Morrison Foerster > Los Angeles, United States > Firm Profile

‘This team has deep relevant experience and a brilliant group of well functioning attorneys. They operate as an integrated team each bringing unique strengths and experiences to bear.’

‘In my experience, this team was superior in strategy, relationship management, and overall execution. They are the best I have ever worked with.’

‘Incredible values, extraordinary intellect, deep domain experience and efficiency in their work. The ability to take something really complex, break it down for the client with clarity and then create strategies and propose solutions and execute against those things.’

‘Tessa Schwartz has a good knowledge of how matters play out.’

‘Kristen Mathews’s knowledge of the law exceeds that of any data privacy or data protection expert. She is able to draft complex consent forms, privacy policies, and data protection addendums within days. She is extremely responsive, yet her work was at the same time extremely thorough. She collaborates deftly with lawyers around the world, helping clients to adapt their policies to different jurisdictions with widely varying data protection laws.’

‘Kristen Mathews is by far the most knowledgeable data privacy and data protection lawyer one can work with. She is a leading expert in the full spectrum of privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity law. But this is far from her only quality. Although her expertise is vast, she has an acute awareness of its limits, knows precisely when it is helpful to involve other partners and external experts. Finally, she has excellent leadership skills and has been an incredible point person for our broader engagement with Morrison & Foerster.’

‘The team is led by Kristen Mathews who is extremely detail oriented and offers tailored solutions based on client needs.’

‘Morrison Foerster’s appellate team brings deep knowledge and expertise to matters and addresses the client’s concerns with efficiency and professionalism.‘

‘The team has two co-leaders, Deanne Maynard and Joseph Palmore, who are both of exceptional ability and range. The firm is a true leader in intellectual property appellate practice, but its strength is not confined to that subject.‘

‘I work closely with James Sigel, an attorney of outstanding capability and insight who is quick to respond with insightful advice and wise litigatory maneuvers.‘

‘Both Deanne Maynard and Joe Palmore stand out as leaders in the appellate bar. They are both exceptionally strong lawyers and gifted oral advocates in particular.‘

‘The Morrison team with which I am working has a great depth of talent, and has been constructed to provide the expertise that we need for our transaction, and with a careful view to costs. We interviewed other firms for our needs, and decided on Morrison for these reasons, and have not been disappointed. The level of cooperation with me and other experts has been first rate.’

‘I would commend Jennifer Marines in particular for her practical approach and communication skills as well as her deep understanding of legal issues and ability to bring that to bear on complex business situations.’

‘It is a group of hard-working individuals, all of whom seem to like each other and their work.’

‘Jennifer Marines is an outstanding lawyer, who finds practical solutions to complex problems.’

‘The team has a deep expertise and they come with solutions to problems.’

‘Highly accessible professionals. Well versed in market conditions and practices.’

‘This practice is well known in the market, sees many type deals for all the various lenders they cover. While not sharing industry secrets, they are well versed. Also if you need to syndicate a deal, their involvement helps sell the deal and the quality of the deal.’

‘The team is responsive and creative. We have had a long relationship with the Mofo team, and this has built a lot of trust as well as a lot of understanding. They have a good sense of the business’s goals and preferences, and this puts the team in an excellent position to be a partner in creative problem solving as well as issue spotting.’

‘Jeff Jaeckel and Mary Kaiser both know our company well, and go out of their way to make themselves available to talk through any antitrust issue we might face or question we might have, whether it is big or small. They make great sounding boards, and excellent partners in creative problem solving.’

‘Knows our firm very well. Is able to give excellent advice based on industry knowledge and our objectives.’

‘Jeff Jaeckel is irreplaceable. Excellent technical knowledge, superb judgment, and ability to quickly get under the hood of a new industry to understand market dynamics.’

‘The MoFo team is incredibly responsive, practical and agile. The team is impressively strong in the areas of media, entertainment and technology.’

‘I always get a response from MoFo within minutes of reaching out, weekdays and weekends. As a General Counsel, the comfort in knowing that someone is “on it” is priceless, helping me to manage by CEO, Board and other internal stakeholders. The lawyers are upbeat, friendly and great oral and written communicators.’

‘The team provides very practical advice, is extremely efficient and responsive.’

‘Jeff Jaeckel is an incredible resource. He is incredibly knowledgeable, but also provides very practical advice and is an excellent communicator.’

‘Arturo Gonzalez, one of the finest trial lawyer in the country. His ability to educate and engage a jury on complex technologies is true artistry.’

