Morrison Foerster

Mary Prendergast

Mary Prendergast | Morrison Foerster Mary is a trial lawyer with extensive experience litigating patent and trade secrets cases in courts across the country and at the International Trade Commission (ITC). In particular, Mary helps clients navigate the unique procedural and substantive challenges (and opportunities) presented by the ITC. Recognized by Legal500, clients have noted that Mary “has deep knowledge of Section 337 practice and procedure and is a strong strategic thinker.” Mary is co-head of the litigation department in Washington, D.C. and an editor of the MoFo@ITC guide to Section 337 investigations. Over the past 15 years, Mary has represented some of the world’s largest life sciences and technology companies in high-stakes IP litigation matters. She has tried cases in many areas of technology including semiconductors, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer electronics, and was a member of the trial team for high-profile smartphone litigation resulting in verdicts of over $1 billion. Mary has substantial experience with Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA litigation, and has argued before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Ryan J. Adams | Morrison Foerster Ryan Adams is a Public Company Advisory & Governance partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on securities regulation, SEC reporting and compliance, proxy and shareholder issues, corporate governance, and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. Ryan’s deep SEC experience enables him to provide insightful counsel on federal securities laws, helping clients navigate complex regulatory landscapes and anticipate shifts impacting their business. Ryan’s informed and pragmatic approach to the industry’s most challenging securities issues has earned him widespread commendation.

Click here for attorney bio. Eliot Adelson is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Litigation practice where he handles complex legal issues facing clients in jurisdictions around the world. He provides clients with creative strategies for resolving a broad range of disputes, including civil and criminal antitrust litigation and internal and government investigations. Eliot represents clients across a spectrum of industries, including auto parts, major media companies and TV station operators, banking and finance, communications, and software and technology, among others. Eliot has experience providing unique and complex advice across a range of matters, including internal investigations, civil and criminal cartel investigations, and litigation. Before joining Morrison Foerster, Eliot cultivated an international client base across industries and geographies over his 15-year tenure at another global law firm. Japanese companies look to him for his deep knowledge of antitrust matters. Eliot previously served as a Deputy District Attorney for Alameda County in California. He is on the board of the Contra Costa Senior Legal Services and is a member of the Executive Committee for the Antitrust & UCL Section of the California Lawyers Association. Representative Experience Murata Manufacturing. Represented Murata, a Japanese electric components manufacturer, in a putative class action alleging that certain electronics manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of inductors. Nexstar Media Group. Representing Nexstar in a putative class action alleging that certain television station owners conspired to fix the prices of local television advertising. Represented a major publicly traded REIT in a putative class action filed by renters alleging that multifamily property owners engaged in anticompetitive conduct to increase the price of leases across the United States. Represented a Japanese manufacturer in connection with the TFT-LCD and CRT price fixing cases. Arm Limited. Represented SoftBank Group and Arm Limited on complex antitrust and national security issues arising from NVIDIA’s proposed acquisition of Arm from SoftBank for $65 billion. TIBC. Represented Japanese company TIBC in response to an investigation of the semiconductor packaging industry. Former CEO of G4S Belgium. Representing the former CEO of G4S who has been indicted by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division related to allegations of a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for certain contracts. Conducted an internal investigation for Kobe Steel related to alleged data falsification. Represented a group of defendant landowners in a price-fixing case alleging that the defendants fixed prices for land in Solano County. Represented a global pharmaceutical company in a price fixing and market allocation investigation. Tenneco. Represented Tenneco, a Fortune 500 automotive components manufacturer, in connection with DOJ and other enforcement agencies’ auto parts investigations. Represented several individual executives in the DOJ Antitrust Division’s auto parts investigation. Represented several individual executives in the DOJ Antitrust Division’s capacitor investigation. Toyota Industries Corp. Represented Japanese company Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) in connection with the DOJ’s second request concerning TICO’s acquisition of Cascade Corporation. Bain Capital. Represented Bain Capital, a leading multi-asset alternative investment firm, in connection with the DOJ’s second request concerning Big Tex Trailer’s acquisition of American Trailer Works

Dario Avram | Morrison Foerster Darío Avram is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Finance Group and a member of the Private Equity Buyouts & Investment Group. His transactional practice is focused on financings and private equity matters, with additional experience in restructurings. Darío regularly represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a variety of complex U.S. and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged buyouts, refinancings, and restructurings. He has led transactions covering a range of industries, including technology, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrials, professional services, and consumer products, among others.

Rebecca Balinskas

Rebecca Balinskas | Morrison Foerster Rebecca Midori Ulich-Balinskas is of counsel in the Tax Group and is based in Morrison Foerster’s New York office. Her practice focuses on U.S. federal, state and local tax transactional and controversy matters. Rebecca provides U.S. federal, state and local tax advice, guidance, and representation on most business transactions, including M&A, reorganizations, fund formations and fund investments, joint ventures, spin-offs and divestitures, international structuring, and capital markets offerings. Her state and local tax practice encompasses matters across the U.S. regarding sales and use tax, franchise and income tax, gross receipts tax, excise tax, unclaimed property, and real estate transfer tax, among others. Her clients include large multinational companies, banks, financial institutions, Fintech companies, REITs, joint ventures, start-ups, and fund sponsors and investors. She also has extensive experience representing clients before the IRS and in state and local tax controversy matters at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels. In addition, her work includes advising non-profits and charities in their formation and/or ongoing charitable activities.

Emily K. Beers | Morrison Foerster Emily Beers is of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Capital Markets and Public Company Advisory & Governance practices. Her practice focuses on representing publicly and privately held companies in a variety of corporate and securities law matters. Emily represents both issuers and investment banks in initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and private placements, including offerings of common and preferred equity, investment-grade debt, convertible debt, and high-yield debt. Emily also regularly advises clients with respect to liability management transactions, including tender offers, as well as M&A transactions. In addition, Emily regularly counsels companies with respect to corporate governance issues, compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws, and the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, as well as general corporate matters.

Locke Bell | Morrison Foerster Locke is a partner in MoFo’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. He has been recognized by Chambers USA for his “proficiency across the government contracts space,” with sources commending his deep experience in Intellectual Property and Data Rights. Locke counsels clients across industries through the full lifecycle of delivering technology and licensing software to U.S. federal, state, and local governments, and performing government-funded R&D through contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other vehicles such as other transactions (OTs/OTAs), cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. He provides strategic advice for asserting, protecting, and enforcing patents, data rights, and other intellectual property under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and the Bayh-Dole Act, before statutory agencies such as NASA and the Department of Energy, and in engagements with OT consortia, federal laboratories, and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). He is a skilled negotiator of commercial and noncommercial licensing agreements, contracts and subcontracts, joint venture agreements, and teaming agreements. As a litigator, Locke represents clients in bid protests, complex contract claims, data rights challenges, patent and copyright infringement suits under 28 U.S. Code §1498, trade secrets misappropriation and reverse-FOIA disputes, and civil fraud and qui tam actions under the False Claims Act. Locke also regularly advises large and small businesses, private equity firms, and entrepreneurs on the complex government contracting and IP-related issues they face in M&A and other transactional matters. Show More

Michael Birnbaum

Michael D. Birnbaum | Morrison Foerster Michael Birnbaum is co-head of Morrison Foerster’s New York Litigation Department and a partner in the firm's Securities Litigation, Securities Enforcement, and Investigations + White Collar Defense groups. Michael defends and pursues claims on behalf of clients across a range of areas. Specifically, he leverages his experience as former senior trial counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide unique insights to U.S. and global financial institutions, including commercial and investment banks, audit and accounting firms, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and securities issuers facing internal and government investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and private civil litigation.

Jonathan Bockman

Jonathan Bockman | Morrison Foerster on Bockman is the head of the firm’s Technology Patent Practice. In this capacity, he leads the firm’s prominent group of patent practitioners with degrees in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and physics. His team handles work in all technology areas including medical devices, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity, computer hardware, advanced materials, and robotics. His practice concentrates on domestic and international patent prosecution, portfolio management, IP due diligence, patent infringement and validity determinations, and IP litigation support. His clients range from some of the largest domestic and international companies to early-stage startups.

Brigid DeCoursey Bondoc | Morrison Foerster Brigid is a food, drug, and medical device lawyer who counsels life sciences companies on a wide range of U.S. Food & Drug Administration pre- and post-market regulatory issues. As the lead of our FDA + Healthcare Regulatory and Compliance Group, Brigid practices across the spectrum of FDA-regulated products, including medical devices, drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapies, food, cosmetics, dietary supplements, tobacco, laboratory-developed tests, in vitro diagnostics, radiation-emitting electronic products, combination products, and products that may not fit neatly into any of these categories. Accordingly, she counsels established and start-up companies in life sciences, healthcare, and consumer products on a wide range of FDA pre- and post-market regulatory issues. Brigid also frequently advises innovative product developers on threshold FDA jurisdictional questions and develops strategies for approval and marketing, while identifying and mitigating regulatory risks.

Rhys Bortignon | Morrison Foerster Rhys Bortignon is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Capital Markets practice, based in New York. Rhys’ practice focuses on derivatives and structured products. He is a member of the firm’s Derivatives, Commodities + Structured Products practice group and Co-Head of its Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team. With a focus on practical and commercial solutions, Rhys provides counsel to a diverse range of U.S. and international clients, from both the buy side and sell side, including corporates, investment banks, commercial banks, private equity, funds, investment managers, and sovereigns. Rhys offers strategic guidance to his clients from both a transactional and a regulatory perspective and navigates complex cross-border issues with proficiency, providing pragmatic advice to clients operating globally. Rhys’ experience spans the spectrum of derivative transactions across asset classes, including rates, foreign exchange, credit, equity, digital assets, and commodities. He also frequently advises on margin loans, repo and securities lending transactions, the hedging components of project and corporate financings, as well as various structured products.

Erin M. Bosman | Morrison Foerster Erin Bosman is the global co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s litigation department. Erin is also the founder and co-head of the Artificial Intelligence group and former chair of the Complex Litigation + Advisement practice group. Clients value her business strategy, seeking her comprehensive counsel throughout the product life cycle, especially in high-stakes litigation and product recalls. Erin's clients value her litigation acumen, retaining her as national coordinating and trial counsel in class action cases and multijurisdictional and multidistrict proceedings. She navigates complex business relationships and serves as a defense liaison counsel in cases where multiple defendants have conflicting defenses. A skilled negotiator, Erin has a long track record of securing dismissals and favorable settlements for her clients. When trial is needed, her compelling courtroom skills have delivered successful jury verdicts and appellate victories. Outside the courtroom, Erin maintains a robust advisement practice, drawing on her litigation experience to counsel clients on product development, risk assessments, product labeling, and risk mitigation strategies to help them avoid and defeat product liability claims. When necessary, Erin advises on crisis management and guides clients through product recalls, representing clients before the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Erin is a problem-solver through and through. In that role, she advises clients on some of their most difficult product questions, with particular focus on emerging technologies in untested regulatory and litigation landscapes. She is a leader in the fields of wearables and digital health, medical device and pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. Erin counsels clients that have innovative products in the technology and artificial intelligence sector. In addition to her knowledge and experience in the AI space, Erin has also advised clients working with autonomous vehicles, sensors, robotics, and IoT.

Domnick Bozzetti

Domnick Bozzetti | Morrison Foerster Domnick advises the firm’s clients on all matters relating to executive compensation, with a focus on compensation and benefits aspects of corporate transactions, including mergers, spin-offs and initial public offerings. Domnick also advises a broad range of clients on design and implementation of equity and cash-based incentive arrangements (including compensatory partnership interests), severance, change in control and executive employment agreements, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and related issues concerning tax (including sections 280G and 409A) and securities law issues. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to emerging growth companies. Domnick also works regularly with public companies in preparing executive compensation disclosures for annual proxy statements and merger proxies, as well as advising on section 16 and other securities law and stock exchange issues relating to equity-based compensation.

James M. Brower | Morrison Foerster James Brower is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department, residing in the Washington D.C. office. James has extensive experience advising and representing clients in matters relating to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other national security-related matters. He has worked across a variety of departments within the U.S. Federal Government, including the Defense Security Service (now the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency) within the Department of Defense and the Office of Investment Security within the Department of the Treasury. James, while with the Department of the Treasury, led the review, assessment, and investigation of over one hundred transactions and spent years handling complex filings, transactions, and policies. He also led CFIUS’s mitigation monitoring efforts and the deployment and implementation of the CFIUS Pilot Program.

Jake Philip Burne

Jake Philip Burne | Morrison Foerster Jake Burne is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Finance Group. He represents both borrowers and lenders on a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including acquisition financings and leveraged buyouts, senior syndicated facilities, fund financings and other secured and unsecured financings.

Andrew Campbell

Andrew P. Campbell | Morrison Foerster Andy’s practice focuses on representing issuers and underwriters in capital markets transactions and advising public and private companies on a variety of other corporate and securities matters, including strategic transactions, corporate governance matters, and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the listing standards of securities exchanges. Andy has extensive experience advising both issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings and other registered and unregistered offerings of common and preferred equity, debt, and equity-linked securities. He also serves as primary outside counsel to a number of public and private companies and regularly advises members of management and boards of directors regarding corporate and securities matters.

Charles L. Capito | Morrison Foerster Charles Capito is a partner in both Morrison Foerster’s National Security and Government Contracts + Public Procurement practices. In the National Security space, he has significant experience counseling clients on the complex and evolving considerations related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Charles frequently helps investors and U.S. businesses through every aspect of the CFIUS process, from understanding and allocating CFIUS risk on the front end, to presenting cases before the Committee, to negotiating appropriate mitigation measures, and ultimately to implementing and complying with mitigation agreements after the fact. Charles’ experience includes securing clearances for some of the largest and most sensitive cases reviewed by CFIUS, as well as dozens of more discreet transactions and investments.

Anthony Carbone

Anthony J. Carbone | Morrison Foerster Anthony J. Carbone is a partner in our New York Office and the former chair of the Tax practice. His practice focuses on tax planning strategies and the tax consequences of a wide range of business, investment and capital markets transactions in the U.S. and internationally. He advises clients on all forms of mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, fund formation and leveraged buyouts representing private equity funds, deal sponsors, investment banks, commercial banks and hedge funds, as well as venture capital, real estate and other funds (foreign and U.S.), acquiring target companies, and management groups.

Chrys Carey | Morrison Foerster Chrys Carey is an of counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of Morrison Foerster, where he represents clients in a wide variety of derivatives transactions and advises them on derivatives regulatory and compliance issues. Mr. Carey’s clients include investment companies, hedge funds, foreign and domestic banks, central banks, multilateral development banks and corporate end-users. He negotiates ISDA Master Agreements and other trading documents, including prime brokerage documents, clearing and execution agreements and related collateral arrangements. He also advises his clients on a broad array of derivatives regulatory issues arising under the Commodity Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Mr. Carey also represents commercial banks, investment banks, investment companies, broker-dealers, hedge funds and asset managers in secondary market loan transactions, including transfers of claims and proceeds resulting from bankruptcies and other restructuring transactions.

Tiffany Cheung | Morrison Foerster Clients seek out Tiffany for her successful track record in defending class action claims on behalf of clients in a broad range of industries, including technology, healthcare, and consumer product companies. Tiffany leads high-stakes class actions at the cutting edge of innovation and technology. She has a successful track record of defending industry-leading clients in their most complex class actions. She also has advised extensively on privacy matters, unfair business practice claims and consumer advertising issues. Tiffany is a former co-chair of MoFo’s global Litigation Department and the firm’s Complex Litigation + Advisement Practice Group. The Daily Journal named Tiffany to its 2023 list of Top Women Lawyers and listed her as a 2023 Leading Commercial Litigator in California. Chambers USA 2025 again ranked her in commercial litigation, while The Legal 500 2024 again recommended her in product liability and marketing and advertising. Lawdragon named Tiffany on its 2025 list of 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors. BTI Consulting Group has recognized Tiffany as one of a small group of attorneys nationwide who represent the “absolute best of the best” in the area of client service. Her clients include leaders in the technology, healthcare, financial services, and retail sectors. Because she is committed to the firm’s pro bono program, Tiffany works on diverse matters in that arena, including representing numerous clients in connection with guardianship and immigration proceedings. Tiffany earned her B.A. with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Asian Law Journal. Following law school, she was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Marian Blank Horn of the United States Court of Federal Claims and also served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Susan R. Bolton of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

Anita Choi | Morrison Foerster Anita Choi has decades of experience providing strategic advice to companies and investors in the Life Sciences and Food + Agriculture industries. She has helped start-up companies build IP portfolios around their core technologies, and counseled them on issues related to patents versus trade secrets. She has worked with larger, more established companies to manage global patent portfolios in a way that integrates IP with their business models. Combining her legal and business expertise enables her to navigate complex challenges that require complex solutions hence why she is so often called upon by clients to help with assessing, building and strengthening patent portfolios. She has also counseled investors in IP due diligence, identifying critical issues that may affect valuation and risk assessment in deals. Anita is part of the Life Sciences + Healthcare Leadership Team, as well as the Food + Agriculture Leadership Team within the firm. She co-leads the firm’s Chemistry Subgroup within the patent practice, which covers both the Pharmaceuticals and Materials sector within the chemistry space. She also co-leads the firm’s Food + Agriculture patent practice. Anita’s clients praise her ability to quickly gain a deep understanding of their technology and business, which allows her to think critically, creatively and practically in patent portfolio management.

