS system, points to the breadth of the group’s capabilities. Recently, roles taken in renewable industries are a mark of the progression the team has made, including the representation of clients in the wind and solar spaces.

Power work still confers some of the most high-profile roles the practice undertakes, such as the role as lead counsel for Idaho Power in its defense of a suit brought by Wah Chang.

CLIENTS: Clients include Entergy, Avista, Sierra Pacific Industries, Calpine and Mid-American Energy.

INDIVIDUALS: Practice co-chairs Gordon Erspamer and Peter Hanschen both operate out of the Walnut Creek office and are highly regarded for their mixture of regulatory and litigation work, particularly with regard to acting before state PUCs.

Within Environment: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: With particular strength in Proposition 65 matters, Morrison & Foerster ‘works tirelessly to achieve the best result possible’, and leaves clients ‘extremely satisfied’ when litigating on environmental matters.

Clients report that the firm provides ‘superb service, always’, and note ‘the excellence of the attorneys’. With ten offices across the US, the firm’s environmental litigation practice has ‘the ability to deliver the necessary results effectively’.

In 2008, the practice won a key litigation matter regarding Proposition 65 on behalf of the American Meat Institute and favorably settled a prominent cross-border case on behalf of Coca-Cola.

In the area of consumer products, the practice has a particular focus on litigation issuing from allegations regarding the release of hazardous materials and toxic substances. Currently the firm is defending consumer goods companies Mattel, Fisher-Price, Sears, Roebuck and Kmart in matters regarding allegations of lead exposure. The group recently received a favorable outcome for Sierra Pacific, the largest landowner in California, in a precedent-setting matter before the California Supreme Court regarding timber harvesting plans. Numerous issues of first impression were also favorably established through litigation on behalf of client Pacific Lumber and Scotia Pacific involving matters of permit issuances and unfair competition.

CLIENTS: The firm’s clients in this area include Rio Tinto Minerals, Coca-Cola, Bird’s Eye Foods, Royal Doulton, HJ Heinz, Novartis, Pacific Lumber, Sierra Pacific Industries and JC Penney.

INDIVIDUALS: Chair of the firm’s land use and environmental group, Robert Falk ‘makes the difference’, say clients. Based in San Francisco, Falk provides an ‘incredible mixture of competence, determination, focus and professional standing’ and also ‘delivers the required results’.

Peter Hsiao is recommended for ‘his exceptional breadth of knowledge’. Head of the Los Angeles office’s land use and environmental group, clients praise his ‘attention to detail’ and his ‘ability to coordinate and manage a complex matter’, and note that he is ‘willing to jump in and get involved under time pressure’.

Regarded by clients as a market leader in Proposition 65 litigation, one client praises Michèle Corash as ‘one of the best attorneys I have ever worked with in this or any field’. Based in San Francisco, she is ‘widely known for her expertise’, and clients ‘cannot recommend Michèle highly enough’.

Within Product liability and mass tort defense: aerospace/aviation: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Displaying what clients call ‘high quality and the right attitude’, Morrison & Foerster’s ‘world-class’ or ‘top-of-class’, broad-based product liability practice serves clients across the civilian and military aerospace/aviation sector, representing aircraft and component manufacturers, airlines, airport authorities and insurers. It actively litigates product liability matters in other industry sectors, but aviation is a prominent feature of its workload and a transportation practice group augments this focus by providing clients with a full range of ancillary expertise.

Morrison & Foerster’s aviation attorneys are ‘always on top of cases,’ according to clients. Mainly based in San Diego, the practice runs commendably deep. In January 2008, the firm elected to partner Erin Bosman, who has extensive experience in both aviation and life sciences. Clients describe the group as ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’, and ‘the right fit for us in terms of values and attitude’, exhibiting ‘greater understanding and experience than most in complex aviation accident litigation’. Furthermore, clients repeatedly express how they value the attorneys’ ‘inherent trustworthiness’ and trust their ‘judgement and advice on all matters’.

One note of caution is that clients consistently say ‘billing rates are high’, an issue increasingly of importance due to the credit crunch and a factor that suggests its expertise fits best with lead or national counsel roles on high-exposure cases and major litigation rather than more moderate matters.

Like other leading practices in the area, Morrison & Foerster’s lawyers are involved in litigation surrounding the midair crash between Gol Airlines Flight 1907 and an ExcelAire jet in Brazil, in regard to which the practice represents Honeywell. In July 2008, defendants obtained a forum non conveniens ruling in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York to remove the case to Brazil where damages exposure is less.