‘William Tarantino has deep knowledge of California’s environmental regulations/laws.’

‘I have worked with Morrison & Foerster for several years on securities litigation matters. They have consistently achieved outstanding results for us.’

‘They have a deep bench of securities litigators in Northern California. A number of partners and associates have worked on our matters over the years and they’ve all been terrific and clearly experts in their field.’

‘Their work product is top-notch. They write excellent and persuasive briefs that require little editing on our end, as just one example. They collaborate with us. They work to understand our goals and culture and make sure the litigation strategy is consistent with them. They are very responsive and always provide timely and practical advice.’

‘The MoFo teams handling our securities litigation are diverse. The lead partner is a women and the teams are usually about 50% women and 50% are people of color.’

‘The lead partner, Anna Erickson White, is great to work with. The quality of her teams’ work-product is outstanding, she and her team are always thinking ahead regarding the best strategy for the litigations, and she brings other experienced, dedicated lawyers to the matters. Not only is she an expert in her field (securities litigation), but she takes a practical and business-minded approach to litigation.’

‘Anna Erickson White and her team work closely with my in-house team to make sure that the litigation strategy is consistent with our business goals. The team is also very responsive and easy to work with. Like a lot of GCs, I have a lot to juggle. I need someone whom I trust to look out for Cloudera’s interests and who can effectively communicate the important issues to me. Anna and her team do just that.’

‘Derek Foran stands out. He provides excellent and strategic litigation advice. Ryan Keats is also outstanding. His work product is stellar, he cares deeply about achieving great results for us, and he is always on top of the various tasks and issues.’

‘Jordan Eth is a strong leader of the team. Good in the board room. Good with complicated fact patterns. A good partner to the client.’

‘The teams are agile, but also capable of scaling up quickly for broad scope multi-disciplinary litigation across multiple jurisdictions.’

‘Richard Hung is creative and strategic. A strong litigator with solid business acumen.’

‘Michael Jacobs is one of the most experienced patent trial attorneys in the country. You can always count on Michael for complex high-stakes patent litigation.’

‘The team is able to understand the smallest technical issues, to the extent they can have direct discussion with key engineers and technical people.’

‘Their legal advice is precise like an accurate watch. Highly experienced team with broad knowledge of law, able to flexibly and rapidly proposed creative solutions to cope with difficult and intricate situations that change according to the dynamics of the negotiations and the business environment.’

‘The team has a highly sophisticated technology knowledge base. Great diversity on team from associate to partner level. The go-to team for high-stakes patent litigation.’

‘Richard Hung’s rare combination of technical and legal expertise and writing excellence give him that unique ability to manage all aspects of a litigation as well as shine at court.’

‘REITs represent a unique public company structure and the Morrison Foerster REIT team has built an expertise that is specially tailored to specific issues REITs must deal with, including tax & capital markets but also takes into account issues that affect all public companies such as SEC compliance.’

‘David Slotkin is a leader in the field and recognized as an expert. He is very talented advising REITs on M&A, capital markets, SEC compliance, public disclosures and other topics. He is deeply rooted in the sector and understands the market completely. While he is an expert on legal regulations and requirements, he is also business savvy and a practical problem-solver, which make his combined talents very rare.’

‘MoFo is the rare law firm in the REIT space that has lawyers with extensive expertise in both publicly traded and publicly registered non-traded REITs. They have strategically assembled prominent REIT attorneys from multiple firms and the group, led by David Slotkin and Justin Salon, functions seemlessly and efficiently. They are clearly thought leaders and have published extensively on REIT-related topics, including a terrific publication on executive compensation trends in the REIT sector (in conjunction with FTI).’

‘David Slotkin is a thoughtful, strategic and really smart advocate for his clients. His excels in M&A transactions and in advising Boards and Board Committees. He is fearless and will not be bullied or coerced – he is of the highest ethical caliber. Justin Salon is terrific at structuring creative solutions for clients and is always a delight to work with. Heath Linsky is a master at achieving desired results for clients; he is a trusted advisor, present in the Board room and with management and he often acts as a liaison between the two. He is a very effective advocate and very innovative.’

‘Ali Connaughton is one the strongest technical REIT lawyers I work with – she knows the nuances of the SEC disclosure regimen and guides clients artfully through the process. Mary Katherine Rawls is a tireless and detailed securities and transactions lawyer – she is an asset to any deal that she works on and everyone looks to her to keep the process running smoothly.’

‘Very deep experience in commercial real estate legal issues in this region.’

‘Phil Levine does a great job of providing context for his advice and helping to triage issues in terms of priority and risk/exposure.