Managing Partner, Los Angeles

David Churchill

Partner and Co-Chair, Government Contracts and Public Procurement practice

Carrie H. Cohen | White Collar Crime + FCPA Lawyer | Morrison Foerster Carrie H. Cohen is global co-chair of the Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group and the firm’s State + Local Government Enforcement team. Prior to joining the firm, Carrie served in the New York State Attorney General’s Office as Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau and an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau where she received the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for outstanding service. Carrie also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) where she prosecuted public corruption and securities matters, including obtaining the first trial conviction of former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver. As a former state and federal prosecutor, Carrie routinely represents corporations, boards, and c-suite executives in government-facing investigative and regulatory matters with a particular focus on state and local government matters. Carrie’s extensive trial experience and distinguished record of success in high‑stakes, white collar defense matters cement her position as a leading lawyer who often is called upon as trial counsel for particularly sensitive matters. Carrie’s trial and white collar expertise have been recognized by a variety of organizations including Chambers USA, which describes her as “. . . a terrific trial lawyer with great judgment and timing, [who] knows how to present complex cases in a digestible way.” Carrie also routinely prepares clients who are called to testify before Congress and state and city legislatures and works on matters that involve multijurisdictional investigations and significant media attention. Carrie is a recognized industry expert in public corruption and state and local government actions. Carrie frequently is selected by government agencies to serve as independent counsel and issue public reports, which has included her appointment as Independent Monitor for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Special Counsel to the New York City Council, Special Independent Counsel to the City of Rochester, and Counsel to the California Attorney General’s Office (CA AG) as well as being part of the Monitorship Team appointed by DOJ for the global Odebrecht corruption matter. She also was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to the Metropolitan Transit Authority Inspector General’s Board and serves as its Acting Chair as well as having been appointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York as Counsel to the Court’s Grievance Committee. Carrie also is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a seminar on Public Corruption and the Law. Carrie serves on multiple bar committees and task forces as part of her effort to promote the rule of law. She was appointed Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Task Force on Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes and served as a member of the NYSBA Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. As a leader of the Bar, Carrie serves as a Vice President and Trustee of the Federal Bar Council and President of its Inn of Court and was appointed Co-Chair of the Federal-State Judicial Advisory Council as well as prior service as a Vice President of the New York City Bar, Chair of its Executive Committee, and member of its Nominating Committee. Carrie also is a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteers of Legal Service, an organization that provides pro bono legal services to the New York community, and was appointed by the SDNY to its Criminal Justice Act Panel to serve as counsel to indigent defendants in federal criminal cases. Carrie has long been dedicated to advancing women in the legal profession, both in the United States and globally. She co-chairs Morrison Foerster’s Women’s Strategy Committee, a group that works with firm leaders to ensure the advancement of women remains a strategic priority, and serves as a member of the New York City Bar’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, where she spearheads a professional development program for women lawyers in Latin America and South Africa. She is also a member of the Women’s Forum of New York and the Belizean Grove, both of which are by nomination only and are comprised of a diverse group of recognized women leaders in their respective fields. Carrie co-authored the acclaimed NYSBA report adopted by the American Bar Association “If Not Now, When? Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR” and the follow-up report “The Time is Now: Achieving Equality for Women Attorneys in the Courtroom and in ADR.” She serves on the Steering Committee of the When There Are Nine Scholarship Project, which she co-founded with other SDNY alumnae to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by providing law school scholarships and mentorship.

Alice Connaughton

Alice L. Connaughton | Morrison Foerster Alice Connaughton is co-chair of the firm’s REIT practice and a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Capital Markets practice group. Ali’s practice focuses on representing public and private companies, including real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other direct participation programs, in a variety of corporate and securities matters, including, among other things, public and private securities offerings and tender offers. Ali regularly advises boards of directors, audit committees, and management with respect to strategic matters and corporate governance issues. Ali also routinely counsels public company clients with respect to complex regulatory matters, compliance with federal and state securities laws, corporate governance and general corporate matters.

Chuck Cotter | Morrison Foerster Chuck Cotter is a partner in the firm’s Emerging Company + Venture Capital practice group in Denver. Chuck advises venture and growth stage companies, helping them to successfully raise capital, negotiate key agreements, manage investor and board dynamics, and through exit. Chuck also regularly advises investment funds in placing capital into consumer products, agtech, and food tech companies. He excels as a practical, business-minded advisor. With sophisticated experience in the consumer products space, including food, beverage, personal care, beauty, and fashion, Chuck has represented such companies and funds in over 200 financing and M&A transactions.

Kaylee Cox Bankston

Kaylee Cox Bankston | Morrison Foerster Kaylee Cox Bankston is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Privacy + Data Security Group. She advises clients across all industries on complex cybersecurity, privacy, and data matters, including cybersecurity investigations and breach preparation, corporate governance and risk management, regulatory investigations, litigation and class action defense, and other emerging industry issues, such as the use and impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Kaylee was recognized by The Legal 500 US for her work in Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection) in 2023. Kaylee is also a co-author of The International Handbook of AI Law: A Guide to Understanding and Resolving the Legal Challenges of Artificial Intelligence. Cybersecurity Investigations and Incident Response Preparedness: Kaylee has extensive experience leading clients in investigations of sophisticated cyberattacks and security breaches conducted by high-profile threat actor groups, including ransomware, data extortion events, and business email compromises. She also counsels clients on incident response programs and preparedness, including developing and conducting cybersecurity simulations and “tabletop” exercises, preparing clients for security assessments, audits, and testing, and advising on post-assessment implementation and risk mitigation strategies. Kaylee also advises clients on cybersecurity information- and intelligence-sharing, data access requests, and related national security matters. Regulatory Investigations and Litigation: Kaylee has substantial experience representing clients in privacy and security investigations and related regulatory actions. She has represented companies in cybersecurity and privacy matters before U.S. and international regulators, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (HHS OCR), New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and state attorneys general, and in litigation matters in various U.S. federal and state courts. Public Companies Counseling, Corporate Governance, and Compliance: Kaylee has advised numerous companies in connection with the new SEC Cybersecurity Disclosure Rules, including counseling on disclosure obligations for material cybersecurity incidents and developing annual SEC cybersecurity disclosures for publicly traded companies. Kaylee also counsels executives and boards of directors on cybersecurity and privacy corporate governance and risk management matters. She also regularly advises clients on the development of cybersecurity and privacy programs and compliance with other regulatory requirements and standards, such as the NYDFS Part 500 cybersecurity requirements, the FTC Safeguards Rule, the FTC Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and state data privacy laws, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Corporate Transactions and Vendor Management: Kaylee counsels clients on vendor management programs, including developing security and privacy contracting frameworks and negotiating data protection agreements. Kaylee also advises clients on privacy and security diligence matters in connection with corporate transactions.

Melissa M. Crespo | Morrison Foerster Melissa Crespo helps clients navigate a wide range of challenging privacy compliance and data security matters with a focus on the health information and the health care sector. She regularly helps clients develop and implement privacy compliance programs and advises companies on managing risk in connection with cutting-edge technologies and data initiatives. Melissa has particular experience in advising clients on compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other laws governing the collection and use of medical and health information.

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Caitlin Crujido

Caitlin A. Crujido | Morrison Foerster Caitlin Crujido is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office. Caitlin represents government contractors in a full range of contract matters, including bid protests, contract claims and disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and internal and external investigations. In her litigation practice, Caitlin is often involved with the full life cycle of claims, from preparing requests for equitable adjustment to litigating claims disputes at the Boards of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC). She also regularly represents clients in pre- and post-award bid protests before procuring agencies, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and COFC. In addition, Caitlin has worked on a number of False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and qui tam actions. In her transactional practice, Caitlin’s experience includes advising on mergers and acquisitions involving both the purchase and sale of government contracting concerns or related assets. Beyond performing due diligence, negotiating purchase agreements, and assisting with post-transaction related filings, Caitlin takes a holistic view to these transactions, working with clients to navigate various strategic and legal considerations. Her practice also includes counseling clients on various compliance and regulatory issues, particularly in the areas of contract and subcontract management.

Tammy Davies is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s New York office and member of the firm’s Finance Group. Tammy C. Davies | Morrison Foerster Specializing in bespoke and complex credit arrangements, Tammy represents alternative lenders and private credit funds in a wide range of middle market financings and special situations, including acquisition financing, opportunistic credit solutions, asset-based lending, junior capital and second lien facilities, bifurcated unitranche facilities, structured financial arrangements, and other unique financing strategies. Tammy also advises private credit funds with NAV facilities, hybrid facilities and other credit support for fund portfolios. She has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border transactions across a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, retail, media, gaming, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and financial services.

Krista S. deBoer | Morrison Foerster Krista deBoer’s practice involves the full range of environmental, climate, and green claims issues. As a partner in MoFo’s Complex Litigation + Advisement practice group, Krista represents clients in environmental and toxic tort litigation, Proposition 65 litigation, and consumer class actions involving hazardous material exposures and claims of health and environmental benefits. She is recommended by The Legal 500 for toxic tort defense (2022-2024). Krista has broad experience in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and California Hazardous Substance Account Act (HSAA) litigation, multi-party allocation and cost recovery proceedings, natural resource damages claims, and contaminated site cleanup, often involving parallel agency enforcement, where she is skilled at developing integrated strategies to maximize outcomes in both actions. Krista also assists clients with regulatory approvals, compliance, and risk mitigation under federal and state environmental laws, including Department of Energy and California Energy Commission regulations, California Air Resources Board regulations, Federal Trade Commission Green Guides, hazardous waste management regulation, and climate disclosure laws. She has defended and negotiated favorable settlements for clients in enforcement actions brought by the Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, and California Regional Water Quality Control Boards. In addition, Krista leads environmental due diligence for clients in a range of corporate and real estate transactions involving environmental liability risks and advises on matters involving development of carbon-capture projects and transacting in carbon offsets.

Partner and Co-Chair, Government Contracts Practice

Bindu Donovan | Morrison Foerster Bindu Donovan has been litigating high-stakes intellectual property disputes in the life sciences field for over 25 years. Bindu, a seasoned partner in Morrison Foerster’s Intellectual Property Litigation group specializes in patent litigation in U.S. federal district courts. She has a broad range of experience in life sciences, representing clients in matters related to biologic and small-molecule drugs, medical devices, recombinant proteins, and vaccines. Her extensive portfolio extends to representing innovator companies in Hatch-Waxman cases covering treatments for ADHD, diabetes, influenza, hypertension, and metastatic prostate cancer, including blockbuster drugs. Bindu excels in leading large litigation teams in all aspects of complex patent infringement disputes, including pre-suit investigations, pre-trial and expert discovery, trial preparation, and trial. She is adept at coordinating global strategies for her clients’ most important products. Additionally, her experience includes breach of contract and trade secret disputes, mediation, and arbitration.

Daralyn Durie | Trials + Intellectual Property | Morrison Foerster Daralyn Durie is among the top trial lawyers in the country, acting as go-to trial counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants. Daralyn’s exceptional track record has earned her consistent recognition from leading national publications. Chambers has listed her among the top 10 intellectual property lawyers in the U.S. and Law360 has recognized her as an “Icon of IP” and an MVP. Benchmark Litigation reported that “going against her was like going against a boxer in which you know you’re going to get hurt.” She’s a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and an inductee into the California Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. Daralyn’s legal career began at Berkeley Law, followed by a clerkship for the Honorable Douglas Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She became a partner at a litigation boutique in 1999 and, in 2009, co-founded Durie Tangri, a premier litigation boutique that later combined with Morrison Foerster in 2023. In addition to her courtroom successes, Daralyn is actively involved in the legal community. She is a board member of the National Women’s Law Center, a past president of the Northern California Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and served as an adjunct professor at Berkeley Law, where she taught civil trial advocacy.

Charles Duross | Morrison Foerster Charles (Chuck) Duross serves as co-head of Morrison Foerster’s FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption practice. With more than twenty-eight years of experience principally focused on white collar cases, Chuck’s practice has an emphasis on complex white collar criminal matters, including internal corporate investigations, representing special committees, compliance counseling, due diligence regarding third parties and business transactions, and defense of clients before government enforcement agencies and multilateral investment banks. Chuck has handled cases and overseen investigations in dozens of countries. As a veteran trial attorney, Chuck has a proven track record in the courtroom in high-profile, high-stakes trials. Dubbed “Mr. FCPA” in The Washington Post, Chuck is routinely recognized in various rankings and publications, including Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and Legal 500 as a leading attorney in white collar criminal defense, with a particular specialty in FCPA and foreign corruption cases.

https://www.mofo.com/people/mark-edelstein Mark Edelstein is chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Real Estate Group and co-chair of the Distressed Real Estate Group. He has over three decades of experience representing leading financial institutions, real estate companies, owners, acquirers, sellers, and investors in some of their most high-profile transactions. Mark practices in the areas of real estate, REIT, and fund finance; private equity; workouts; restructurings; and bankruptcies. He regularly represents lenders and others in a wide variety of mortgage and construction loan transactions, and unsecured and borrowing base financings, involving—among other asset types—office, commercial, retail, industrial, multi-family, hospitality, healthcare, homebuilding, and condominium and cooperatives. He also represents lenders and others in complex real estate workouts, restructurings, and chapter 11 proceedings. Few lawyers have Mark’s experience with and understanding of syndicated, securitized, and participated loan arrangements, subscription lines, A/B note transactions, mezzanine financing, EB-5 transactions, bond financing, and complex intercreditor and co-lender agreements. Mark has been routinely involved in numerous projects that have reshaped and are reshaping the New York City skyline. Sample projects include 50 Hudson Yards, One Vanderbilt, the new Time Warner Building (30 Hudson Yards), St. John’s Terminal, the Spiral, Deutsche Bank Center (One Columbus Circle), One57, VIA 57 West (the Durst Organization pyramid building located at 625 West 57th Street), the Museum of Modern Art Tower, the Baccarat Hotel, Greenwich Lane, 15 Central Park West, 56 Leonard Street, One Five One (formerly known as the Condé Nast Building/4 Times Square), One Manhattan Square, 111 Murray Street, Pacific Park (formerly known as the Atlantic Yards), 125 Greenwich Street, The Eleventh (76 Eleventh Avenue), 555 Tenth Avenue, One Bryant Park, Gotham West, 5 Times Square, Times Square Tower, and many others.

David A. Ephraim | Morrison Foerster David Ephraim serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Transactions Department and managing partner of the Boston office. He represents banks, other institutional lenders, debt and equity funds, commercial finance companies, mezzanine funds, second lien funds, and various other non–bank lenders. David represents clients on all aspects of secured lending, including asset–based financing, fund finance, venture debt, second lien financing, mezzanine financing, receivables financing, acquisition financing, syndications, loan restructurings, and workouts. A substantial part of his practice involves cross–border financing transactions.