In an interesting case that has potential to shape flight safety law, lawyers from the practice are representing Alaska Airlines in a lawsuit filed by first-class passengers from Flight 694 that was diverted to Reno. Plaintiffs want compensation for the diversion. Having initially won summary judgement for the defense, the case is now on appeal before the Ninth Circuit and will consider issues as to the degree of flexibility to which flight crews are entitled when making decisions about diversions based on issues of safety. In other matters, the practice continues to represent Honeywell in relation to Boeing Chinook helicopter crashes off the coast of Greece and in Afghanistan. It is also acting for Cessna and Global Aerospace as national coordinating counsel in defense of litigation arising from a series of crashes of Cessna Caravan 208 airplanes flown in icy conditions. An MDL is pending in district court in Kansas after consolidation of cases from numerous other states.

CLIENTS: Clients include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing, Cessna, General Dynamics, Northrop, Northwest Airlines and Sikorsky Helicopters. The practice also represents airport authority clients such as MacCarran Airport (Las Vegas), San Diego County Regional Airport and San Francisco International.

INDIVIDUALS: Clients are huge fans of ‘extraordinarily client-focused’ San Diego-based Don Rushing and James Huston - ‘both provide world-class representation’ and are ‘highly experienced, responsive and creative’. Former USAF officer Rushing is ‘intelligent, compassionate and listens to his clients’ and ‘achieves good results’, while the ‘dependable’ Huston displays ‘superior legal skills’.

Clients also recommend appellate chair Beth Brinkmann in Washington DC, and the ‘very helpful’ and ‘pragmatic’ senior associate William O’Connor in San Diego.

Within Product liability and mass tort defense: consumer products (including tobacco): National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Used generally for defense of California or national class actions - and consistently rated as ‘excellent’ or ‘very high quality’ by clients - Morrison & Foerster’s product liability practice is now well established in consumer products litigation. Its presence is most notable in the electronics space where the firm leverages its California roots in serving the giants of Silicon Valley. The firm also fields leading attorneys in the aviation product liability space and offers a full range of related disciplines typical of large international law firms. Clients say it is a practice that exhibits ‘great understanding of clients’ values, culture and product mix’ and has the ‘expertise to handle the most sophisticated cases’.

Two international partners - in Tokyo and Shanghai - provide a useful window into the Asian market in support of the US-based practice. The group strengthened its partner numbers by promoting San Francisco-based Erin Bosman in 2008. Clients praise the attorneys for ‘competence and responsiveness’ and their ability to be ‘always on top of the case’, but regard the practice’s billing rates as expensive. Even clients who consider it cost-effective wish that the group could ‘charge less’, ‘pay closer attention to cost control’ or ‘be more creative’ in finding alternative billing methods. Therefore, while the group is ‘first choice for a significant case’, other firms may offer clients more economical resolution of moderate litigation.

During 2008, the practice acted as lead counsel to Palm in consolidated litigation in the Northern District of California regarding the Palm Treo 600 and 650 smartphone. The cases were settled in September 2008. The practice continues to act for Mattel and Fisher-Price in California in relation to recalled Chinese-manufactured toys containing lead. The case has been brought jointly by the state attorney general and Los Angeles City attorney and is expected to reach trial in 2009.

CLIENTS: The practice also represents clients including Apple, Coca-Cola and Toshiba.

INDIVIDUALS: James Huston in San Diego is ‘highly experienced, responsive and creative’. Clients name San Francisco-based Robert Falk as ‘one of the most experienced Proposition 65 lawyers in California’ and deem him ‘smart, sharp and analytical’. In the same office, Penelope Preovolos is ‘an extremely capable, smart and gifted lawyer’ who repeatedly earns praise from clients. David McDowell in Los Angeles and William Stern in San Francisco are ‘excellent attorneys’ who co-chair the consumer litigation and class action practice group.

Within Securities: shareholder litigation: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: ‘One of the best firms in the country’, say clients, although Morrison & Foerster lacks the kind of entrenched underwriter relationships that ensures repeat engagements in securities litigation, it is one of the few firms that offers clients a true bicoastal presence.

Complemented by an in-house forensic accounting group, the department offers ‘highly practical’ advice to an impressive collection of corporates in a wide variety of industry sectors, including life sciences and technology. Benefiting from a ‘deep bench’, the department has the critical mass to handle some resource intensive matters. For example, it is currently instructed as liaison counsel for more than 300 issuers and 1,000 individual defendants in IPO securities class actions.

Benefiting from a strong international footprint, particularly in Asia, the group has been engaged in an increasing amount of securities litigation on behalf of Chinese issuers. The team recently secured a favorable settlement on behalf of Qiao Xing Universal Telephone, a China-based telephone manufacturer, and certain of its officers and directors in a securities class action.