‘Alex Walker has been extremely responsive and efficient.’

‘We look to the MoFo real estate practice to handle our complex land transactions because of the experience of its members and the firm’s breadth of practices. We have consistently felt our MoFo counsel have superior understanding of the transaction details and pivot points compared with the seller’s lawyers. In the MoFo real estate practice there is a high degree of sophistication on how deal terms will play out in practicality.

‘What makes the MoFo Real Estate Group shine is the quality of the personnel. Tom Fileti, as a senior partner, brings his years of experience to bear in negotiating complex real estate transactions. He has a feel for the industry norms and when variance from them is warranted and realistic. Tom is a key partner in getting the deal to the finish line, always with the knowledge to back up his positions and a low-key yet confident demeanor that the other parties respond positively to.

‘Attentive, creative and collaborative.’

‘M&F have real expertise in OFAC and sanctions-related issues. They are experts in this field which is invaluable from an international perspective. John Smith is a former OFAC director. He is a real expert in sanctions issues and he gets results quickly and efficiently. He is a leader in the field.’

‘Approachable and pragmatic team (with team members on all levels) that thinks outside-the-box, providing clients with a practical and risk-based advice.’

‘We are working on a very complicated issue requiring multi-discipline experience. The firm’s ability to work across teams and coordinate advice into a holistic approach has been amazing.’

‘Predictable, trustworthy and really enjoyable to work with on a difficult and time-sensitive matter. Super agile in regards to the project’s developments. Very attentive to our information needs in a difficult process and took the time to explain the process so we always felt we had a very good grasp of the process.’

‘The team has a deep understanding of the CFIUS process and approaches transactions and CFIUS requirements from a practicable perspective. They also know the staff very well. Hard to find a team with a parallel amount of experience in this space.’

‘MoFo’s sanctions team is as expert and experienced as they come. John Smith is an unparalleled sanctions expert who provides timely and deeply expert opinions.’

‘Brandon Van Grack and James Brower are a super duo and are each themselves highly competent and respectable lawyers. Provided valuable insight into regulatory workings, which turned out to be of significant importance in our matter.’

‘Charles Capito (partner) and Joseph Benkert (senior advisor) are excellent on international trade issues and can advise on incredibly complex issues by distilling the issues into easily understandable guidance.’

‘Strong understanding of securities laws and materiality.’

‘Extremely high level of experience, market knowledge, and practical deal-making, particularly in the REIT sector. Able to accommodate tight timeframes. Definitely in the upper echelon.’

‘David Slotkin is highly talented and experienced, and knows how to balance legal and regulatory requirements with practical solutions. He has a deep knowledge of the REIT debt market in particular and handles transactions efficiently and comprehensively.’

‘My experience with the group (specifically Amanda Hines-Gold and Dom Bozzetti) has been stellar. They have an expansive and deep knowledge and understanding of the equity and executive compensation arena. They are practically a walking encyclopedia of equity and executive compensation issues, and have extensive real-world experience across the full spectrum of equity and executive compensation issues a company may come across.’  

‘I can always reach out to Amanda Hines-Gold and the team and be assured of a timely response. They are willing also to walk my colleagues and me through esoteric provisions in the tax code to make sure we can clearly understand the issue.’ 

‘I have used MoFo attorneys for many years – and the number one strength I like is their ability to very simply answer questions. My view is that attorneys who truly understand their subject matter can answer questions clearly and succinctly. MoFo has always been able to handle our matters across the business, and each referral to another MoFo attorney has resulted in a positive relationship. MoFo has handled many complicated issues for us but always quickly, efficiently, and effectively. I’ve also never had issues reaching any attorney I needed almost immediately.’

‘There are many partners and other attorneys at MoFo that have been truly trusted partners to our business.’

‘The team are true experts who think strategically about your business and the transaction to ensure a great outcome. They inspire confidence in the whole deal team.’

‘Knowledgeable about the region, they bring a lot of legal experience to the deal table.’

‘Their key strength was balancing legal advice and practical implications of closing a deal. I always felt M&F gave me straightforward advice and getting to the point of how to close the deal. Very high level of ethics and integrity throughout the process which i meant i could trust them 100% to handle any situation.’

‘The Morrison Foerster team is awesome. They are commercial, have our best interest in mind and are always responsive to our needs’

‘Patrick Huard has been an exceptional M&A partner who is efficient and protects our interests.’