Jordan Eth | Morrison Foerster Jordan Eth is a partner in Morrison Foerster's Securities Litigation group. Jordan is one of the leading securities litigators in the United States, known for his success in handling complex, high-stakes cases. He has more than 30 years of experience representing public companies and their officers and directors in: Securities class actions SEC investigations Derivative suits Mergers and acquisitions litigation Internal investigations

Matthew Ferry | Morrison Foerster Matt Ferry is a partner in the San Diego office and a member of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group, advising innovative and mission-driven life sciences and technology companies. Matt has more than a decade of experience in structuring, drafting, negotiating, and executing strategic transactions where intellectual property (IP), technology, data, and information assets drive the deal. Matt is passionate about and focuses his practice on assisting innovative companies in industries where the betterment of people’s lives and the world is in view, including in the broader life sciences and technology areas, such as: Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (including small molecule pharmaceuticals, biologics, nanotherapeutics, drug discovery, antibodies, cell and gene therapy, CRISPR and other gene editing technologies, drug delivery, immunology, and oncology); and Medtech and healthtech (including medical devices, digital health, and other forms of software and hardware in diagnostic and therapeutic applications); and Food and agriculture (including in plants and crop sciences, agriculture and farming, alternative proteins, animal and plant production, and food products and consumer goods); and Cleantech (including renewable energy, biofuels, plastic recycling and carbon capture).

Thomas Fileti | Morrison Foerster Tom Fileti is the co-chair of the firm’s U.S. Real Estate Group. He represents a broad spectrum of clients in connection with investments in, and the financing, development, operation, and disposition of, real estate assets in California and throughout the United States. He has a track record of representing clients with substantial and complex transactions. Tom’s practice emphasizes transactions involving REITs; acquisition and disposition of real estate assets, loans, and portfolios; real estate finance transactions and credit facilities of all types; matters involving the financing, acquisition, operation, and disposition of hotels and resorts; real estate joint ventures and other equity investments involving development projects, acquisitions, and portfolios; credit lease and master lease transactions involving corporate real estate assets and real estate aspects of mergers and acquisitions involving companies with deep real estate footprints; and workouts, restructurings, exercise of remedies and dispositions with respect to problem loans, troubled joint ventures, and other problem real estate investments. His practice involves all property types, including office, residential (multi-family, subdivisions, and condominiums), retail, hospitality, mixed-use, industrial, and land development projects. Tom regularly represents financial institutions and other clients in connection with syndicated credit facilities; A/B notes and participation arrangements; mezzanine financing; and intercreditor and co-lender arrangements related to the financing of major real estate projects. Tom’s REIT practice includes such matters as representing REITs and contributors in connection with tax deferred roll-up transactions involving the receipt of common and custom-tailored preferred operating partnership units; representing clients selling projects to REITs in taxable transactions involving cash consideration or REIT securities; representing lenders providing financing to REITs for working capital and acquisition or development lines (including credit facilities in connection with REIT IPOs); and representing REITs or their counterparties in connection with joint ventures, purchase and sale transactions involving individual projects and portfolios, development projects, credit facilities, mortgage and mezzanine loan investments, and other matters.

Rachel Miras Fiorill | Morrison Foerster Rachel Fiorill is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s National Security Group. Having served as an Enforcement Section Chief at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and with over a decade of private sector experience, Rachel brings unparalleled experience in economic sanctions, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML), U.S. government and internal investigations, export controls, and national security matters. Clients seek Rachel’s counsel on their most complex sanctions enforcement and compliance matters, including those in relation to meeting OFAC’s sanctions compliance program expectations. Rachel draws on her previous OFAC Enforcement Division leadership experience and her experiences collaborating with senior management and agency officials within the Treasury Department to provide her clients with practical, risk-based advice regarding sanctions enforcement and compliance.

Anthony Fiotto | Morrison Foerster Tony Fiotto is a first-chair trial and arbitration lawyer with more than 35 years of experience representing clients in general commercial and securities litigation, as well as merger and acquisition (M&A) disputes. Over the span of his career, Tony has represented clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including those pertaining to private equity, venture capital, real estate investment, hospitality, and healthcare and life sciences. He is also highly regarded for his work in alternative dispute resolution and has represented clients from diverse industries in mediations and arbitrations. Tony has successfully obtained numerous dismissals before trial for a broad range of clients facing shareholder class actions and derivative lawsuits challenging mergers. He has also represented clients in dissenting shareholder appraisal proceedings in Delaware and other states on behalf of subject corporations and dissenting institutional shareholders. Before joining MoFo, Tony was a partner at a leading global law firm, where he previously served as chair of the Securities Litigation, White Collar Defense, and Business Litigation practice groups. Tony received his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law, where he served as the articles editor for the Boston University Law Review. After law school, Tony served as a law clerk for the Honorable Raymond Pettine for the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Joseph Charles Folio III | Morrison Foerster Joseph Folio is a trial lawyer and partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law, Congressional Investigations (co-chair), Crisis Management, and Privacy + Data Security Groups, with more than a dozen years of experience leading complex government investigations and high-profile litigation. Joe has extensive experience in cartel investigations, congressional investigations, and complex civil litigation. Having served in all three branches of the federal government, and with his experience in both criminal and civil litigation, Joe is able to leverage his insider knowledge across a variety of enforcement perspectives to guide clients through difficult cases. He is also a member of our global ESG + Sustainability steering committee. As a prosecutor in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), he investigated companies and individuals involved in domestic and international antitrust cartels. Among them, he oversaw all aspects of the investigation into generic pharmaceuticals as the case’s chief of staff, including the handling of the parallel multidistrict litigation case brought by several state attorneys general and private plaintiffs. He also prosecuted and investigated cases in the international freight forwarding industry and cases involving bid rigging in state infrastructure projects. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Joe served as Chief Counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, the chief oversight committee of the U.S. Senate. In this position, he oversaw a variety of investigations, including the coordination of investigations with other Senate and House committees with overlapping jurisdictions. He also advised the committee on all policy issues falling within its broad jurisdiction, including cybersecurity, border security, domestic terrorism, election security, supply chain security (including 5G policy), and reforming the National Emergencies Act. Joe advised committee members on oversight of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security, legislation providing CISA with administrative subpoena authority, the creation of the National Cyber Director, and oversight of government and private efforts to protect against and respond to cyber breaches and ransomware attacks. While at the Federal Programs Branch of the DOJ’s Civil Division, Joe handled complex, high-profile litigation, focusing largely on national security matters, and his clients included the FBI; the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State; and several members of the U.S. Intelligence Community. He also represented the Export-Import Bank against multiple administrative and constitutional challenges. Due to the cutting-edge nature of this litigation, he has experience navigating the inter-agency process when cases raise novel legal or policy issues that must be resolved at the highest levels. Joe received his B.A., magna cum laude, in philosophy and government from Georgetown University; M.A. with honors in national security studies from Georgetown University; and J.D., cum laude, from the George Mason University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Joe clerked for the Honorable Richard L. Voorhees in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

Benjamin Fox | Morrison Foerster Ben’s extensive trial practice focuses on high-stakes intellectual property disputes and constitutional issues, among other areas. A former co–chair of the firm’s Global Litigation Department, he also counsels clients on risk assessment and strategies for complex legal problems that cross jurisdictions and practice areas. His industry experience includes representing clients in the electronic entertainment, software and animation, jewelry and consumer goods, and sports and gaming industries, as well as litigation involving medical devices and healthcare technology, financial services, transportation, and commercial real estate projects. He is regularly involved in “bet the company” cases for plaintiffs and defendants in trade secrets, copyright, trademark, and patent litigation, and other commercial disputes.

Paul Friedman

Peter J. Fusco | Morrison Foerster Peter Fusco is a partner in the firm’s New York office and is Co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group. He represents venture funds and tech companies throughout their lifecycle, from pre-incorporation planning to angel, seed, and growth rounds to exit transactions. Peter has been representing tech companies for more than two decades in the New York ecosystem and serves as outside general counsel to many startups, growth-stage companies, and venture funds. He also works closely with NYU/Tandon Future Lab’s incubator ecosystem and its related programs.

Marc-Alain Galeazzi

Marc-Alain Galeazzi | Morrison Foerster Marc-Alain’s practice focuses on advising and counseling domestic and foreign financial institutions on a variety of bank regulatory, Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and transactional matters. Marc-Alain has significant experience representing global financial institutions in criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions as well as addressing weaknesses and shortcomings in their BSA/AML compliance frameworks. He also advises clients on all AML-related issues in connection with ESG, M&A, strategic investments and private equity funds, embedded finance, blockchain and digital assets, and other corporate transactions. Marc-Alain is adept at assisting clients to build ground up BSA/AML policies and procedures, and he works closely with banks and fintechs to navigate BSA/AML considerations related to Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and other partnership arrangements.

Tushna Gamadia | Morrison Foerster Tushna Gamadia has over two decades of experience representing clients in complex commercial real estate transactions, with a particular emphasis on joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions of properties, and real estate finance. Tushna regularly represents domestic and overseas investors and developers in joint venture projects throughout the United States and in the acquisition, financing, management, development, and sale of these projects. She has worked on the purchase, sale, development, leasing, and operation of commercial real estate properties, including shopping centers, office buildings, multi-family residential properties, mixed-use condominium projects, and hotels. She has advised borrowers and lenders on all aspects of real estate finance, including securitized lending, balance sheet lending, syndicated loan transactions, construction loans, preferred equity, and private equity transactions. Tushna also has experience representing developers in obtaining EB-5 financing for development projects.

Click here for attorney bio. Megan Gerking is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law practice, specializing in government-facing antitrust matters. Megan represents companies in criminal and civil conduct investigations before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state enforcers and in all phases of the merger review process before U.S. and foreign competition authorities. Megan, a former trial attorney with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, is an experienced antitrust attorney focused on complex antitrust law matters, including government investigations, strategic transactions, and civil litigation. She regularly counsels clients on antitrust issues arising from industry consortiums, trade association activities, and other collaborations. While serving in the Antitrust Division, Megan investigated and prosecuted federal antitrust violations and international cartel cases. She leverages her DOJ experience when reviewing, developing, and implementing clients’ antitrust compliance programs and routinely delivers antitrust compliance training for employees. As part of Megan’s merger practice, she regularly helps clients in all aspects of merger review, including developing strategy for structuring transactions, assessing and complying with obligations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”), and securing clearance from antitrust enforcers in the United States and abroad. Megan has represented third parties in agency reviews of deals, including at trial. Megan has experience representing clients across a broad range of industries, including media, telecom, technology and software, financial services, consumer products, aviation, higher education, manufacturing, agriculture, and life sciences. While in the Antitrust Division, Megan prosecuted the first individual extradited to the United States on an antitrust charge. For her work investigating and prosecuting international price fixing, bid rigging, and market-allocation conspiracies by automotive parts suppliers, Megan earned the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Megan was also awarded the DOJ’s Outstanding Mentor Award by the Attorney General. Further, she was recognized this past year in Bloomberg Law’s 40 Under 40 and as a finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2022 Young Lawyer of the Year. Additionally, Megan has served as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network (ICN) and spoke at the ICN Cartel Workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2022. Megan is also a member of our global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee. Megan is currently an editor of ABA magazine The Antitrust Source. Megan received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served on the editorial board of The Tax Lawyer. She received her B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan. Before attending law school, Megan worked in the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, assisting the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division in all media matters and serving as a spokesperson for national media. She also worked as a paralegal for the Antitrust Division, supporting trial attorneys investigating and prosecuting corporations and individuals for violations of criminal antitrust laws. Representative Experience Criminal and Civil Antitrust Investigations Obtained non-prosecution protection for two healthcare companies she represented in separate DOJ Antitrust Division criminal investigations. Represented an energy company in a criminal investigation. Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into market allocation and bid rigging of generic drugs by the DOJ. Regularly advises senior executives on DOJ antitrust criminal investigations involving allegations of price fixing, market and customer allocation, and bid rigging and obtained non-prosecution protection for several individuals. Assisted a technology company in an FTC monopolization investigation. Represented a private equity fund in a state AG investigation. Counseled a senior executive in an international criminal cartel investigation. Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into conduct related to the hiring of employees. Antitrust Merger Review ShowingTime. Navigated ShowingTime Inc., a leading real estate showing management and market stats technology provider, through an extended review by the Federal Trade Commission of its $500 million vertical acquisition by Zillow Group. Unity Technologies Corp. Obtained merger clearances for Unity in connection with an asset carve-out acquisition from Weta Digital for certain assets, including its audiovisual effects development and management software tools, for a purchase price of $1.625 billion. Grant Thornton. Advised and obtained merger clearances for Grant Thornton LLP in connection with the sale of its Public Sector Advisory practice to Guidehouse. Divvy. Represented Divvy, a leader in spend management, in its $2.5 billion stock and cash sale to Bill.com. NTT LTD. Represented NTT, a leading IT infrastructure and services company, in its $330 million cash sale of WhiteHat Security to Synopsys, Inc. Palo Alto Networks. Advised Palo Alto Networks on its agreement to acquire Cider Security, a pioneer in application security and software supply chain security. Continental Building Products. Represented Continental Building Products, a North American leader in wallboard and joint compound materials, in negotiations to secure antitrust approvals for its sale to Saint-Gobain. The transaction cleared without a “second request” investigation. The Walt Disney Company. Assisted The Walt Disney Co. in its $71 billion acquisition of certain businesses from 21st Century Fox. Bombardier. Represented Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in connection with the worldwide antitrust clearance of its sale of a controlling interest in the “C Series” line of commercial passenger jets to Airbus. The transaction cleared without any second-phase reviews. Advised third parties on civil investigative demand (CID) responses, including Nouryon, a global specialty chemical leader, as a third-party witness in an FTC litigation challenge of a transaction between Evonik and PeroxyChem. Counseled corporate clients on antitrust issues in complex transactions, including collaborations, joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers. Antitrust Litigation Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Representing Glenmark in a federal antitrust multidistrict litigation alleging price fixing and market allocation of generic drugs by manufacturers of generic drugs. Nexstar Media Group. Representing Nexstar, America’s largest local television and media company, in federal antitrust litigation alleging price fixing in television advertising. Represented a leading international financial institution in multiple, sprawling class action lawsuits alleging a global conspiracy by some of the world’s largest banks to manipulate the interbank offer rate (IBOR) benchmark for multiple currencies.

David Givner | Morrison Foerster David represents banks and other institutional lenders, venture debt funds, and other mezzanine funds in single-lender and multi-lender financing arrangements with global companies in the areas of hardware, software, technology, fintech, life sciences, entertainment, cleantech, ESG, and renewable energy. The financing arrangements David has advised on include all aspects of secured and unsecured lending, including asset–based financing, SaaS financing, fintech, second lien financing, mezzanine financing, participation arrangements, syndications intercreditor agreements, subordination agreements, receivables purchase facilities, acquisition financing, loan restructurings, and workouts.

Michael R. Glaser | Morrison Foerster Michael Glaser is a partner in the San Francisco office of Morrison Foerster and is co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group. Described as “one of the finest venture capital lawyers I have ever worked with” by a client in Chambers USA, Michael offers more than two decades of experience advising innovative startup and investor clients. Michael represents startups from formation through exit in multiple industries, including consumer e-commerce, interactive entertainment, digital media, consumer products, sharing economy, cloud services, on-prem software, fintech, and digital health sectors. Michael has represented startups in hundreds of venture capital transactions, with pre-money valuations ranging from millions to billions of dollars. Michael’s clients have been funded by top tier venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Benchmark, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Khosla Ventures. Michael also represents his startup clients in M&A deals, and has advised companies in numerous high-value exit transactions with leading serial acquirers.

Arturo González

Arturo González | Morrison Foerster Arturo is one of the nation’s top trial lawyers. One federal judge said his “trial advocacy skills were superior,” while a federal magistrate described his trial skills as “phenomenal.” He is sought after by America’s largest companies, in part because of his ability to communicate with increasingly diverse juries. Arturo has had great success representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He may be the only lawyer in the country to obtain defense victories for clients in multiple billion dollar matters and also four jury verdicts in excess of $10 million, including verdicts of $39.3 and $13.8 million in trade secrets cases. Arturo is a Fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and an associate with the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Joseph C. Gratz | Patent Litigation, Trademark & AI Law | Morrison Foerster Clients turn to Joe Gratz to handle trailblazing litigation where copyright and trademark law meet new technologies. An experienced litigator, Joe draws on his strong technical background to distill complex issues into simple, accurate concepts for judges, juries, and clients. Joe’s cases have set key precedents in Internet law, from the Google Books case that laid the groundwork for today’s generative AI innovations to key cases establishing the boundaries of intermediary liability. In addition to representing their interests in the courtroom, Joe helps his clients navigate their thorniest product counseling puzzles to reduce the risk of litigation. His appellate victory in Long v. Facebook set the standard for platforms in carrying out DMCA removals of user-generated content. And Joe’s win in Stevens v. CoreLogic established limitations on DMCA 1202 claims that have since been adopted by numerous other courts. His amicus brief on behalf of independent booksellers was cited by the Supreme Court in its opinion in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng, and he has submitted amicus briefs in other copyright cases on behalf of Center for Democracy & Technology (in Oracle v. Google) and on behalf of art law professors (in Warhol v. Goldsmith).