CLIENTS: Instructed by a plethora of technology, life sciences and financial services companies, clients include JDS Uniphase, Hartford Financial Services, Textainer Group, Argus Group, Metro Media Fiber Networks, Infineon Technologies and Qiao Xing Universal Telephone.

INDIVIDUALS: ‘Very distinguished’, New York-based partner Jack Auspitz offers a wealth of experience to defendants engaged in high-stakes securities litigation and other complex commercial cases. He is a favorite of clients who are appreciative of his ‘excellent communication skills’.

‘Experienced, knowledgeable, responsive and effective’, Palo Alto-based partner Darryl Rains regularly represents defendants in class actions, derivative litigation and SEC enforcement actions.

San Francisco-based partner Jordan Eth displays ‘excellent knowledge of the facts’, say clients, who include public companies and their officers and directors.

Within Supreme Court and appellate: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster LLP’s 45-strong appellate practice makes for a formidable opponent in any commercial arbitration or patent appeal, in large part due to the group’s ability to collaborate with the firm’s robust patent litigation department. Significant changes to the practice in 2008 include two new members, former California Court of Appeal judge Miriam Vogel and former federal circuit court of appeals law clerk Kristin Yohannan. Brian Matsui, a former clerk for Justice Kennedy, was elected as partner.

In 2008, the practice has handled a variety of challenging federal preemption, arbitration, patent law, tax, antitrust, financial services, RICO, and class action appeals. The practice tends to involve appellate specialists in cases at trial level with the aim of achieving a ‘seamless connection between the different courts’ in preparation for potential appeals. Clients have confidence that ‘from lining up amicus briefs to scheduling mock arguments, the firm knows the most effective methods’.

The firm won three favorable Supreme Court verdicts in federal preemption, arbitration and taxation appeals. Beth Brinkmann won all three cases, two of them unanimously. Perhaps the most significant case was the MeadWestvaco case regarding state taxation on the $1.5bn sale of LexisNexis. In this case, it was decided that a State should not tax a non-domiciled business for dealings outside the State, a point of law that is important for multi-state corporations that invest in separate companies. The practice also represented toy maker Mattel in the Supreme Court in a federal preemption case in 2008, with the Supreme Court concluding that the Federal Arbitration Act should have the final say on arbitration awards.

Ned Washburn also represented Pacific Lumber in the California Supreme Court in a case that involved breach of contract.

CLIENTS: As well as the clients mentioned above, the practice filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of Gen-Probe. The group filed federal and state courts briefs for clients such as Ski Lifts, the Neurotechnology Industry Organization and Foley & Lardner.

INDIVIDUALS: Former Assistant Solicitor General, Beth Brinkmann is ‘outstanding on the briefs and in oral argument’, and as an attorney with the firm has a ‘bright future’.

Clients commend of-counsel Seth Galanter, who formerly worked for the Department of Justice, for his ‘outstanding’ briefs that are ‘technically good’ and ‘tailored to the views of members of the Court’.

Former Solicitor General Drew Days, who used to head the appellate practice, continues to work as of-counsel on appeals.

All three attorneys are based in Washington DC.

Within Trade secrets: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: With offices based in San Diego and San Francisco, many of the Morrison & Foerster’s trade secrets cases follow from the representation of technology companies. Like in many firms with an international presence, the trade secrets practice is able to effectively communicate across its offices, including those based in Asian
technology centres such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The practice has a wealth of trial law and thus courtroom experience. It’s lawyers adopt an anti cult of the lawyer, despite boasting trade secrets specialist James Pooley, who is renowned in the field with more than 25 years litigating trade secrets cases.

The group is involved in several ongoing trade misappropriation lawsuits, including the representation of Cypress Semiconductor in an unusual trade secret misappropriation case in which Silvaco Data Systems alleged that the company had bought products that contained Silvaco’s trade secrets

Aside from litigation, the practice educates clients on preventative measures they can take to protect company information through client seminars and publications.

CLIENTS: Ongoing clients include Cypress Semiconductor, Booz Allen Hamilton, Herbalife International of America and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment.

INDIVIDUALS: James Pooley is described by clients as a ‘top notch’ trade secrets attorney. He is incredibly well respected for his trade secrets work, as ‘he certainly knows this area.’

Within White-collar criminal defense - full service: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster LLP’s white-collar practice is recommended by clients for being ‘first-rate’, and ‘quick to respond to the inevitable twists and turns of events’ with a quality of service that ‘could not be better’. The practice includes a dozen former assistant US attorneys, federal prosecutors and a former SEC member, and is spread across the San Francisco, New York, Washington DC and San Diego offices. The practice has worked on several stock-options-backdating investigations and successfully represented a number of clients stemming from the financial fallout.