‘We worked with the team to set up an infrastructure fund. They were highly knowledgeable, were able to bring to the table a full team from multiple jurisdictions and specialties very quickly and efficiently. They are our “go to” firm for major transactions and funds.’

‘Not only a service provider but a partner.’

‘Certainly Morrison & Foerster LLP stands out from the traditional law firm. Their knowledge of the sector an ability to navigate highly complex negotiation with simplicity is what makes them a best in class. After well over a year working together with the firm, we were able to face different levels of challenges and all were always fairly well overcome thanks for their expertise.’

‘Randy Bullard is a superstar partner. Always available, Randy provide precise and timely legal recommendations that were key to drive the company forward.’

‘Mitchell Presser – great combination of PE experience and legal expertise. Very practical and helpful for our SPAC listing. Same for Justin Salon and Omar Pringle from this team who were my day to day lead partners.‘

‘MoFo’s team is unique in its breadth and depth; our partners bring terrific expertise to their work, and also draw upon MoFo’s experts across the firm.’

‘Tina Reynolds stands out for her outstanding knowledge of government contracts law and her judgment as to what’s a prudent position for a commercial company selling to the government.’

‘Every person I have worked with at MoFo has been top notch for their level, so my overall impression is that MoFo is super capable as a firm, that they have real depth in many areas including in privacy and IP and that their start up practice is the best I have ever worked with. When other founders ask me, I always recommend MoFo and Murray Indick in particular. No weaknesses that I can see.’

‘Murray Indick is the best lawyer I have ever worked with over the last 20 years of being in start ups. Murray’s mastery of how the business of a start up runs from the board room, to fundraising to advising on corporate matters is just stellar. I can’t recommend Murray enough. Kristen Mathews  is a superb privacy lawyer. Kristen was able to quickly identify all the potential challenges and then help us solve each one of them. She was really instrumental in helping us close that deal, I recommend her very highly. Brad Kondracki is great on all the detail of all the deals. Super fast, great judgement on what needs our input and what he can just do himself. Good negotiator with the counter-parties counsel.’

‘Tim Harris and Mike Krigbaum: practical advice, commercial-minded lawyering and good people who care about you as a person and your objectives.’

‘I think the strength in the fund formation group is Murray Indick’s knowledge base and experience as a former GP himself. He provides not only technical expertise but practical business advice that is always well received. Being able to get a read on the current market conditions and best practices is key for a small firm like us.’

‘As mentioned above, Murray has been an invaluable resource for his guidance and business advice as much as he is for the legal execution (which is a commodity that any firm can provide). What I value is his options and his suggestions that are based on his own experiences and those of clients in similar spots. Brandon Galovan has been a great junior on Murray’s team and very responsive and also good at discerning between letter of the law and spirit of the law and the practical application to our business.’

‘FinTech business model expansion and bespoke new product introductions.’

‘Evan Minsberg is my go-to attorney for all new product introductions and iterations. He is a part of our business team and our legal team.’

‘Morrison & Foerster has vast experience representing startups in the financial sector and emerging technology.’

‘Jeff Silberman is an exceptionally knowledgeable lawyer who gives practical, straightforward advice. He is very business-oriented and attuned to our business needs as well as our legal needs.’

‘Excellent advice and insight. The individuals work as a part of our team and are an invaluable member of any transaction or negotiation.’

‘There are several things that make the people at MoFo stand out. All big firm attorneys need to meet Big Law Table Stakes: Knowledge, Skill and Judgement. MoFo’s team easily does that. Where they differentiate is on the commitment to the client relationship. Our MoFo attorneys work with us to really learn our business, our concerns, our technology and our risk tolerance. They treat our “smaller” deals with the same responsiveness and attention as our “big” deals, because they all matter to us. They commit to building long term relationships with us and getting to know us a bit outside of our billable matters. They also work with us to achieve our shared goals of building a more diverse and inclusive team. Tessa Schwartz and Monica Cai are two standout attorneys with whom we often work.’

‘I have used many top firms during my career and MoFo stands out in several ways. MoFo has deep subject matter expertise in technology transactions and licensing matters. They bring great technical know how to drafting and negotiation. They also have great industry knowledge, which helps us weigh risks and stay competitive with peer companies. They also have great judgement – they give good practical advice on matters, weighing legal risks and norms as well as business goals. I would also say that they have an all around great team. Everyone I have worked with there has been smart, responsive and personable.’

‘They work well as a team, better than other firms I’ve experienced, bringing each other up to speed on projects so that talking to each of them results in them all being informed adequately to move work forward. They are also quite strategic and supportive in general.’