Jocelyn Edith Greer | Morrison Foerster Jocelyn Greer is a member of Morrison Foerster's litigation practice. Her experience focuses on complex commercial litigation, including securities litigation, investigations, and transactional disputes. Jocelyn handles securities fraud claims at all stages of litigation, government investigations, and extensive and varied pro bono work. Jocelyn has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts and with federal agencies. Jocelyn has played a first-chair role in litigating cases from discovery to trial in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She also recently managed a team representing a client in a SEC accounting fraud investigation that resulted in no charges. In addition, she has researched and drafted numerous successful filings, including several motions to dismiss securities and fraud claims, temporary restraining orders to halt the misappropriation of clients’ property, and complaints and arbitration demands alleging fraud, breach of contract and trademark infringement. Jocelyn is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she served as Staff Editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and as a member of the Black Law Students Association. She also provided legal assistance to incarcerated clients suffering from civil rights violations as part of a Columbia Law School clinic: “Challenging the Consequences of Mass Incarceration.”

Justin H. Haan | Morrison Foerster Justin Haan is a partner in the firm’s Technology Transactions Group in the San Francisco office, advising leading technology industry pioneers to help them navigate their most critical IP and technology needs. Justin’s practice focuses on transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology, including licensing arrangements, technology transfers, and joint development activities. Justin structures, drafts, and negotiates a wide range of commercial agreements, including software and content licenses, service agreements, reseller arrangements, and collaboration, manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements. He advises clients on the development, procurement and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented/virtual reality, semiconductors, cloud computing services, autonomous vehicles, and unmanned aircraft systems. Justin also counsels clients on open source software, complex patent-related transactions, and the intellectual property aspects of M&A transactions.

Vivian L. Hanson | Morrison Foerster Vivian is chair of Morrison Foerster’s Sourcing practice. Vivian has concentrated her practice on domestic and multijurisdictional transactions involving technology and intellectual property (IP) for clients in the media and entertainment, information services, information technologies (IT), financial services, and life sciences industries. Clients rely on her extensive experience with: Software technology and IP licenses Technology transfers Cloud and software-as-a-service agreements Business process and IT outsourcings Technology-related services transactions Joint ventures Strategic alliances Mergers and acquisitions She also regularly advises global Japanese clients on a wide range of technology and services-related projects and is fluent in Japanese.

Timothy Harris | Morrison Foerster Tim is the Managing Partner of the Palo Alto Office and a partner in the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Group. He specializes in representing startup companies and venture capital investors in corporate and securities matters. In his practice, Tim advises startups from formation through acquisition or initial public offering in matters including venture capital financing, debt financing, equity incentive compensation, corporate governance and technology development (including licensing, joint development, distribution, and other technology transfer matters). He also represents venture capital firms, strategic corporate investors, and angel investors in their investments in startup companies.

John Hensley | Morrison Foerster John Hensley is a partner in the firm’s Capital Markets and Public Company Advisory & Governance practices. He represents publicly and privately held companies in a variety of corporate and securities law matters. John represents both issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and private placements, including offerings of common and preferred equity, debt, and convertible debt. In addition, John regularly advises numerous public company clients regarding general business matters, corporate governance issues and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

Christin Hill | Morrison Foerster Christin Hill is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm's Securities Litigation group. Christin has extensive experience representing clients in securities class actions, derivative actions and other complex civil litigation in both federal and state courts, as well as in government and internal investigations. With over a decade of experience in private practice, Christin has successfully represented public companies and their boards of directors and officers in securities fraud actions, derivative actions, SEC enforcement actions, internal investigations, and general corporate counseling. She also has experience working with pre-IPO companies in complex civil litigation in both federal and state court, internal investigations, responding to government inquiries, and advising on general compliance matters. Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Christin served as senior counsel at Uber Technologies, Inc., where she managed complex civil litigation including consumer class actions, intellectual property matters, and government investigations. She was also a lead member of Uber’s global compliance team, through which she created and implemented new compliance policies and training programs and advised company management in responding to government inquiries. Christin also served as an assistant district attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she successfully prosecuted three misdemeanor criminal jury trials. Early in her career, she served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable John A. Houston in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Patrick D. Huard | Morrison Foerster Patrick Huard is the Global Co-Chair of the Private Equity Practice. Specializing in private equity M&A, he sits in the San Francisco office. Patrick has significant experience representing private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a broad range of corporate matters, including public and private acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, venture and growth equity investments, and divestitures. Clients rely on him for both his sophisticated legal counseling as well as his sharp business acumen. Patrick advises private equity sponsors in all aspects of their investment activity across a wide variety of industry sectors, including software and technology, business services, consumer and retail, professional and industrial services, and ESG/impact investing. Patrick is also a member of our global ESG + Sustainability steering committee.

Richard S.J. Hung | Morrison Foerster “ I love working with the brightest legal talent to help clients with their toughest IP litigation matters. Rich is the Global Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department. He previously co-led the firm’s IP Litigation Group and the cross–disciplinary Intellectual Property Group for over a decade. He brings his knowledge as a registered patent lawyer and a Federal Circuit clerk to lead complex technology matters for clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in high–stakes patent litigation, competitor‑on–competitor cases, non–practicing entity assertions, and trade secret misappropriation disputes—obtaining consent judgments in multiple cases. Rich also represents clients in adversarial proceedings before the U.S. PTO and counsels clients on strategic offensive and defensive patent licensing and acquisition issues. His matters have spanned a broad range of technologies, including: Internet search Cryptography Programmable logic devices Graphical user interfaces Smartphones Water filtration consumer appliances

Adam J. Hunt | Morrison Foerster Adam J. Hunt is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s New York office. His practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on class action and commercial litigation. Mr. Hunt has extensive experience representing consumer products companies, financial institutions, and technology firms in class action cases and complex commercial disputes before state and federal trial courts, as well as in arbitrations. Clients seek Mr. Hunt’s counsel for his creative, strategic thinking in high-stakes, high-profile matters. He has represented clients facing claims under false advertising, antitrust, and privacy laws throughout the country, securing wins at the pleading stage, summary judgment, and trial, in addition to negotiating favorable settlements, often early in the case. Representative experience includes successfully securing rulings dismissing two putative false advertising class action cases against one of the best-known consumer electronics companies in the world; obtaining a complete win on summary judgment for a major shipping and logistics company in a multimillion-dollar commercial dispute; appearing as counsel at trial for a leading financial institution in a $100 million commercial dispute, winning a bench trial verdict; and prevailing on motions to dismiss false advertising class actions against a leading Greek yogurt company. Mr. Hunt is also an editor of the firm’s Class Dismissed blog, which provides insights, recommendations, and timely reports on the latest defense news, developments, and trends in the most current class action lawsuits that affect consumer-facing companies. Mr. Hunt maintains an active pro bono practice and is the recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s 2017 President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the First Judicial Department, the 2018 Public Service Award from New York University School of Law, and Morrison Foerster’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Services. Mr. Hunt received his B.A. with honors from Swarthmore College and his J.D. cum laude from New York University.

Murray A. Indick | Morrison Foerster Murray Indick is a corporate partner in the Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group. Murray represents fast-growing innovative businesses, catering to a diverse range of clients that span from visionary entrepreneurs to well‑established companies in later stages of development. With almost forty years of experience in corporate law, investment funds, and related fields, Murray has garnered extensive expertise through private practice as well as his roles as partner and general counsel to Blum Capital Partners (1997 – 2004) and partner and general counsel to Prides Capital Partners (2004 – 2010). Throughout his tenure with these firms, which collectively raised and deployed approximately $6 billion, Murray successfully made strategic investments across the globe.

Jeff Jaeckel | Morrison Foerster Jeff has notable experience representing public and private corporations in connection with their most significant and complicated antitrust litigation in federal and state courts. He regularly represents clients in all antitrust aspects of complicated transactional matters, including strategy and structuring of transactions to avoid antitrust risk and achieve strategic business objectives, and U.S. and multinational merger notification and review. Jeff also represents domestic and international companies in connection with government investigations of conduct, including civil investigations relating to monopolization or criminal investigations of alleged price-fixing. Jeff also assists clients in the protection of their intellectual property and counsels clients on the antitrust ramifications of commercial agreements to capitalize on the value of intellectual property. Jeff represents clients across a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, semiconductors, software, Internet services, transportation, consumer products, telecommunications, and media and entertainment. In addition to his active practice, Jeff is Morrison Foerster’s Vice Chair. Jeff formerly served as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group and as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, and co-chair of the firm’s eDiscovery Task Force. Jeff serves as an associate editor of the Antitrust Magazine of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section. He graduated with honors and was a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international honor society in Economics. He was a writing staff member for the Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, and was elected to Order of the Coif.

Matt Karlyn | Morrison Foerster Matt Karlyn has 25 years of experience in working with companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, medical device, and technology industries on a wide range of commercial life sciences, licensing, and technology transactions. His clients range from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups, and he regularly advises companies on matters involving IP commercialization, complex collaboration transactions, licensing initiatives, subscription-based economics, and business transactions related to the procurement, development, commercialization, and use of technology and life sciences products. He has also worked with a number of clients on corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, as well as private equity and venture capital financing.

David Kaufman | Morrison Foerster David concentrates on structured transactions involving commodities and derivatives. He also has extensive experience with mergers, acquisitions, and corporate reorganizations. David works closely with the firm’s financial institution and end-user clients in the commodity, equity, fixed income, and credit derivative markets, often assisting clients in developing and structuring products and transactions and evaluating such products and transactions under applicable securities and commodities law. In his regulatory work, David focuses on the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s regulations, including the statutory and regulatory regime resulting from Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act. David represents major commodities dealers, trading firms, and investments funds, as well as commercial end-users, in commodity-based transactions involving energy, precious and base metals, currencies, and agricultural products. His work in these areas has involved structuring and documenting trading, hedging, financing, supply and offtake, storage, processing, and tolling transactions, together with associated margin and other collateral arrangements. He also represents funds and individuals in negotiating and documenting equity derivative transactions designed to hedge and/or monetize large or illiquid share positions.

Ryan Keats | Morrison Foerster Co-chair of the firm’s Securities Litigation Group, Ryan Keats represents companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, SEC investigations, shareholder derivative lawsuits, and other high-stakes litigation. Ryan represents issuers facing disputes with their shareholders in state and federal courts across the country. His representations routinely include securities class actions, derivative lawsuits, securities fraud allegations, insider trading claims, and shareholder books and records demands. Ryan’s practice is complemented by his representation of issuers and executives in connection with internal investigations and government inquiries, as well as in litigation brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government regulators. Ryan is sought after for his ability to prevail on motions to dismiss, at summary judgment, on the merits, and on appeal.

Spencer D. Klein | Morrison Foerster Spencer Klein is a corporate partner and serves as co-chair of the firm's global Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Spencer focuses his practice on M+A transactions and related matters such as proxy contests and takeover defense counseling. He has advised on more than 200 successfully closed mergers, tender and exchange offers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. He is also a veteran of numerous contested matters and regularly counsels corporate boards and committees in transactional and high-profile corporate governance matters. Spencer frequently advises leading U.S. and multinational companies across multiple industries. His engagements include multi-billion dollar deals in health care and life sciences, financial services, technology, consumer products, manufacturing, retail, energy, and entertainment and media. In addition to prominent corporate clients and private equity funds, he has represented some of the world's leading bulge bracket and boutique investment banks.

Erik G. Knudsen | Morrison Foerster Erik Knudsen is a corporate partner and serves as co-chair of the firm's global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. He is also a member of the Private Equity Buyouts & Investment Group. Erik focuses his practice on complex business transactions, including leveraged buyouts, strategic mergers, acquisitions, investments and joint ventures, reorganizations, growth equity and venture capital investments, and divestitures. With a broad industry reach, Erik has led transactions in diverse sectors such as healthcare, industrial, software, internet, technology, business services, distribution, and manufacturing. His industry‑specific knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the private equity market and corporate counsel requirements position him as a trusted advisor for clients navigating complex business landscapes.

Kenneth Kohler | Morrison Foerster Kenneth E. Kohler is senior of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Los Angeles office and a member of the firm’s Capital Markets practice. His practice involves a broad range of corporate and capital markets work, including public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions of public and private companies, and disclosure and reporting matters under the federal securities laws. Kenneth also has extensive experience representing banks, REITs, mortgage bankers, and others in corporate finance, structured finance, and securitization transactions. Kenneth is an active member of the Sections of Business Law and International Law of the American Bar Association and is also a contributor to Covered Bonds Handbook, published by Practising Law Institute.

James Koukios | Morrison Foerster James Koukios is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group and also serves as co-head of the FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Practice. James represents companies and individuals in high-stakes government enforcement actions and complex internal investigations. He has handled matters across a wide range of jurisdictions including Brazil, China, Greece, India, Russia, Venezuela, and Vietnam, among others. James draws on his experience as a federal prosecutor, when he tried over 20 federal jury cases and supervised hundreds of white collar investigations, to obtain the best results for his clients. He is consistently praised for his judgment and advocacy in complex investigations and enforcement actions. Chambers USA notes that he is “super experienced with excellent judgement regarding what the government is looking for and concerned about,“ while Chambers Global describes James as, “a forceful advocate when appearing before the government.” Before joining Morrison Foerster, James spent 10 years at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), beginning as an Assistant United States Attorney in Miami and finishing as Senior Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., where he supervised investigations, prosecutions, and resolutions in the Fraud Section’s FCPA, Health Care Fraud, and Market Integrity and Major Fraud Units. While at DOJ, James investigated and prosecuted health care fraud, procurement fraud, domestic and foreign corruption, money laundering, and export control offenses, working closely with state, federal, and foreign law enforcement officials, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce, and intelligence agencies. While at DOJ, James assisted in drafting the widely acclaimed DOJ and SEC joint publication A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which followed a series of consultations with business and compliance leaders. He was also a lead examiner for the Phase 2 examination of Russia’s compliance with the Anti-Bribery Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). James has been recognized as: a leading lawyer in FCPA (Nationwide and Global) by Chambers USA and Chambers Global; a recommended lawyer for corporate investigations and white collar defense by Legal 500; an “Expert” and a “Thought Leader” in investigations by Who’s Who Legal; and an “Attorney Who Matters” by the Ethisphere Institute for making an impact in the area of ethics and compliance. He also received the Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in recognition for his work on two landmark FCPA-related trials: United States v. Esquenazi and United States v. Duperval. James also served as a lead prosecutor in United States v. AEY Inc., a defense procurement fraud and export licensing case that served as the basis for the 2016 film War Dogs.

Todd L. Krause Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Todd Krause is a partner and member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. Todd has over 25 years of experience successfully litigating patent cases for leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. To help his clients succeed, Todd clearly defines their strategic objectives, develops compelling trial themes early in the case, focuses his teams on issues that truly matter, and distills complex issues down to clear, factfinder-friendly trial arguments. With a Ph.D. in biological sciences and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, Todd brings a profound understanding of the scientific aspects of his cases. Todd has guided teams in numerous Hatch-Waxman litigations (most involving blockbuster drugs) and a diverse range of matters in the life sciences industry, including small-molecule and biologic drugs, medical devices, gene amplification techniques, cell-based assays, veterinary vaccines, and recombinant nucleic acids and proteins.

Jim Krenn | Morrison Foerster Jim Krenn is a corporate partner and co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group. Jim has extensive experience representing private and public companies and investors in significant business transactions from formation through liquidity. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, and emerging company counseling. His clients span a broad range of industries, with a concentration in life science and technology companies.

Kenneth Kuwayti

Kenneth Kuwayti | Morrison Foerster Ken has more than 25 years of experience in intellectual property and other complex, high-stakes commercial litigation and trials. His cases have involved a broad range of technology industries, including software, semiconductor, Internet, and medical devices. Ken has successfully brought and defended numerous trade secret cases in state and federal court. He was a member of the team that successfully tried a recent high-profile smartphone case leading to a jury verdict of over $900 million. He also represented the University of California in patent litigation against a leading life sciences company over a pioneering patent involving human growth hormone. The resulting $200 million settlement, reached after a six-week jury trial, remains one of the top-ten settlements in any biotechnology patent case in the United States. Ken also represents public companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, internal investigations, and SEC proceedings. He frequently litigates disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. In addition, he represents privately funded and emerging companies in disputes over corporate governance and breaches of fiduciary duty, as well as in disputes among boards of directors, investors, partners, and founders.