The group’s 2008 portfolio includes the investigation into stock-options-backdating on behalf of the Audit Committee at the data solutions organization Brocade Communications, which was one of the first stock-options-backdating cases. The group also acted as counsel to the examiner of SemCrude’s bankruptcy in June 2008 relating to allegations of fraud and misuse of funds.

The group represented a former president of global engineering company KBR in a multi-million dollar settlement in which the practice’s client was never charged, although there were individuals held criminally liable following the investigation. Another matter resolved without charges was a stock-options-backdating case involving the chair of the compensation committee of United Health.

CLIENTS: In addition to the above, the group attained a string of confidential successes on behalf of individuals including the CEO of a prominent bank, the CFO of a mortgage lender and the chief of staff of a global pharmaceutical company.

INDIVIDUALS: Randall Fons, who is based in Denver, is highly recommended for ‘issues pertaining to the SEC’. Clients recommend Darryl Rains for his knowledge of stock-options-backdating issues, and Eugene Illovsky for experience within the SEC and Justice Department; both are based in Palo Alto. New York-based Carl Loewensen also ‘favorably’ impresses clients.

Within Technology - data protection and privacy: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: As well as being one of the oldest and largest practices in this particular space, the Morrison & Foerster LLP group has kept itself in contention at the top of the pile by virtue of the range and diversity of the issues it regularly advises on.

The advantage the group has by virtue of wedding the benefits of the international full service model with a strong technology focus has made it ‘incredibly well-respected’ and ‘an example of a balanced and well thought out legal service’.

That said, to pick the group out as a spin off of a strong technology group betrays its unsurpassed record of leading standalone representations and the cross-disciplinary nature of the 60 attorneys that specialise to varying degrees in facets of privacy law. As such, the Washington DC component of the group continues to prove its value in the face of competition from firms with deliberate weighting towards the handling of issues with a federal element to them. In 2008/2009, the team has represented several clients in response to investigations relating to data security and privacy practices before the FTC; a crucial string in its bow.

Elsewhere, the breach response element of the team is recognized as ‘a complete service from the moment the call is made right through to the resolution’. Here the importance of the depth of the team’s armoury is underlined. For example, the practice defended Gap in two class actions arising from a lost laptop, whilst it also handled hundreds of breach procedures from remedial actions to regulatory audits.

Clients particularly rate the team’s ‘good availability of experts to deal with any questions or tasks, whether long term or urgent’. The combination of these qualities with the resources the firm is able to call on has won it repeat mandates in the financial sector, where clients include Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank.

CLIENTS: Clients of the team include Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Avon Products, eBay, Hilton Hotels, Clorox, Visa, and Dow Jones.

INDIVIDUALS: Miriam Wugmeister, based in New York, is ‘extremely well-regarded’ and ‘probably the most impressive lawyer I’ve worked with’. As practice chair, ‘her level of experience is unlike any other’ and her particular focus on international handling of data and related issues therein has put her at the forefront of the market.

Clients also note that she has a ‘real grip on consumer privacy issues and handling international concerns’

In the Washington DC office Andrew Smith has noted expertise in financial privacy issues, which he combines with experience in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Clients say he is ‘a complete professional and a very astute advisor’. Also in that office, Rick Fischer is recognized in the market as a ‘brilliant strategist’ and ‘one of the foremost thinkers on the commercial aspects of privacy for financial institutions’.

Within Technology - outsourcing: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: A firm ‘right at the heart of the technology world’, Morrison & Foerster LLP continue to offer a strong outsourcing service as part of a larger group that covers virtually every facet of the industry. The upshot of this approach is beneficial from the point of view of the variety of spin-off work the team gains and, conversely, the breadth of expertise it is able to provide to an outsourcing client.

However, the perception is still that this group lacks the profile of some of its competitors, despite having 19 partners capable of acting on these matters. The recent arrival of senior counsel Julian Millstein, one of the founders of Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner and a highly regarded name in the technology law field, has put the firm in a position to address this going forward.

Still, the firm core competencies, such as media and entertainment, have a strong bearing on the output of this ‘vigorous and effective’ team. As such, clients such as Warner Brothers Music, for whom the group advised on the outsourcing of applications development and maintenance operations and global initiatives, are able to call on the firm for a range of services under the technology umbrella, such as data protection and privacy.

Meanwhile, the financial services sector remains an area of strength and one particular recent highlight has been working with Lehman Brothers on an ITO and a BPO deal, in the wake of the company’s collapse.

CLIENTS: Clients of the team include Credit Suisse, DWA/Technicolor, Novartis, Broadridge Financial Solutions and AIG.

INDIVIDUALS: Co-chair of the technology transactions group, John Delaney’s practice out of the New York offices has earned him a reputation as ‘a very fine individual’. One client enthused that they were ‘delighted to have had the chance to work with such a talent’.