‘Catherine Polizzi is highly strategic, understands the business, provides advice but has a balanced understanding of the pros and cons of different decisions and strategies.’

‘Knowledgeable and responsive. Key expertise in IP, agreements, contracts that involve multiple parties from both public and private sectors. In my 30-year career, I have worked with a number of law firms (big and small) and rate this practice at Morrison & Foerster as one of the very best.’

‘Great customer service and communication. Able to explain complex legal issues, concerns and provide advice that is easily understandable to non-lawyers.’

‘The talent and humanity of the people at MoFo make this firm stand out. Every single attorney/paralegal I’ve interacted with has been bright, attentive, responsive, yet have a personality at the same time. There is diversity, especially at the more junior ranks.’

‘MoFo has a strong and well-known ITC team. I have found their team knowledgeable and well prepared.’

‘This is a very smart and strategic ITC team. Lots of ITC teams overpromise and underdeliver, but this team does not. Good knowledge of the peculiarities of the forum.’

‘Stefani Shanberg is the ITC lawyer you want: whip-smart, dedicated, determined, and knowledgeable. She’s going to maintain credibility and professionalism and correctly position your matter before the ITC.’

‘Stefani Shanberg is laser-sharp, creative and communicative.’

‘The legal advice is precise like an accurate watch. Highly experienced team with broad knowledge of law.’

‘Practical and knowledgeable advice in a way that helps in-house attorneys and business teams.’

‘Aaron Rubin is very experienced in technology transactions and I have always valued his responsiveness and ability to balance protecting the organization’s risk, practical to-the-point advice, and closing the deal. A lot of the issues that we deal with require threading the needle and being creative and he helps us do that.’

‘Amazing team and we always receive high quality, thoughtful, well-reasoned and well-researched advice based on legal and practical considerations.’

‘The partners and associates are true partners in our work.’

‘We work with Babak Nikravesh and followed him when he moved to Morrison & Foerster. He is great to work with, makes himself available, explains US tax in clear and simple terms, is patient and has been a great advocate for our business. He is also very personable and interested in what we do and the world around us.’

‘Excellent technical understanding and negotiating capabilities and ability to communicate well to the executive team.’

‘Bernie Pistillo and Tony Carbone are superb.’

‘Edward Froelich stood out in my mind, first and foremost, for his expertise and experience in navigating a tax related cases such as mine and offering not only solutions but a variety of options in achieving the desired result.’

‘The team has deep industry-level knowledge, particularly in the financial services area. Their real-world experience and practical insights allows team members to provide excellent legal services.’

‘Ed Froelich is my main point of contact at the firm. His character, attention to detail, and extensive experience practicing before the IRS makes him one of the best tax lawyers in the United States. Ed is a practictioner I know I can trust. His judgment and keen insights ensure we achieve the right results efficiently and with excellence.’

‘The breadth and depth of experience of the Controversy practice makes it uniquely strong and capable of handling a wide variety of U.S. tax controversy matters. This attribute distinguishes MoFo from many of its competitors. The innovative ways in which the firm seeks to resolve tax controversies and their unparalleled dedication to a client’s best interests also set them apart.’

‘I’ve been particularly impressed by Ed Froelich, one of the firm’s Washington, DC controversy attorneys. Ed’s ability to handle any stage of the controversy process (from IDRs to Appeals to potential litigation) and experience with a wide variety of substantive tax issues ensures that he both understands the tax issues at hand and can advise clients as to the relative merits of different means of resolving the dispute. His commitment to his clients is, frankly, unparalleled. I look forward to working with Ed again in the future.’

‘Ed Froelich is an outstanding lawyer. He is very knowledgeable about a vast swath of US tax law. I’ve often gone to Ed with tricky tax questions / issues, and he invariably has meaningful insights for me. In particular, he is knowledgeable about many of the procedural aspects of US tax controversy. I will also note that he has had remarkable insights for me on the Altera transfer pricing / cost sharing / equity compensation that I simply have not heard anywhere else. I highly recommend Ed Froelich.’

‘We worked with Edward Froelich at Morrison & Foerster. Ed was very professional and knowledgeable. His prior experience with the IRS was priceless. Ed successfully defended our position and the IRS dropped their case against us.’

‘MOFO’s team is highly qualified to offer immediate attention to project finance issues and its availability and knowledge of infrastructure issues in Latin America are its best tools.’

‘Rafael Hernandez is a highly qualified professional for the analysis of business issues in project finance, as well as the due collateralization of the same, with great capacity in the drafting of credit agreements associated with these operations.’