John Lanham | Morrison Foerster John Lanham is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. John focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and commercial litigation. John brings his broad-based business litigation experience to bear on his clients’ most challenging disputes. John has worked in both the San Diego and Denver offices of Morrison Foerster. He has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, financial, communications, information technology, natural resources, and healthcare industries. John regularly assists clients with all phases of litigation, including development of case strategy, dispositive motions, claim construction, fact discovery, expert discovery, trial preparation, alternative dispute resolution, and taking and defending the depositions of both fact and expert witnesses.

Oksana Lashko | Morrison Foerster Oksana Lashko is a partner in the Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group based in the New York office. Oksana represents debtors/borrowers, secured and unsecured creditors, official and ad hoc committees, and other significant parties‑in-interest in Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings, cross-border insolvency matters, and various bankruptcy-related transactions and investments, including section 363 sales, financings, liability management transactions, as well as complex litigation matters. Over the course of her career, Oksana has built a successful creditors’ committee practice. Her experience spans diverse industries, including media, real estate, energy, consumer and retail, manufacturing, oil and gas, sports, and financial services, showcasing her expertise in handling high stakes, contentious, and complex restructurings. She also advises clients on navigating complex debt capitalization structures, intercreditor arrangements, and syndicated leveraged transactions.

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J. Alexander Lawrence

J. Lawrence | Morrison Foerster Alex advises on all aspects of complex commercial litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts and in arbitration. As an attorney, he has represented U.S. and international clients in actions involving a wide array of complex commercial disputes. Alex regularly advises clients on e-discovery issues and best practices. As a lawyer, he has significant experience handling cases involving Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, representing major technology companies in high-profile litigation concerning the liability of online platforms for user-generated content. Alex has demonstrated a strong commitment to pro bono work throughout his career. In 2023, he was recognized with the American Lawyer Corporate Purpose award and at the Financial Times Lawyers Awards for the firm’s Post-Dobbs reproductive rights work. He has also been named multiple times in the National Law Journal’s Pro Bono Hot List for his work protecting reproductive rights, and for his work protecting individuals who were jailed for their inability to pay court fees and fines.

Eric D. Lawson | Morrison Foerster Eric Lawson is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation and Commercial Litigation groups. Eric regularly defends clients in securities and shareholder litigation, complex commercial litigation, and other high-stakes litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Prior to joining MoFo, Eric worked at another AmLaw 50 law firm and completed a secondment as an assistant district attorney for New York’s Kings County District Attorney’s Office. He also previously served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Eric earned his B.A. in economics from Tufts University and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law. While in law school, he was the senior executive editor of the Journal of Law and Liberty.

Gary Lee | Morrison Foerster Gary advises clients on restructuring and insolvency matters in the United States, United Kingdom, continental Europe, and Asia. Gary represents debtors and creditors in domestic and cross-border restructuring and liquidation proceedings. He has represented an ad hoc group of holders of “Constitutional Debt” issued or guaranteed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and has acted as lead counsel to Residential Capital and its subsidiaries in their chapter 11 cases. He has been heavily involved in the implementation of foreign liquidations and schemes of arrangement in the United States and closely involved with issues arising under chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Notably, Gary represented two of the largest Icelandic banks in their restructuring proceedings in Iceland. He has also acted as counsel to the acquirer — in and out of chapter 11 — in several major international asset purchases of mining, smelting, and oil and gas operations

Joshua N. Lerner | Morrison Foerster Josh Lerner is a partner in the Executive Compensation + Benefits Group based in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. Josh advises clients on all matters involving the compensation of senior executives, including employment, change in control, equity compensation, and severance arrangements.

Scott Lesmes | Morrison Foerster Scott Lesmes chairs Morrison Foerster’s Public Company Advisory & Governance practice, and is a partner in the firm's Capital Markets practice. Scott focuses his practice on counseling clients with respect to corporate and securities matters. He advises publicly-listed companies and boards of directors on a broad range of securities regulation and corporate governance issues and has substantial experience in dealing with restatements and internal control concerns. Scott also counsels issuers and underwriters in the public offering process and in corporate compliance matters involving SEC reporting and disclosure requirements.

Jamie A. Levitt | Commercial + Securities Litigation | Morrison Foerster Jamie Levitt is a trial lawyer who serves as managing partner of the New York office and co-chair of the firm’s Securities Litigation group. She is also the former head of the New York Litigation Department and a former co-chair of both the firm’s Complex Litigation and Trial groups. She has represented public companies and their officers and directors in securities fraud actions, shareholder derivative suits, as well as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory investigations. She also has experience conducting and defending corporate internal investigations and advising board committees and individuals with respect to investigations. Jamie is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers USA in the New York: Commercial Litigation category, where clients noted that “she’s a force of nature, really thoughtful and a real leader” and “she is a phenomenal trial lawyer, she masters complex subjects quickly and can jump into court and handle them wonderfully.” She is also routinely recognized for her work in complex securities litigations by leading rankings publications including The Legal 500 US, where she is recommended in the Securities Litigation: Defense category. Jamie is also regularly recognized for being a leader both within the firm and in the legal industry more broadly. As a testament to Jamie’s impact as Managing Partner of the firm’s New York office, she received Corporate Counsel’s 2022 Managing Partner of the Year Award and was also recognized in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report for Innovative Leadership that same year. Notably, Jamie also accepted The American Lawyer’s 2023 Corporate Purpose Award, which honors an organization that has defined and executed on an initiative or overall mission that supports the well-being and welfare of its members or other stakeholders. Jamie has also been repeatedly honored for her commitment to pro bono work and advancing women in law. Among her many commendations, Jamie has been honored by: Appleseed at their 2024 Pillars of Justice Event to celebrate her commitment to reproductive rights advocacy and public service; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest at their 2024 Annual Law & Society Awards Luncheon for playing in integral role in advancing efforts to achieve justice for all New Yorkers; New York State Bar Association at their 2023 Annual Meeting of the Women in Law Section for her dedication to advancing the professional development of women attorneys through their Kay Crawford Murray Award; and Crain’s New York Business, who named Jamie to their Notable Women in Law list in 2019, which recognizes leading female attorneys in New York who are furthering justice. Jamie serves on numerous boards and committees of public interest groups, including having served on the Board of the Federal Bar Council and as past chair of its Public Service Committee; Chair of the Board of The Cooper Union; executive vice president and past chair of the Board of Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.; past chair of the Board of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; member of the Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works; member of the Board of VisionSpring; past member of the Board of the Center for Reproductive Rights; and the Legal Advisory Board for Sanctuary for Families. Jamie also sat on Morrison Foerster’s Board of Directors and its Governance Committee; was a former chair of Morrison Foerster’s Pro Bono Committee; and currently serves as chair of The Morrison Foerster Foundation. Jamie received her B.A. magna cum laude in 1988 from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. in 1992 from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. From 1993 to 1994, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

Max I. Levy | Morrison Foerster Max Levy is an associate in the Litigation Group in Morrison Foerster’s Palo Alto office. Max earned his J.D. from Stanford School of Law. During law school, he was a research assistant for the Stanford Cyber Policy Center.

Victor S. Liang | Morrison Foerster Victor’s practice focuses on the representation of borrowers, lenders and other financial institutions in connection with domestic and cross-border financial transactions, including: secured and unsecured financings, syndicated lending, asset and cash-flow based lending, warehouse facilities, acquisition finance, structured finance, leveraged finance, equipment finance and real estate-backed loans. Victor has substantial experience negotiating deals for clients in a wide range of industries and fields such as tech (e.g. fintech, proptech, edtech, medtech, blockchain and digital assets), financial services, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, impact investment lending, renewable energies and large-scale manufacturing, with an expertise in financing innovative and cutting-edge companies with intellectual property (including software and hardware). Victor also has a particular expertise working on bespoke, “outside-the-box” transactions that not only address unique credit/collateral needs but also require creating legal structures that optimize asset management, IP licensing and tax impacts.

Joyce Liou | Morrison Foerster Joyce Liou chairs the Trademark Group and is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. She engages in a broad intellectual property practice, with an emphasis on both IP counseling and litigation for a diverse roster of clients. Joyce has litigated numerous district court disputes involving trademark, copyright, false advertising, right of publicity, and unfair competition claims, and has secured preliminary injunctions, summary judgment rulings, and trial verdicts for her clients. In addition to federal litigation, she routinely handles proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and has extensive experience with trademark clearance, prosecution, licensing, and due diligence. Joyce manages IP portfolios and provides global strategies for industry giants and startups alike, from a broad spectrum of fields, including technology, consumer goods, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, food, and agriculture. Joyce’s successes have built her reputation as a recognized leader in trademark law. In 2022 and 2023, she was shortlisted for Trademark Lawyer of the Year by Euromoney Legal Media. Joyce serves on the Legislation and Regulation Committee for the International Trademark Association. Outside of her practice, Joyce is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the greater community. She serves on the Development Committee for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and participates in clinics to help individuals seeking U.S. naturalization or asylum on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Seth W. Lloyd | Morrison Foerster Seth Lloyd, a member of Morrison Foerster’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice, has been counsel in more than a hundred appeals in federal and state courts nationwide. Seth has presented oral arguments in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Seventh Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the Federal Circuit, as well as in the New Jersey Appellate Division. Seth has particular experience in patent appeals before the Federal Circuit. He has authored successful briefs for both patentees and defendants on a wide range of technologies, from medical devices to pharmaceuticals to computer hardware and software. His practice includes appeals from district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. Seth also has argued nine times in the Federal Circuit. His winning arguments include a successful reversal of three PTAB decisions in a consolidated appeal for a computer memory designer. Seth is co-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Administrative Law & Regulatory Committee. And he is an Editor of Morrison Foerster’s Federal Circuitry blog, which takes a data-driven approach to analyzing the Federal Circuit and its decisions. Seth regularly practices in the United States Supreme Court. He has drafted petitions and amicus briefs at the certiorari stage, as well as party and amicus briefs at the merits stage. Seth also moots members of the bar for Supreme Court arguments through the Georgetown Supreme Court Institute and is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. Seth’s clients and peers recognize his expertise. Legal 500 named Seth a Key Lawyer; Super Lawyers called him a Rising Star; and Best Lawyers in America added him to its Ones to Watch list, all for appellate practice. Before joining Morrison Foerster, Seth served as a law clerk for Judge Richard G. Taranto of the Federal Circuit. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he worked on two successful certiorari petitions and one successful merits case through Stanford’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. Seth also holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. During his graduate studies, he received the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, published 10 peer-reviewed articles, and co-invented the subject matter of five U.S. patents.

Bradley S. Lui | Morrison Foerster Bradley Lui is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Litigation Group, where his practice includes the representation of clients in criminal and civil litigation and before federal antitrust enforcement agencies. He has extensive civil and criminal antitrust litigation experience and regularly represents clients before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with mergers and acquisitions and cartel matters. He also represents clients in connection with cartel work and other matters before antitrust authorities in jurisdictions abroad, including the EU, Korea, and Japan. Brad has successfully defended clients in government investigations and antitrust litigation involving the rubber chemicals, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and transportation industries. In addition, he has successfully represented plaintiffs in a number of antitrust matters. Brad also provides antitrust counseling to companies in the consumer products, financial, technology, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Brad has served as lead trial counsel in overcharge claims involving over a billion dollars before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the state regulatory commissions. He also has a depth of understanding of leading appellate cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Brad was named one of Lawdragon’s 2022 500 Leading Litigators in America. Prior to joining MoFo, Brad was a trial attorney with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, where he litigated a price-fixing suit against the major U.S. domestic airlines and was involved in investigations of Microsoft, major airline mergers, and grand jury investigations. He also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he tried criminal cases and handled criminal appeals. Brad has also clerked for Judge Dickran Tevrizian of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Brad is a resident of our Washington, D.C., office and a member of our San Francisco office.

Susan Mac Cormac

Susan H. Mac Cormac | Corporate + ESG Attorney | Morrison Foerster Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her practice focuses on late-stage financings, secondaries, and other corporate transactions for investors, such as SoftBank and Temasek, and on investments for some of the top investors dedicated to impact, from “impact first” foundations to family offices to private equity funds. She co-led the drafting group for the first of the new corporate forms (the Social Purpose Corporation in California), has created hybrid/tandem corporate structures and crafted debt and equity instruments that blend impact with traditional financial terms, and has used corporate law to develop creative capital market solutions to pressing environmental problems. She also advises the boards of public and private companies on corporate governance and fiduciary duties as applied to sustainability and climate change.

Jeremy R. Mandell | Morrison Foerster Jeremy Mandell is the co-chair of our Financial Services Group. His practice focuses on financial services regulation, with particular attention to payment and emerging payment issues. Jeremy advises bank, non-bank, and fintech clients on financial services regulatory issues, including issues arising under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. He has particular experience working on issues related to interbank and emerging payments systems, including blockchain-based payment solutions and stablecoin platforms. He has counseled clients with award-winning apps and innovative products and services on complex issues, bringing a practical, broad-market perspective to product development, ongoing compliance needs, and regulatory engagement.

Doug Mannal | Morrison Foerster Doug is a partner in the Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group, based in the New York office. Doug’s practice focuses on representing clients in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings, and other distressed situations. His clients include official creditors’ committees, ad hoc creditor groups, and individual asset managers, as well as corporate borrowers. On behalf of creditors, Doug implements strategies focused on maximizing creditor recoveries and he has significant experience proposing and confirming plans of reorganization; investigating and prosecuting various estate causes of action; negotiating intercreditor disputes; crafting cash collateral orders, debtor-in-possession/exit financing packages, and creditor-sponsored equity rights offerings; challenging confirmation of nonconsensual chapter 11 plans; terminating exclusivity; participating in 363 sales; and implementing and defending against coercive liability management transactions. On the company side, Doug counsels borrowers navigating the complex legal, financial, and operational issues that arise in distressed situations, implementing both in- and out-of-court restructurings aimed at preserving value.

Douglas Mannal advises and represents a diverse range of clients, including ad hoc creditor groups, creditors’ committees, and major secured and unsecured creditors, as well as debtors, bank agents, financial institutions and other parties, in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and other distressed situations.

Rob Manoso | Morrison Foerster Rob Manoso is a trial lawyer and partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group. His practice focuses on advising clients on all aspects of antitrust investigations, litigation, and compliance. Rob regularly represents clients in a wide range of antitrust matters, including criminal and civil investigations before state and federal antitrust regulators and private antitrust litigation. He also routinely provides advice on all aspects of antitrust compliance. His clients span a broad range of industries, including pharmaceuticals and life sciences, healthcare, technology and software, financial services, and government contracting. Rob has significant experience defending against novel claims in both government investigations and private litigation. This includes claims involving AI and algorithms, as Rob recently represented a large REIT in a putative class action alleging that multifamily property owners engaged in anticompetitive conduct, based on the use of a common pricing algorithm. Rob has also provided counseling to revenue management software providers and customers in various industries regarding antitrust risks associated with AI. Rob’s active pro bono practice includes criminal litigation, asylum applications, election security, and benefits appeals. Before joining MoFo, Rob worked as an associate at a large international law firm. Prior to private practice, he served as a judicial law clerk for Chief District Judge Thomas Varlan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Rob earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2012 and received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2009.

Jennifer Marines

Lorenzo Marinuzzi

Lorenzo Marinuzzi | Morrison Foerster Lorenzo is global co-chair of the firm wide Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group. Lorenzo represents debtors, creditors, and creditors’ committees in complex bankruptcy cases, workouts, and litigation. His cases have spanned the United States as well as countless industries, such as airline and cargo transportation, mortgage origination and servicing, retail, banking and finance, energy, oil and gas, and telecommunications. Lorenzo has represented the official committee of unsecured creditors in numerous recent chapter 11 cases, including Peer Street, Incora/Wesco, Clovis Oncology, Valaris, Windstream Holdings, Inc., Cloud Peak Energy, Westmoreland Coal Company, Inc., The NORDAM Group, Inc., Avaya Inc., Armstrong Energy, Inc., 21st Century Oncology Holdings, Inc., Peabody Energy, Inc., Energy Future Holdings, Corp., and UCI International, Inc.