Partner Vivian Hanson also comes in for praise, with clients describing her as having ‘superb judgment and quick to tackle any problem that is going to come in the way of a deal being done’. Hanson’s practice, which is also based in New York, has been instrumental in handling outsourcing for major clients in Asian jurisdictions, with notable specialization in Japan.

Senior Counsel and recent arrival to the New York offices Julian Millstein is also recognized for his extensive experience in the industry.

Within Technology - transactions: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster combines IP credentials, a relatively long history of engaging with technology issues, and a valuable presence on the international stage.

‘Hard working and brimming with bright attorneys’, the practice complements its six-partner San Francisco core with lawyers in Los Angeles, New York, Northern Virginia, San Diego, totalling around 50 attorneys overall. It’s little surprise, therefore, that the group has the capacity to act on headline deals, such as advising Warner Music Group on its joint venture with MySpace. In this way, the seam of work lying between technology and other areas of strength for the firm, is one that the group continues to mine with great success. Communications and media are also both fields in which the firm has built a significant profile and this is reflected in the work of the technology group as the separations become more blurred. Along these lines, the team recently advised DreamWorks Animation SKG in a strategic alliance with Intel aimed at revolutionizing 3-D filmmaking technology.

Clients say the group ‘is familiar with coordinating multi-national operations so the individuals are able to ensure everything is handled smoothly and the focus is not lost’, a trait that, in part, is owed to the continuation of the dedicated approach to this particular area in key overseas offices, such as in China and the UK.

The reach of the practice is comparable to any in the market and, given that the industry is one of the core focuses of the firm, the corporate, IP and litigation resources at the team’s disposal give them an edge over the competition. Lead roles, such as representing Yahoo! on the technological aspects of its deal with Google over advertisements, are some measure of the high visibility, demanding deals the group regularly wins as a consequence of this level of focus.

Undertaking demanding roles such as the recent representation of ContentGuard, a developer of digital rights management technology, in a worldwide patent licensing agreement with Nokia, puts the team in the elite bracket. Clients attest to this quality, commenting that ‘we work with a number of firms but the top end work, when we have a crucial deal with many different hats required, we only use Morrison & Foerster ’.

CLIENTS: Clients of the group include Credit Suisse, Novell, Warner Music Group, Time Warner Cable, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, Panasonic and Fujitsu.

INDIVIDUALS: Clients are full of praise for partner William Schwartz who is, say clients, ‘tireless and consistently the top performer on any given deal’. ‘Rounded and capable of handling all that is asked’, Schwartz has recently led the group on several of high profile transactions and is acclaimed for his ‘commitment and great sensitivity to client’s needs’.

Laurie Hane, like Schwartz, works out of the San Francisco offices and, from her position as practice co-chair, has been an influential figure for the group. ‘Solid as a rock’, Hane is a ‘superstar, a great presence on our side of the table’, according to clients.

On the East Coast, John Delaney’s New York practice is ‘simply amazing’ and ‘very tactically aware’. Gabriel Meister has also caught the attention, having been recently promoted to partner and having been involved on several of the most prominent deals over the last year.

Within Telecoms and broadcast - regulatory: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Within what is a relatively small Washington DC offering of three partners, the Morrison & Foerster LLP communications group commands exceptional depth of expertise in regulatory issues. Clients praise its ability ‘to get into the wiring of the FCC rulings and make sure they’re giving the best possible advice from a technical perspective’; a trait that has ensured the group is competitive across the market.

Wedding transactional prowess, courtesy of a healthy presence on telecoms M&A, with the experience of several ex-commission attorneys, the group has been well-positioned to offer regulatory support on prominent deals for leading providers. For example, the team acted on flagship client T-Mobile’s high profile $1.3bn acquisition of SunCom, a regional carrier in the Southeast. Furthermore, the team is described by clients as ‘commercially astute’ and has built a reputation for navigating financial institutions through regulatory obstacles as it gains increasing prominence in the communications sector.

Clients describe the team as ‘an example of how to translate knowledge of the wireless industry into practical advice’, recognizing a historical aptitude for wireless work that remains important despite the team’s current breadth of coverage. Recently the team assisted T-Mobile in major FCC proceedings to promote reasonable regulations addressing roaming issues, ‘special access’ services and intercarrier compensation.

The international cohesion of the group marks it out as one of the few in this space that are able to source and staff work in conjunction with overseas office. Work with Colt Telecom Group, a UK-based company, on US regulatory compliance issues featured attorneys from both sides of the Atlantic.

CLIENTS: Clients include Clearwire Communications, Alltel Communications, GE Capital and ICO Global Communications.