Haimavathi V. Marlier | Morrison Foerster Haima Marlier is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group and co-chairs its Fintech practice. Drawing on her experience as a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) senior trial counsel, Haima represents public and private companies, financial services providers, and executives, directors, and other individuals in SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), state securities regulator, and internal investigations, as well as in related litigation. She has more than 20 years of experience litigating in federal, state, and administrative courts, leading complex negotiations, and representing her clients in mediation. She also counsels clients regarding securities enforcement developments, trends, and risk mitigation. Before joining the firm, Haima spent nearly a decade in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. While at the SEC, Haima served as lead counsel on a number of prominent enforcement litigations and investigations involving public companies, registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks, and individuals in matters arising under the federal securities laws. She has also worked closely with foreign securities regulators, numerous U.S. attorneys’ offices, and FINRA. Haima is a member of Law360’s Securities Editorial Board, serves on the advisory board of Securities Docket, and is on the Board of Trustees of the SEC Historical Society. She mentors Penn State students of color who aspire to become lawyers and is a member of the board of directors of, and a volunteer running coach for, Girls on the Run New Jersey, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring girls to recognize their inner physical and emotional strengths. She maintains an active pro bono practice.

Craig D. Martin | Morrison Foerster Craig Martin serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense and ESG + Sustainability practice groups. Craig has led dozens of internal investigations, often on behalf of audit and special committees. Though Craig most frequently assists with matters involving complex financial accounting and reporting issues, his investigations have covered a broad range of subjects, including corporate disclosures, commercial practices, scientific misconduct, commercial and foreign bribery, and misuse of company assets, among many others. In addition, Craig represents issuers involved in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations. Craig’s clients span various industries, including technology, healthcare and life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, real estate, and agriculture. Craig has obtained excellent results for clients, often in the wake of a serious financial accounting misstatements or disclosure failures. Craig also serves as personal counsel to executives and directors in government and internal investigations. Attuned to the scrutiny that corporate executives can face in the wake of a business setback, Craig has helped CEOs, CFOs, and general counsel successfully navigate parallel SEC, DOJ, and internal investigations. Clients have consistently praised Craig for his sound judgment, investigative experience, pragmatism, and credibility. Craig is regularly recognized by leading industry publications such as Legal 500 US in its Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense category and Chambers USA’s (California) Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations category, where a client described Craig as “experienced, poised and patient.” He has also been named to Securities Docket’s “Enforcement Elite,” which recognizes the best securities enforcement defense lawyers in the business. In addition to representing clients, Craig served for a decade as a Firmwide Managing Partner at Morrison Foerster (2012-2022). Craig was an enforcement attorney in the SEC’s San Francisco office from 1999 to 2002. During his tenure at the SEC, he worked closely with attorneys and investigators from DOJ on both financial accounting fraud and insider trading matters. Of particular note, Craig led one of the largest insider trading cases in SEC history, in which 15 individuals were charged with illegal trading. Craig is a leading commentator on internal investigation procedures, securities litigation and enforcement, corporate governance, and compliance, and has been quoted in publications such as the Daily Journal, The Recorder, and GC Magazine. He has also been invited to speak on those topics by prominent industry organizations including the Securities Enforcement Forum, the Practising Law Institute, the Institute for Corporate Counsel, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the National Society of Compliance Professionals, and the Association of Corporate Counsel, among others. Craig earned his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was an associate editor of The Stanford Law Review.

Kristen Mathews

Brian R. Matsui | Morrison Foerster Brian Matsui co-chairs Morrison Foerster’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice. Brian is a go-to appellate advocate for sophisticated clients in complex appeals. Brian has a nationwide appellate practice. He has argued many cases in federal and state appellate courts throughout the country, winning appeals involving federal preemption, securities litigation and enforcement, consumer class actions, and intellectual property. He has led appeals in the D.C., Second, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits. His arguments include significant victories in class action appeals and in appeals for leading financial services companies, with multiple victories in the Ninth Circuit, where he clerked. Brian recently has gone five for six when representing appellants, including a precedential victory in the Ninth Circuit in a licensing dispute concerning alleged patent misuse. He also argued and won a D.C. Circuit appeal against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the retroactivity of part of the Dodd-Frank Act. As a result of Brian’s win, the SEC had to change its enforcement practices against certain securities industry professionals. Clients frequently turn to Brian for his substantial experience with appeals in the Federal Circuit, praising him as “an invaluable advocate in patent matters” (Chambers USA). Brian has won 13 of his last 15 appeals in that Court. His arguments before the Federal Circuit include winning appeals from district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. He has handled appeals in a myriad of industries, including mobile devices, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, semiconductors, and software. Brian also plays a key role on trial teams, advising clients on both critical legal issues and appellate preservation. He recently argued and prevailed against a summary judgment invalidity motion in a case involving Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s revolutionary antibody recycling technology, which ultimately led to a $775 million settlement on the eve of trial for Chugai. A former law clerk for the United States Supreme Court, Brian has authored many briefs in that Court, including on important constitutional and statutory interpretation issues. He often represents clients’ interests in amicus briefs in significant Supreme Court cases affecting the business community. Leading publications have recognized Brian for his appellate skills. The Legal 500 US recommends him for appellate litigation, and the National Law Journal named Brian a “Minority 40 Under 40.” Brian also dedicates significant time to pro bono matters. He argued and won two significant appeals—in the Second and Ninth Circuits—obtaining reversals of judgments that had denied private rights of action under the Child Welfare Act in precedential decisions. Brian also led the Morrison Foerster team who co-counseled a successful Eighth Amendment challenge to Florida’s imposition of a “life without the possibility of parole” sentence to a juvenile offender convicted of a non-homicide crime. For years, Brian chaired the ABA’s seven-person Standing Committee for Amicus Curiae Briefs. He served on the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s amicus committee and co-chaired the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s amicus committee. Brian served as an appellate lawyer representative for the Ninth Circuit. Brian also serves on the board of directors for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Before entering private practice, Brian clerked on the United States Supreme Court for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. He also clerked for Judge Pamela Ann Rymer in the Ninth Circuit and Judge David F. Levi in the Eastern District of California. While in law school, Brian served as managing editor of Volume 51 of the Stanford Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Robert May | Morrison Foerster Robert May is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. His practice focuses on M&A litigation, corporate governance disputes, and securities litigation. Robert has more than fifteen years of experience representing clients in a broad range of industries including technology, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. Robert’s experience includes defending actions challenging corporate transactions on behalf of both targets and acquirers, including litigating motions for preliminary injunctions seeking to delay or prevent stockholder votes. He has significant experience defending clients in stockholder class actions brought under the federal securities laws, and responding to regulatory and criminal investigations. Robert’s practice also focuses on breach of fiduciary duty claims, as well as counseling companies and their directors and officers in governance disputes. Robert has particular experience effectively managing multi-forum matters to limit exposure and cost to his clients and navigating insurance issues in matters covered by directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies.

Deanne Maynard | Appellate + Supreme Court Lawyer | Morrison Foerster Deanne Maynard, co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice, is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading appellate advocates. She has argued 14 cases before the United States Supreme Court and 75 times in appellate courts across the country. In ranking Deanne in Band 1, Chambers USA reports that she is described as a “magnificent and top-notch lawyer” who is “wicked smart.” She is “extremely thoughtful, even-keeled and has a wonderful presence in the courtroom." Legal 500 calls Deanne “one of the finest advocates in the Supreme Court bar,” remarking that “if she is on your team, great. If she’s on the other side, be ready.” Deanne’s winning Supreme Court arguments involve a wide range of issues and industries, including life sciences (Sandoz v. Amgen), intellectual property (MedImmune v. Genentech), antitrust (Pacific Bell v. linkLine), financial services (Ransom v. FIA Card Services), and bankruptcy (RadLAX v. Amalgamated Bank). In Sandoz v. Amgen, the Supreme Court ruled for her client in a closely watched case involving the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, which provides an approval path for biosimilars. Law360 named Deanne to its exclusive list of Appellate MVPs for this “big victory,” dubbing her a “Legal Lion” three separate times for her work on appeals in this case. LMG Life Sciences also named Deanne Appellate Litigator of the Year. Deanne argues complex, high stakes cases in courts of appeals nationwide. Clients turn to Deanne for crisp, clear briefs and exceptional oral advocacy. Her appellate wins run a gamut of issues from arbitration to antitrust, class actions to contracts, copyright to Commerce Clause, infringement to invalidity, and securities law to statutory interpretation. Clients praise her as “an incredible oral advocate, very prepared and formidable” (Chambers USA), and “a tireless advocate with sterling client skills” (Legal 500). Deanne has particular experience in the Federal and Ninth Circuits. She has argued more than 40 appeals in the Federal Circuit, including wins for both patentees and defendants on a wide range of technologies. Chambers USA ranked Deanne in Band 1 for Intellectual Property Appeals, describing her as “renowned for her track record in bet-the-company disputes.” She also serves as Chair of the Federal Circuit’s Advisory Council, which is a conduit between the Court and the public. In the Ninth Circuit, her many wins include a decision from the en banc Court holding large parts of a California statute unconstitutional as well as a panel decision vacating a $60 million jury verdict. Deanne is annually recommended as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 US, and Best Lawyers in America. She is President of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, an invitation-only organization recognizing distinguished appellate lawyers. Deanne is also a Master in, and Past President of, the Coke Appellate Inn of Court. Deanne is a leader within Morrison Foerster as well, chairing its partner compensation committee and serving on the firm’s leadership team. Before joining the firm, Deanne served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice for five years. She previously was a partner at another major law firm. After law school, Deanne clerked two terms on the United States Supreme Court, one for Justice Stephen Breyer and another for Justice Lewis Powell (Ret.) and Justice John Paul Stevens. Before that, Deanne clerked two years for Judge Stanley Harris on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Deanne graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She earned a B.A. in English, with distinction, from the University of Virginia.

Mark D. McBriar Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Mark D. McBriar focuses his practice on patent drafting and prosecution, IP due diligence, freedom to operate, patentability evaluations, re-examinations, and litigation support. Dr. McBriar works with pharmaceutical and life sciences companies on small molecule pharmaceutical compounds, synthetic methods, drug discovery, and methods of treatment. Dr. McBriar drafts and prosecutes U.S. patent applications and directs foreign patent prosecution relating to various pharmaceutical and biotechnology matters. He conducts freedom-to-operate, invalidity, non-infringement, and patentability studies for clients, as well as due diligence portfolio evaluations.

Eric T. McCrath | Morrison Foerster Eric T. McCrath is the Chair of Morrison Foerster. Eric has been a trusted advisor on hundreds of public and private M&A, private equity, and financing transactions over the course of his career. As part of his market-leading M&A practice, he counsels strategic acquirers and targets in a variety of industries, including technology (semiconductors, software, AR/VR, FinTech, AI), healthcare, consumer products, financial institutions, media, gaming, and transportation. He represents leading U.S. and global companies and regularly advises on complex cross–border transactions.

Aileen M. McGrath | Morrison Foerster Aileen McGrath, a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice, leads high stakes appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts across the country, with a particular focus on courts in California. Aileen’s clients describe her as “one of the best writers I have ever seen,” uniquely skilled at developing “the most effective strategy” in bet-the-company cases, and “extraordinarily knowledgeable.” (Chambers USA) A broad range of sophisticated clients turn to Aileen to lead their appeals. Aileen has a robust track record, including arguing in the U.S. Supreme Court and leading many other Supreme Court matters at the merits and certiorari stages. She has also argued multiple appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and California Courts of Appeal, and she has led representations at the California Supreme Court. Aileen is recognized as a rising star in appellate litigation in California. She is ranked in the "Up and Coming" category for Litigation: Appellate in California by Chambers USA. Additionally, The Legal 500 has named her a "Next Generation Partner" in the Appellate: Supreme Courts (States and Federal) practice area. Aileen possesses deep expertise in multiple areas of law, including class actions, consumer protection cases, constitutional and civil rights issues, labor and employment matters, state and local government litigation, and state and federal administrative proceedings. Beyond her appellate engagements, she is actively involved at the trial court level, collaborating with clients as a creative problem-solver and trusted strategic advisor. Before joining Morrison Foerster, Aileen was the Co-Chief of Appellate Litigation at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Previously, she served as Deputy City Attorney on the Complex and Affirmative Litigation team. Throughout her service in the Office, she acted as lead counsel for San Francisco in numerous significant matters at all levels of the California state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and California Supreme Court. Aileen is an active member of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Northern California chapter. Aileen maintains a robust pro bono practice, and she has been recognized by the International Municipal Lawyers Association and the California County Counsel’s Association for her dedication to local-government public interest work. She regularly guest lectures about oral advocacy and effective appellate writing at law schools across the country, including Yale Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, UC Law San Francisco, and American University Washington College of Law. Aileen also frequently speaks publicly about the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. Aileen served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Chief Judge Michael Boudin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She also served as a chambers attorney at the California Supreme Court for Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Aileen earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the prestigious Sears Prize, recognizing the top two students in her class. She also served as president of the Harvard Law Review. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Columbia University. Representative Experience Sheetz v. County of El Dorado (audio recording). Argued on behalf of California local government in a U.S. Supreme Court property-rights case with significant national implications for land-use planning. Successfully opposed a U.S. Supreme Court petition for certiorari in a Fourth Amendment case involving a circuit conflict. Armstrong v. Michaels Stores, Inc. (audio recording). Argued and won a Ninth Circuit appeal in a case seeking to upend the standard for analyzing waiver of the right to move to compel arbitration. Successfully defeated class certification on behalf of a leading telecommunications company, and successfully led appellate representation to defeat plaintiffs’ Rule 23(f) petition for Ninth Circuit interlocutory review. Successfully represented American Indian tribe before the Second Circuit in a significant Indian law case challenging New York State officials’ operation of state highway across tribe’s reservation. City & County of San Francisco v. Barr (audio recording). Successfully challenged federal government’s denial of Byrne JAG funding for sanctuary cities, including briefing and arguing appeal before Ninth Circuit and opposing petition for certiorari. Successfully briefed and argued appeal in landmark California water rights case challenging the operation of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Rivera v. Garland (audio recording). Argued and won a Ninth Circuit immigration victory in a case seeking asylum for a mother and her young daughter who fled gang violence in El Salvador. Defeated petition for en banc review in D.C. Circuit appeal challenging Department of Interior’s tribal land trust decision. Successfully defended local government retail ordinance against a dormant Commerce Clause challenge. Served as key drafter of the U.S. Supreme Court merits briefing in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which secured marriage equality in California. Defeated election challenge to a San Francisco ballot initiative.

Larry Medvinsky

Larry Medvinsky | Morrison Foerster Larry Medvinsky is widely recognized as a creative, commercially focused attorney who guides clients through complex transactions. Larry serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s REITs practice group and has nearly 30 years of experience advising boards of directors, public and private companies, and executive management teams on a broad range of corporate transactions. His practice focuses on representing issuers and underwriters, particularly in the REIT and Specialty Finance spaces, in IPOs and securities offerings, private equity and other sponsors in the raising of capital for funds, private REITs, and permanent capital vehicles and other private companies in transactions such as mergers and acquisitions (including UPREIT and DownREIT, and real estate acquisitions), joint ventures, dispositions, and other exit transactions, among others.

Eric H. Min | Morrison Foerster Eric Min is a partner in the Finance and Private Equity Buyouts & Investment Groups at Morrison Foerster. Eric regularly advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies and fintech companies in a variety of complex U.S. and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged acquisitions, syndicated lending, investment grade lending, asset-based lending, and warehouse facilities. Eric has substantial experience representing clients in transactions covering a wide variety of industries, including technology, fintech, consumer and retail and professional services.

Evan R. Minsberg | Morrison Foerster Evan Minsberg advises fintech companies, banks, and other financial services providers on developing new products, services, and strategic partnerships. Evan provides practical regulatory counsel and transactional support for a wide variety of payments, credit, and other financial technology business models. Evan’s focus includes payment processors, money transmitters, bank-fintech partnership arrangements, marketplaces, and other online and app-based financial services providers. With over a decade of experience in the financial services space, Evan is readily familiar with numerous fintech models and provides strategic, practical, and digestible advice. Evan’s clients are looking for help navigating the complex federal and state financial regulatory requirements applicable to the products they bring to market and finding the most efficient compliance solutions for achieving their goals – whether on their own or in partnership with other regulated entities and service providers. His transactional clients want support negotiating the best arrangements possible for their budget, timeline, and priorities, while maintaining productive relationships with their contractual counterparties. Evan’s clients range from start-ups, to fintech market leaders, to multinational public companies.

Alyssa B. Monsen | Morrison Foerster Alyssa Monsen is a seasoned lawyer specializing in life sciences patent litigation. Her legal practice is concentrated in U.S. federal district and appellate courts, as well as inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Alyssa has a robust track record of representing innovator pharmaceutical companies in high-stakes litigation, with a focus on therapies related to oncology, ophthalmology, and infectious diseases. Her experience spans all phases of patent litigation, encompassing pre-litigation strategic planning, trial, and appeals to the Federal Circuit. Additionally, Alyssa is skilled in advising clients on patent portfolio assessment, due diligence, and strategies for international patent enforcement.

Daniel Muino | Morrison Foerster Dan is an intellectual property litigator and trial lawyer with more than two decades of experience litigating patent, trade secret, and copyright matters in federal courts around the country and at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). He is co-lead of the firm’s ITC Working Group and an editor of the MoFo@ITC guide to Section 337 investigations. Dan has led litigation and trial teams in complex IP cases. Most recently, he led the trial team in a confidential arbitration involving complex semiconductor fabrication technology. He was first-chair trial counsel at an ITC trial defending chipmaker Renesas against Broadcom’s patent infringement allegations, which resulted in a complete victory for Renesas before the judge, the Commission, and the Federal Circuit. In the closely-watched Waymo v. Uber autonomous vehicle trade secret litigation, Dan helped lead the technology team defending Uber against Waymo’s claims. He also served as trial counsel at a patent jury trial that resulted in a verdict in favor of client Microscan against competitor Cognex. He managed the trial team for Oracle in its IP lawsuit against Google over the Android operating system, and managed the trial team for Novell in a jury trial that resulted in a complete win against SCO’s claims concerning the ownership of the UNIX copyrights.

Partner, Government Contacts Practice

Sandeep Nandivada

Sandeep N. Nandivada | Morrison Foerster Sandeep Nandivada is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office. Sandeep’s practice focuses on civil litigation, complex internal investigations, and government contracts compliance, including matters related to cybersecurity and data breaches. Sandeep’s civil litigation practice focuses on bid protests, contract claims, subcontract disputes, and False Claims Act matters. He has litigated numerous protests before the Government Accountability Office, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals across an array of subject matters—including some of the largest and most-high profile public procurements. Sandeep also has supported clients on significant claims, requests for equitable adjustments, and subcontract disputes involving a variety of performance or cost related issues. In addition, Sandeep has extensive experience conducting investigations with False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Act, Procurement Integrity Act, and suspension and debarment implications. He has advised clients regarding procurement fraud, anti-corruption, procurement integrity, defective pricing, and cybersecurity, and has assisted clients with voluntary and mandatory disclosures under the FAR. Sandeep also was seconded to Northrop Grumman as Investigations Counsel.

Brian C. Nash | Morrison Foerster Brian Nash co-chair's Morrison Foerster’s global IP Litigation Group and cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group. He is also the Managing Partner of the firm's Austin office. An established intellectual property trial attorney and a leader in the Western District of Texas, Brian has managed more than 250 cases involving intellectual property and technology in district courts across the nation, before the PTAB, at the ITC, and on appeal in the Federal Circuit, including matters involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. Clients also turn to Brian for his ability to analyze and simplify highly technical issues through a legal lens. He combines his experience as a registered patent lawyer and his engineering degree to counsel clients in a wide range of technologies, including semiconductors, programmable logic devices, software, blockchain, e-commerce, digital media, video games, virtual reality, wireless standards, aluminum alloy composition, container fabrication, hydrocarbon exploration, search marketing, geolocation, encryption, image processing, and liquid crystal displays.

Alexander Okuliar

Click here for attorney bio. Alex Okuliar is Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group. He was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Antitrust Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice during the first Trump Administration and, earlier in his career, an advisor at the Federal Trade Commission. His practice includes litigation, merger reviews, and government investigations. “The ‘excellent’ Alex Okuliar has a broad practice taking in merger clearance, conduct investigations and antitrust litigation. He is particularly noted for his work on behalf of media and technology companies.” – Chambers USA, DC Antitrust Alex represents clients in lawsuits in federal and state courts around the United States. He has helped clients succeed in a wide range of cases, including class actions and private party disputes alleging price fixing, monopolization, group boycotts, market allocation, and tying. He also regularly represents clients in merger and conduct investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General, and foreign agencies, including the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. He has guided clients through the complex global merger clearance process and litigated agency merger challenges through trial. Alex has a history of notable agency leadership experience. He was appointed the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Enforcement in the DOJ Antitrust Division during the first Trump Administration and in that role oversaw more than 150 career staff, dozens of complex merger investigations, and an industry-wide review of online platforms. He was also one of the principal architects and leaders of the agency’s landmark search monopolization case against Google (U.S. v. Google). Earlier in his career, Alex served as an attorney advisor to former FTC Commissioner Ohlhausen and a trial attorney in the DOJ Antitrust Division. Prior to his service as Deputy AAG, Alex was a partner at another international law firm. Alex is a thought leader and a frequent writer and speaker. He currently serves as the co-chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Joint Conduct Committee, and is the former chair of the Section’s Intellectual Property Committee and co-chair of the 2023 Antitrust Fall Forum on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a member of the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Executive Committee of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Alex serves on Morrison Foerster’s AI Steering Committee and Life Sciences Steering Committee. Alex has also edited or contributed to leading antitrust treatises and handbooks, including Antitrust Law Developments (7th edition), the Premerger Notification Practice Manual (3rd and 4th editions), and the Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook (2nd edition). Before law school, Alex co-founded and sold an online technology company. Representative Experience Merger Review and Litigation Alex has worked on nearly a thousand deals across many industry sectors over his roughly 25-year career. He has handled dozens of second requests and litigated merger cases through trial. Clients appreciate the range and depth of experience he can offer them. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Merger Control guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a deep knowledge of the law and economics of antitrust, and the ability to frame that knowledge within the unique circumstances of the digital economy.” His notable public representations include: Microsoft in many deals, including its $7.5 billion acquisition of GitHub, an AI-powered developer platform. Unity Software Inc. in multiple transactions, including its all-stock $4.4 billion acquisition of ironSource and the concurrent $1 billion PIPE investment in the company by Silver Lake and Sequoia, and in response to the related $13.6 billion unsolicited acquisition proposal from AppLovin Corporation. Hispanic Broadcasting Company in its $3 billion sale to Univision, which closed with a settlement after a year-long DOJ Second Request investigation. AVG Technologies in its $1.3 billion sale to Avast Software, maker of antivirus and security software. ShowingTime, a leading proptech company, in its $500 million sale to Zillow, which cleared successfully without conditions after a Second Request investigation by the FTC. Propel Media in federal court to defend against the FTC’s challenge to its proposed acquisition by IQVIA. Enterprise Products Partners in multiple deals, including its $13 billion acquisition of GulfTerra, which closed with limited divestitures after an FTC Second Request investigation. Nova Chemicals in its joint venture to build a $1.7 billion ethylene cracker and a polyethylene plant in Texas with Borealis and Total. Meade Pipeline Co. in the $1.37 billion sale of its natural gas pipeline system to NextEra Energy Partners. Sugar Foods Corporation in its sale to Pritzker Private Capital. Infineon Technologies AG in the sale of its HiRel DC-DC converter business to Micross Components, Inc. Cisco in multiple matters, including its $600 million acquisition of SD-WAN provider, Viptela. Kindred Biosciences in its approximately $450 million sale to Elanco Animal Health. Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in its roughly $250 million acquisition of ADHD-drug developer, Neurovance. While serving at the DOJ and FTC, Alex investigated or oversaw the review of hundreds of transactions, including the $180 billion merger of United Technologies and Raytheon, NASDAQ’s proposed $11 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse’s proposed $10 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Waste Management’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Advanced Disposal Services, Liberty Latin America’s $1.95 billion purchase of AT&T Puerto Rico, Google’s $2 billion acquisition of Fitbit, Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA Software, Reading Health System’s proposed acquisition of Surgical Institute of Reading, and Universal Health Service’s acquisition of Ascend Health Corporation, among many others. Antitrust Conduct Litigation Alex has represented clients in some of the most significant antitrust cases of the last twenty years, including government enforcement, class actions and private party disputes, and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants. As The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions Defense guide noted, “Alex Okuliar litigates cutting-edge antitrust topics such as platform competition and data collection as well as media cases.” His thought leadership on class action issues has also been cited by courts (See In re GPU Antitrust Litigation, 253 F.R.D. 478, 492–3 (2008)). His current representations include: Avadel, a leading biopharmaceutical company, in Jazz Pharmaceuticals v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals (D. Del.), an antitrust counterclaim alleging monopolization and other unlawful conduct by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Avadel alleges that Jazz improperly listed a distribution system patent in the FDA’s Orange Book to extend its monopoly power over certain narcolepsy drugs. The New York Times coverage of the case can be found on the The New York Times website. The FTC also filed an amicus brief explaining to the Court the harm to competition from such listings. Icon, a real estate development company, in Icon v. Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, et al. (C.D. Cal.), a federal antitrust lawsuit against two unions and other co-conspirators. Icon alleges the unions are attempting to monopolize certain labor markets, among other unlawful conduct, by submitting sham environmental petitions to slow or block new real estate developments and then offering to abandon those petitions in exchange for hiring of union labor. See the press coverage in Bloomberg. Provi, an e-commerce platform, in Tiz (d/b/a Provi) v. Southern Glazer’s and Republic National Distribution Co. (N.D. Ill.), an antitrust claim alleging monopolization, tying, and group boycott, among other conduct, by the nation’s largest alcohol distributors to eliminate new and innovative online marketplace competition from Provi. See coverage of the case by Politico. A large national consumer products company (E.D. Pa) in its defense against a monopolization case alleging deceptive conduct before a standard-setting organization and patent holdup related to an alleged standard essential technology patent. A national financial institution in its defense against state law claims of unfair competition in connection with a business transaction. Some of his other clients include: Asiana Airlines in In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation (C.D. Cal.) against an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of passenger air fares. He prevailed on motion to dismiss claims of indirect purchasers of passenger air fares, which was upheld in relevant part on appeal, and the remainder of the case settled. See In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation, 567 F. Supp. 2d 1213 (C.D. Cal. 2008), aff’d in part, vacated in part, 642 F.3d 685 (9th Cir. 2011). Asiana Airlines in In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y), an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of cargo shipping fees. The case was ultimately settled. Capital One in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Litigation (E.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against alleged price-fixing claims related to credit card interchange fees. This matter ultimately settled. Capital One in American Express v. Visa, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against group boycott claims alleging that certain exclusive bylaws for the Visa and Mastercard credit card networks represented an agreement to boycott American Express. The case settled after years of litigation. Honeywell in Wright v. Honeywell (Vt.), McKinnon v. Honeywell (Me.), Fagan v. Honeywell (Mass.), and Roos v. Honeywell (Cal.), where he defended the client against class actions in several state courts alleging monopolization of certain home thermostats. Certain cases were dismissed after briefing and oral argument and others were ultimately settled. The United States in United States v. Google (search) (D.D.C.), in its landmark monopolization case against a leading online search engine. He served as the senior Antitrust Division official overseeing the DOJ staff team to develop and prosecute the lawsuit. A leading online professional networking site in its defense against unfair competition claims based on allegations that the site had blocked a competing site from scraping its data to develop another service. A leading medical imaging technology company in an antitrust counterclaim related to a patent infringement action. An online media streaming company in an antitrust counterclaim against the major national television broadcasters related to a copyright infringement lawsuit. Government Investigations & Policy Advocacy Alex also handles investigations, compliance counseling, and policy advocacy for governmental entities. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Cartels guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a calm and thoughtful approach to the matters he advises on. He has good judgment and delivers advice in a user-friendly format. He stays current on emerging issues in antitrust law and provides a helpful perspective on areas of risk and how to best address those areas.” Some of his matters include representing: An AI company in an FTC investigation of a technology platform. A technology company in its defense against an FTC investigation into an alleged order violation. A major chemical company as a leniency applicant in a DOJ criminal price-fixing investigation. An airline in various DOJ criminal cargo and passenger airfare antitrust investigations. A technology company in a DOJ investigation of an alleged no-poach agreement relating to employee hiring. A major energy company as a third-party complainant and witness in an FTC investigation leading to litigation against the merging companies. An energy company in an internal investigation of trading activity related to allegations of price fixing. A major hospital system in a state AG price-fixing and market allocation investigation. A ticket reseller in a state AG consumer protection investigation. Clients advocating to government agencies on issues relating to technology platforms, mergers, and issues involving antitrust and intellectual property.

Erik Olson | Morrison Foerster Erik Olson’s practice focuses on the litigation of securities, corporate governance, and intellectual property disputes, with particular emphasis on clients in the biotechnology, medical device, telecommunications, and high-technology industries. Erik has served as counsel in numerous state and federal courts, in private arbitrations, and in proceedings before the SEC. He has handled appeals in the California Court of Appeals and the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, D.C., and Federal Circuits. From 2007-2008, Erik served as chair of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of California. From 2005-2007, he also served as chair of the Litigation Section’s Rules & Legislation Committee, which reviewed and comments on legislative and rule changes that affect civil litigation in California. Erik currently serves as a member of Morrison & Foerster’s board of directors and serves as Treasurer for the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the largest pro bono service provider in Santa Clara County (San Jose, California). Erik graduated from Stanford Law School. While at Stanford, he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was the recipient of the Morie Award for outstanding legal writing.

John T. Owen | Morrison Foerster John is a Capital Markets, Public Company Advisory & Governance, and Special Situations partner with more than 20 years of experience advising issuers, underwriters, and other market participants in a wide range of special situations, equity, and debt financing transactions. He has significant experience advising on refinancing and liability management transactions, initial public offerings, high yield and investment grade debt offerings, and private placements. John also regularly advises on structuring and executing cross border financing, liability management, and special situation transactions, having advised on matters involving a wide range of jurisdictions, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, France, India, Indonesia, Israel, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Michael O\'Bryan

Michael O'Bryan | Morrison Foerster Mike advises on U.S. and international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, including “going private” and other related-party transactions. He has advised companies, boards, and special committees, as well as investment banks, in both negotiated and contested transactions. He works with clients across a variety of industries, including in the technology, software, telecommunications, agtech, consumer, and healthcare/life sciences sectors.

$Whitney O\'Byrne$

Whitney O\'Byrne

Whitney R. O'Byrne | Morrison Foerster Whitney O’Byrne is a trial lawyer with a wide range of experience litigating complex civil, regulatory, and criminal matters. She represents clients, large and small, in disputes involving intellectual property, legal malpractice, antitrust, consumer class actions, privacy class actions, and other commercial litigation in state and federal court. Whitney has also represented individual and institutional clients in investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Whitney’s substantial trial experience includes a multi-district antitrust case in the Southern District of New York, a patent trial in the Northern District of California, criminal trials in California and New York, and multiple JAMS and AAA arbitrations. Whitney is also a NITA trial skills instructor and has taught trial advocacy at multiple levels for over 10 years. Whitney most recently practiced at a premier litigation boutique, where she worked on trade secrets, legal malpractice, and class action litigations for companies ranging from early-stage startups to established technology companies. Whitney also served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of New York. Whitney was recognized as a 2021 Rising Star by Northern California Super Lawyers and has been published by Bloomberg Law. She has served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco and was a member of the Edward J. McFetridge Inn of Court. Whitney graduated from Columbia Law School, where she served as an Articles Editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She earned a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis. Whitney is admitted to the State Bars of New York and California.