INDIVIDUALS: Communications practice head Cheryl Tritt ‘has been my hero on many occasions’, says one enthusiastic client. Former chief of the common carrier bureau at the FCC, Tritt has developed a highly competitive regulatory practice that has won several leading international clients, particularly on the wireless side.

Bill Maher is known as ‘reliable, efficient, smart’. He has grown his practice from its roots in the wireline and wireless arena, a particular strength given his previous role as chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau at the FCC, outward to encompass a bulk of internet-related mandates.

These attorneys are based out of the firm’s Washington DC office.

Within Telecoms and broadcast - transactional: National,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Although recently the practice hasn’t brought on the same volume of high profile transactional mandates as some of its top competitors, Morrison & Foerster LLP has the capabilities present to act on a huge range of deals.

The well-appointed regulatory team, supported by the firm’s healthy corporate presence on both coasts and its international outlook, is, according to clients, ‘absolutely first-rate’ and has ‘attorneys who are experts in every aspect of the communications business’.

With only three partners, the group does concede size to rivals. This said, the industry focus it avails has been key in remaining competitive with larger groups. Examples of deal work, such as the raft of transactional and regulatory engagements for T-Mobile over the last few years as well as advising Alltel on its acquisition by TPG Capital and GC Capital Partners, show its caliber.

CLIENTS: Clients include Comsat, Akamai Technologies and GE Capital.

INDIVIDUALS: Practice-head Cheryl Tritt’s brings ‘together regulatory and deal expertise’, say clients, ‘which makes her twice as valuable to us’. Her extensive corporate work with Alltel and T-Mobile, as just two examples, highlights her capacity to act on large-scale transactions, often featuring an international flavor. She is, say clients, ‘intelligent and razor-sharp at spotting potential pitfalls’.

Within Antitrust - National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Although it is less visible in the market-defining matters that are the hallmark of the practices in the upper echelons, Morrison & Foerster ‘provides top-notch, practical guidance’ to an array of blue-chip corporates. ‘Bright, strategic and hardworking’, the practice wins plaudits for its level of service, which clients say is ‘among the highest of any firm in the market’.

Active across a range of industry sectors, including financial services, healthcare and transportation, the practice is perhaps best known for its representation of high-tech clients, as well as its advice to clients on issues at the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust law. The team is advising Clearwire on its $14bn merger with Sprint Nextel and acting for Alltel on its $28bn sale to Verizon Wireless.

Leveraging off an increasingly firm foothold in Europe and Asia, Morrison & Foerster is able to deliver coherent and integrated antitrust advice to clients engaged in cross-border matters. Led out of its Washington DC and Brussels offices, the department represents Pansonic Mobile Communications in relation to the EU Commission’s investigation of Qualcomm’s licensing practices in the mobile industry.

CLIENTS: Clients include Alltel, Bank of America, McKesson Corporation, Clearwire, Fuji Electric Holdings, Rioch and American Airlines.

INDIVIDUALS: Washington DC-based co-chair of the department, Stephen Smith, ‘provides practical guidance, demonstrates a thorough understanding of the relevant law and takes the time to understand our business needs when providing advice’, according to clients.

Regularly instructed by clients in relation to cutting-edge work at the intersection between antitrust and patent law, Washington DC-based partner Jeffrey Jaeckel ‘renders real-time, good advice, based upon his experience’.

‘Tough-minded, strategic, extremely hard-working and very talented’, enthuse clients, San Francisco-based co-chair Lori Schechter regularly represents clients in relation to agency investigations and private litigation.

Within M&A: national firms - large deals,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster has 80 partners who specialise in M&A across the firm’s global platform. Every one of the firm’s offices has some M&A capacity, although the key areas in the US are San Francisco, Palo Alto, North Virginia, and New York. The firm has particular industry expertise in technology and life sciences, although in New York the firm also has a strong financial services component. The firm’s cross-border capability enables it to facilitate deals for its clients in various jurisdictions, and its M&A abilities wed effectively with its practice in venture capital and emerging companies.

Clients say that ‘the level of service is outstanding - very responsive. What stands out as particularly impressive is the proactive and holistic nature of the advice’. The practice’s clients ‘always get the benefit of how certain actions or issues could affect the overall strategy for the company’.

Key transactions of the past year include advising Mentor Corporation, an aesthetic medical product supplier, in its $1.12bn acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. Another highlight was representing Astellas Pharma, Japan’s second-largest drugmaker, in its $537m acquisition of Agensys to create a US based biotechnology unit. The practice also acted as counsel to Saifun Semiconductors in its $420m sale to Spansion, and the Link Asset and Securities Company in its $268m acquisition by ICAP.

CLIENTS: The Clorox Company, John Deere & Company, Freescale Semiconductors, Fujitsu, GESD Capital, Hitachi, Intel and Thompson are among Morrison & Foerster’s M&A clients.

INDIVIDUALS: Chair of the firm’s corporate practice, Robert Townsend, who works out of San Francisco, garners particular praise from clients as ‘very knowledgeable and responsive, with tremendous business sense and acumen’.

Within Venture capital and emerging companies: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster’s US venture capital and emerging growth practice comprises 40 partners, though the firm emphasises its global platform and full-service capabilities. Indeed, clients note that ‘one of the advantages of working with Morrison & Foerster is the breadth of quality services it can provide’.

The firm’s intellectual property prowess is a major draw for emerging technology companies and venture capital investors. The dedicated venture intellectual property group offers specialized expertise in the assessment of IP underlying life sciences venture investment.

Morrison & Foerster has a particular emphasis on cleantech, and is one of the contenders for leading firms in this developing area of the market. However, the practice does not quite have the market penetration or profile of the dedicated emerging growth firms. That said, the team’s ‘excellent and timely service’ will no doubt continue to win it accolades.

In 2008, the firm assisted Deep Fork Capital on a number of investments, including $15m in real estate search engine Trulia and $8.6m in sports networking website WePlay. The firm also advised SolarFlare Communications in connection with its $26m Series B-1 Preferred Stock financing, and Touchdown Technologies in connection with its $28m Series D Preferred Stock financing.

CLIENTS: Clients include Deep Fork Capital, SolarFlare Communications, Touchdown Technologies, Three Arch Partners, Prospect Ventures, BrightPhase Energy, VantagePoint Venture Partners and RedShift Ventures.

INDIVIDUALS: Clients state that ‘you cannot get a better corporate counsel than Susan Mac Cormac ’. Based in San Francisco, she ‘understands the big picture, could not be more responsive, and understands the business’. In San Diego, Jay de Groot and Steven Rowles are ‘go-to lawyers. They always get deals done on time’. Palo Alto-based Timothy Harris ‘is fantastic at representing entrepreneurs and describing issues in a clear and understandable way’.

Within California (North): transactions and finance,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Described as ‘absolutely the “A” team’, Morrison & Foerster’s North California-based 35-attorney real estate group provides an ‘outstanding level of service in all respects’. Of these, 11 concentrate on transaction and finance work, encompassing the full spectrum of issues, from development matters to partnership and loan restructuring. It is the practice’s expertise advising on acquisitions, dispositions, joint venture structuring and leasing, however, which makes up the majority of its work.

The team has handled a raft of matters for AMB Property, including advising it on the acquisition and development of a 658,000 sq ft build-to-suit development in Tracy, California and the sale of a 400,000 sq ft San Francisco industrial project located in South San Francisco, California.

On the finance side, the practice recently represented Wachovia Bank/Wells Fargo Bank, as agent, in connection with a $220m syndicated construction loan, the proceeds of which are being used to finance the development of Kapolei Commons, a 600,000 sq ft retail development in Honolulu.

CLIENTS: Clients include AMB Property, UBS Global Asset Management/UBS Realty Investors, Morgan Stanley Real Estate, Starwood Capital and Pritzker Realty Group.

INDIVIDUALS: Palo Alto-based head of the real estate group Philip Levine has ‘a deep understanding of the real estate industry’, and focuses his practice on the representation of developers in all aspects of the development process.

Within New York: capital markets,

Morrison & Foerster LLP

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster LLP’s New York office has traditionally had a strong focus on real estate finance having developed strong relationships with a number of key banks over the years. The large group remains well resourced to handle most deals and is packed with ‘very smart attorneys who understand structured finance and give outstanding customer service’.

CLIENTS: ING, Apollo Real Estate, JPMorgan, Eurohypo, Dubai Investment and GE Capital are among the firm’s clients for real estate capital markets and finance work.

INDIVIDUALS: Mark Edelstein is praised for his ‘great work’, while Christopher Delson is also a prominent figure.

Within North California: land use and zoning,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: The market perception of Morrison & Foerster still seems to be that the firm not being as prominent as it once was in this area, with many of its well-known land use names having moved elsewhere in recent years. However, the quality of the clients and new instructions over 2008-09 suggests that the team must be doing something right. Indeed, clients continue to lavish praise on the firm’s real estate practice, describing the level of service as ‘outstanding’ and the team’s strength as ‘phenomenal’. The practice does not have the dependence on house-builder clients of some of its competitors and, under current market conditions, that has meant that the firm has maintained a steady flow of work, particularly for the CEQA, NEPA, large scale business park, transit village, litigation and natural resources elements of the practice.

The practice saw significant activity during 2008 in the hospital and medical centre sector, including successfully representing Kaiser Foundation Hospitals in connection with all land use and real estate aspects of Kaiser’s major urban demolition, expansion, and redevelopment of its 1.78m sq ft, 21-acre Oakland Medical Center campus.

The team acted as land use, CEQA, natural resource permitting, and real estate counsel to Apple in connection with the entitlement and development of its proposed 1.2m sq ft international headquarters campus in Cupertino, which is projected to house 3,000 to 3,500 employees when it opens.

The practice also saw success on major published natural resources and land use decisions last year, with three published Supreme Court cases. These included successfully representing Sierra Pacific in Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch v California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and successfully representing Pacific Lumber in EPIC v California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

In 2008, the firm brought in senior environmental attorney Michael Steel to join its team as a partner. Steel joined the practice from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP where he was co-leader of the environmental litigation and climate change groups.

CLIENTS: The practice has a diverse client base including technology companies such as Apple and Genentech; renewable energy company NextLight Renewable Power; hospital client Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and long-standing client Lennar.

INDIVIDUALS: Walnut Creek-based partner David Gold played a lead role on the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals work.

An ‘acknowledged expert in the area he practices, and deservedly so’, San Francisco-based natural resources partner Ned Washburn attracts considerable plaudits from clients who describe him as ‘one of the first people someone would go to when dealing with natural resources, regulatory issues and litigation’. Washburn was lead partner on both of the published Supreme Court cases referred to above.

Within Domestic tax: West Coast,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster’s four-partner West Coast tax practice’s strongest suit is in state and local tax advice. The firm’s strong corporate following generates numerous complex and challenging state tax disputes which are tackled with ‘a can-do attitude which seems to go from top to bottom’, according to clients. The practice acts for numerous multinational and major US domestic corporations not only in California but in virtually every US state. Attorneys from the practice have been involved in some of the major precedent cases including several which have reached the US Supreme Court.

The practice does not confine itself to controversial state tax issues. It contributes to planning and consultation exercises with clients to consider a range of taxes including sales taxes, local business taxes and capital stock taxes which may result in reorganizations for reasons of tax efficiency. Lawyers also conduct due diligence exercises on the state tax and local implications of M&A transactions.

Representations include assisting Hallmark in the corporate income tax controversy in New York State - the tribunal held that the state could not force the state-resident trading company to be combined with its out-of-state parent for New York State purposes. In Colorado, practice attorneys successfully represented Kroger when the Colorado District Court held that the corporation and certain affiliates could not be forcibly combined with other subsidiaries that had no nexus with Colorado.

The practice is not so visible in federal tax advice, although instructions are handled for the firm’s large following of private equity managers and other investors. Members of the team certainly have the ability and expertise to support complex transactional and restructuring instructions.

CLIENTS: Clients include Bristol Myers-Squibb, Citicorp, Control Data, General Motors, Hallmark, Sherwin-Williams, Sony, Sumitomo, Wells Fargo, and WR Grace & Co

INDIVIDUALS: In San Francisco and with a subsidiary office in Denver, Thomas Steele is a robust state tax specialist familiar in the courts and boasts an established a niche in the tax complexities of the telecoms market. Sacramento-based Eric Coffill, who heads the state tax practice, has long experience both as a lawyer with the California Franchise Tax Board and in private practice. For transactional tax advice Robert Cudd, who ‘knows business as well as the law’, is recommended for corporate structuring, REITS and other investment funds work as well as cross-border matters

Within Employee benefits: National,

Morrison & Foerster

PRACTICE: Morrison & Foerster’s EBEC practice is strongest on the West Coast where the specialist lawyers are based although, nationwide, a number of the firm’s tax attorneys have practices that include employee and executive instructions. EBEC lawyers frequently contribute to multi-disciplinary teams in major transactions and will also offer bespoke advice in connection with the formation of new plans across the benefits and pensions field. Controversy and representation through IRS tax audits is included in the practice offering.

Representative recent instructions include advice to any non-US public company in connection with an option exchange program-the practice successfully preserved the incentive value of the stock options and obtained favorable accounting treatment for an extraordinary cash dividend. Advisory work for a large multinational required the design and implementation of an omnibus stock plan allowing the granting of multiple types of equity compensation.

CLIENTS: Practice clients include Acambis, Altera, Clorox, Electroglas , Nokia, QLT, Saba Software , Sega Holdings, Thomson and Wacoal Group.

INDIVIDUALS: In San Francisco, Paul Borden, rated as ‘on the ball, constructive, and easy to work with’, includes controversy within his practice and is strong in the ERISA space. Patrick McCabe is also commended for his excellent work with individual executives and in the not-for-profit sector. In Palo Alto, Michael Frank is recommended for his work in equity incentive schemes.