Julie Park | Product Liability Lawyer | Morrison Foerster Julie Park is the co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Complex Litigation + Advisement practice group and managing partner of the San Diego office. Julie protects her clients’ products throughout the product life cycle. Drawing on her deep technical and legal experience, she counsels clients on consumer product safety regulation and pharmaceutical and medical device preemption. She manages complex and multijurisdictional litigation both in state and federal court and also guides clients through product recalls. Clients appreciate Julie’s ability to assess both the practical business implications and legal impact of a matter. They also value the way she recommends solutions that meet their objectives. Julie is committed to providing thought leadership for her clients. She is an editor of, and frequent contributor to, MoFo’s Class Dismissed blog, where she provides insights on class-action and product–related issues affecting companies in the consumer arena. She has been recognized for her writing as a top author in the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, 2016–2019. Julie is also committed to pro bono service and diversity in the legal profession. While at Harvard Law School, she worked at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services. She has continued her pro bono work at MoFo, which has resulted in her being a regular recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Award from the California State Bar for pro bono contributions. She co-chairs the firm’s Women’s Strategy Committee and has served on the Associates Steering Committee of Athena San Diego, an organization that promotes professional growth for women executives and rising managers in science and technology. Julie brings an industry perspective to her work with MoFo. Before going to law school, she was a medicinal chemist at Pfizer, where she researched cancer drugs.

Brandon C. Parris | Morrison Foerster Brandon Parris is a corporate partner and serves as co-chair of the firm's Global Transactions Department. Described as “an exceptional attorney with significant experience and knowledge” by a client in IFLR1000, Brandon Parris maintains an active corporate practice focused on strategic transactions, including complex public and private mergers, tender offers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic investments. He represents U.S. and global clients, boards of directors, special committees, management teams and companies in a variety of industries, including technology, gaming, energy, media, consumer goods and services, and financial services. Brandon also maintains a public company practice. He advises members of executive management, boards of directors, and special committees on strategic and corporate governance issues, and counsels numerous public companies on all aspects of public company issues.

Purvi G. Patel | Morrison Foerster Purvi G. Patel is the former managing partner of the Los Angeles office. Purvi represents retail, e-commerce, and other consumer-oriented businesses in significant advertising, unfair competition, consumer fraud, and privacy matters. She has built a robust practice advising household names on various compliance issues and defending them in complex and class action litigation in federal and state courts across the country, winning motions to dismiss, defeating class certification, and securing summary disposition in several multi-million dollar lawsuits. Purvi is a strategic and practical thinker who is in tune with her clients’ priorities, which leads to successful outcomes both inside and outside the courthouse.

Geoffrey Peck | Morrison Foerster Geoff has extensive experience in representing investment banks, private debt funds, hedge funds, business development companies, asset managers, specialty finance companies, borrowers, and issuers in large-cap, middle-market, and mezzanine financings and restructurings. Geoff works with clients on domestic and international financing matters, particularly cross-border transactions, including: Acquisition financings Asset-based financings Bridge financings First/second liens financings Hybrid debt/equity financings Preferred equity financings Private placements Project and infrastructure financings Trade financings Subordinated financings Subscription-backed financings Unitranche financings Warehouse financings Geoff also regularly represents creditor committees, ad-hoc committees, creditors, and debtors in connection with insolvency matters, including complex workouts and restructurings, DIP financings, exit financings, secondary trading of debt and equity, and analysis of special situations trading opportunities.

Click here for attorney bio. Lisa Phelan, former Chief of the National Criminal Enforcement and Washington Criminal I Sections of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is a partner and co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group and a member of the Investigations + White Collar Group. With more than 25 years of service at the DOJ as one of the leading authorities in criminal antitrust matters, Lisa draws upon her unmatched criminal investigations, litigation, and enforcement experience to guide clients through sensitive issues pertaining to domestic and international cartel actions and white-collar investigations and to rapidly assess and address their risk and total exposure to potential claims of unlawful collusion. Clients turn to Lisa for her knowledge and understanding when subpoenaed or when enforcement agencies execute a search warrant or stage a dawn raid. Few have the breadth of her experience to counsel and represent clients through each step of a cartel investigation, leniency application, plea negotiation, or criminal jury trial. Additionally, Lisa is an expert in the components of effective compliance programs and is an asset to clients in preventing antitrust problems before they arise. She has led complex antitrust matters across numerous major industries, including financial services, technology, aviation, automotive, shipping, paper, petroleum, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, among others. As Chief of the National Criminal Enforcement and Washington Criminal I Sections of the Antitrust Division, Lisa supervised and coordinated all investigative and litigation work on international and national criminal cartel cases. Lisa regularly coordinated investigations and prosecutions with cartel enforcement agencies worldwide, including in the European Union, Japan, Mexico, Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Brazil, among others. Additionally, she often interfaced with other law enforcement units when investigations raised non-antitrust issues. Before Lisa was appointed Chief of National Criminal Enforcement, she served as a senior criminal litigator in the Antitrust Division, leading investigations and trials of multinational corporations and their executives for price-fixing and related crimes. Lisa prosecuted more than 300 federal criminal cases and led and oversaw dozens of jury trials throughout her tenure at the DOJ. Lisa has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Presidential Rank Award, awarded by President Obama in 2015, the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, awarded by Attorney General Eric Holder in 2014; and, on multiple occasions, the Assistant Attorney General’s Outstanding Service Award, while serving as a lead trial attorney and a senior official at the DOJ. Law enforcement agencies and competition partners consult Lisa on best practices and policies in cartel enforcement and leniency programs. She has been frequently acknowledged for her insight and dexterity in the fields in which she practices. Recognitions include: “[Lisa’s] ability to distill information and come to solutions is amazing. We are lucky to be represented by her.” –Chambers USA, 2022 (Client Testimonial) “[Lisa] is very knowledgeable on DOJ practices and policies.” –Chambers USA, 2022 (Client Testimonial) “[Lisa] is excellent and gives well thought-out and practical advice.” –Chambers USA, 2021 (Client Testimonial) “Lisa Phelan has three decades of experience as a DOJ attorney, including serving as Chief of the National Criminal Enforcement section of the Antitrust Division. She is prominent in the market and well-placed to advise clients on criminal cartel proceedings. Sources describe her as a 'fantastic lawyer,’ who ‘knows everything.’” –Chambers USA, 2020 Lisa frequently speaks at American Bar Association (ABA), International Competition Network, International Bar Association, and various prominent white-collar crime conferences. She has been an active participant in ABA programs and activities for nearly three decades. Currently, she serves as co-chair of the Antitrust Section’s International Cartel Task Force, which regularly meets with competition agency heads from around the globe to provide thought leadership and to advise on competition law changes and practices, including leniency program criteria. She is also a leader on the Antitrust Section’s Influencer Task Force. Additionally, Lisa proposed and worked to establish the ABA Antitrust Section’s Women.Connected Committee. Lisa has long championed the advancement of women within the legal profession and in the Antitrust Bar in particular. Recognized by MLex as a “trailblazer” for women in antitrust, in recent years, she founded the “Women in Cartel” group, which has expanded its membership nationally and internationally. More than once, she has been named one of Global Competition Review’s Top “Women in Antitrust.” In addition, Lisa serves on the firm’s Women’s Strategy Committee, working closely with firm leaders to ensure that the advancement of women is a constant strategic priority. Lisa is a member of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. Lisa received her J.D. magna cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law, where she served on the International Law Journal. She received her B.A. summa cum laude, also from American University. Lisa is an adjunct Professor at AU law school, teaching a seminar on Criminal Antitrust. Representative Experience Represent a European executive indicted in the U.S. on a criminal Sherman Act charge of bid rigging on government contracts. Represent a major national healthcare company investigated by DOJ’s Antitrust Division on allegations of criminal agreements not to hire or solicit employees from another major national healthcare company. Obtained a non-prosecution agreement from DOJ for the company and all of its executives. Represent a large national health staffing company in multiple grand jury investigations around the U.S. for various alleged Sherman Act criminal violations. Obtained non-prosecution commitment from DOJ for the company and its executives in all matters. Represent a major Japanese component parts maker subject to a grand jury investigation by DOJ. Obtained a non-prosecution decision for the company and its executives. Represent a large national media company in meetings with DOJ regarding possible anticompetitive conduct. Represent a major prescription services company under investigation by the FTC for possible monopolization and abuse of dominance violations. Represent an oil and gas industry company under grand jury investigation by the Antitrust Division and obtained a non-prosecution decision from DOJ. Represent numerous CEOs and high-level executives in numerous criminal antitrust grand jury investigations.

Bernie Pistillo

Bernie J. Pistillo | Morrison Foerster Bernie Pistillo is a partner in the San Francisco office of the firm’s Federal Tax Group. He regularly advises on the U.S. federal income tax aspects of international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and spin-offs, and tax controversy matters in the international area, particularly transfer pricing, the development and exploitation of technology and intellectual property and the structuring of international operations for both start-up entities and existing corporate groups. His practice involves the coordination of tax laws in multiple jurisdictions to develop and implement cross-jurisdictional tax planning, overall operational synergies and worldwide tax minimization strategies. He also is regularly involved in the negotiation of strategic joint ventures and partnerships and the structuring of private equity funds and their investments. Bernie also advises on financial product development and the tax aspects of financial institution and insurance company operations.

Catherine Polizzi

Catherine M. Polizzi Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Intellectual versatility combined with incisive, pragmatic counseling and business acumen is the hallmark of Catherine’s practice. Catherine helps emerging and established companies through the challenging process of obtaining patents, and provides strategic, effective portfolio counseling and management, as well as strategic advice surrounding freedom of operation and other forms of IP assessment. She develops valuable, strategic portfolios around breakthrough therapies in a variety of areas including cancer, cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. She also has significant experience in a wide spectrum of technology areas, including biologics (such as antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and polypeptides), nucleic acids, precision medicine, diagnostics, cell therapy including T cell technologies, such as chimeric antigen receptors, drug formulation technologies, drug delivery technologies, such as nanotechnologies, microfluidics, drug screening systems, AI solutions for life sciences including discovery platforms, amplification technologies, genetic screening, sequencing technologies including next generation sequencing, regenerative medicine, nutraceuticals, spectroscopy, and organic chemistry, including small molecule drugs. Catherine’s unique background, ability to integrate IP with a given business model to translate into meaningful valuation, risk assessment and advice, and highly effective communication skills in critical settings such as R&D, all phases of product development, and investment contexts, enable her to provide effective, creative solutions to the significant challenges often faced by clients. Catherine is an acquisition and value enhancement driver as well, a critical conduit for companies as they grow from startup through IPO, exit, and beyond.

Karen G Potter Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Karen Potter is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Life Sciences Patent group. Her practice focuses on patent preparation, prosecution, and strategic counseling for start‑up, emerging, and established life sciences and biotechnology companies. She advises clients in the development and management of comprehensive patent portfolios that match their scientific and business objectives. Karen also helps identify and evaluate patentability, ensure freedom to operate, and perform due diligence review of patent portfolios for clients, including investor-side and target-side due diligence. Building on her technical expertise in cellular and molecular biology and immunology, Karen has experience managing and developing patent portfolios in the areas of cell and gene therapies, including T-cell therapies, Natural Killer cell-based therapies, stem cell therapies and gene-based therapies; protein therapeutics such as immunotherapies, including antibody and protein-based therapies; virus therapies; companion diagnostics; and diagnostic assays and bioassays.

Mitchell Presser

Mitchell S. Presser | Morrison Foerster Mitchell Presser advises on high-profile global public and private mergers and acquisitions, with a heavy concentration on private equity transactions. As the co-chair of the firm’s Band I global Food + Agriculture Industry practice, and member of the firm’s global ESG + Sustainability steering committee, as well as the Private Equity and M&A groups, Mitchell utilizes his vast experience in high-stakes M&A and private equity deals to drive successful outcomes for clients in diverse sectors, including food production, agribusiness, financial services, industrials, insurance, sports and entertainment, energy, retail, and more. As a founding partner of Paine Schwartz Partners, a premier U.S. private equity firm dedicated to sustainable food chain investing, Mitchell’s unique insights are shaped by over eight years as an investor. Mitchell proficiently understands both the legal and business environments, positioning him as a trusted advisor for clients navigating the intricate world of mergers, acquisitions, and private equity transactions.

Omar E. Pringle | Morrison Foerster Global Co-Chair of the Private Equity Practice, Omar Pringle is a seasoned dealmaker and trusted advisor known for guiding clients through their most complex, high-stakes transactions with precision and insight. Omar has extensive experience advising on the full range of complex domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions for and across from financial sponsors, corporates and family-owned businesses. He couples a creative, solution-oriented approach with deep sector expertise. In addition to his knowledge of the private equity industry, Omar has extensive experience in the food and agriculture, consumer goods, technology and life sciences sectors, and acting for and across from the businesses that are driving and disrupting those verticals.

Brian Christopher Radigan | Morrison Foerster Brian Radigan is a partner in the Federal Tax Group at Morrison Foerster. He has a broad tax practice advising U.S. and non-U.S. clients on complex tax structuring and the tax aspects of corporate transactions. Brian advises private equity funds, startup entities, REITs, and established multinational corporations on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cross-border corporate restructurings, and capital markets transactions. He has a particular focus on international tax, helping clients on cross-border structure formation and tax-driven internal reorganization, navigating tax laws across multiple jurisdictions to maximize global tax efficiency.

Bita Rahebi | Morrison Foerster Bita Rahebi serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s global IP Litigation Group and cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group and is a co-leader of its Semiconductor Industry Group. The world’s largest and most innovative technology companies turn to Bita for her trial skills and her strategic direction leading complex, high-stakes litigation matters. She litigates before state and federal trial courts, the Federal Circuit, and the International Trade Commission on a wide range of matters involving semiconductors, software, consumer electronics, medical devices, and standard essential patents (SEPs). As a trial lawyer, Bita is known for zealously representing her clients’ interests. She brings an ability to explain complicated issues to juries and judges, a skill honed through years of experience working with cutting-edge technologies. She has obtained a complete defense victory as lead trial lawyer, invalidated numerous patents, and also obtained winning results for plaintiffs.

Anthony Ramirez

Anthony Ramirez | Morrison Foerster Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.

Shannon Reaney Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Shannon Reaney is the chair of the firm’s Patent Strategy + Prosecution Group and co-chair of the cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group. As a seasoned patent attorney, she provides strategic counsel to life sciences companies, specializing in developing and managing global patent portfolios. With over 20 years of experience, Shannon excels in IP strategy for a wide range of life sciences technologies, including pre-clinical and clinical stage therapeutics, drug delivery systems and diagnostics. She has worked on numerous patent portfolios related to approved drugs and has helped innovator companies secure valuable patent term extension for a variety of approved drugs and biologics. Shannon has particular experience with small-molecule pharmaceuticals, siRNA therapeutics, peptide therapeutics, blood-based therapies, conjugates, pharmaceutical forms and formulations as well as agricultural technologies and materials.

Tina Reynolds | Morrison Foerster Tina is Co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. She represents a wide variety of government contractors including information technology, defense, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies, with a focus on general contract counseling and compliance, particularly concerning intellectual property, and cybersecurity matters and federal grant funding. Tina counsels contractors on compliance with federal, state and local acquisition and ethics regulations and with the evolving myriad of requirements pertaining to data security and cybersecurity. She has been involved with numerous internal investigations and compliance reviews, and with mandatory and voluntary disclosures to agencies, and litigation of False Claims Act matters.

Aaron Rubin | Morrison Foerster Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments. He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.

Justin Salon | Morrison Foerster Justin is chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice and former co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s REIT practice. Justin represents both issuers and underwriters in a wide variety of corporate and securities matters, including initial public offerings, primary and secondary offerings, private placements, senior and subordinated debt financings, and liability management transactions. In addition, he serves as primary outside counsel to numerous public company clients with respect to corporate governance issues, compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws, and the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ, as well as general corporate matters.

Timothy Saulsbury

Timothy Chen Saulsbury | Morrison Foerster Tim Chen Saulsbury co-chairs the firm’s global IP Litigation Group and cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group. He represents many of the world’s leading technology companies in high-stakes patent and technology disputes and has served as lead counsel for the likes of VMware, Zoom, Atlassian, Pinterest, Wix.com, and Tonal. His experience spans all aspects of trial and appellate practice.

Tessa Schwartz | Morrison Foerster Tessa Schwartz has an active practice counseling companies on intellectual property issues, and negotiating complex intellectual property and commercial agreements. She advises on a range of strategic transactions, including key patent licenses and acquisitions, technology procurement agreements, and complex development, collaboration, joint-venture and distribution deals. Tessa also regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. In addition to maintaining an active practice and working with clients on a daily basis, Tessa is founder and co-chair of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Group and previously served as co-chair of the global Transactions Department.

William Schwartz

William I. Schwartz | Morrison Foerster Mr. Schwartz concentrates his practice on the representation of companies in business transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology, including licensing, development agreements, distribution and commercialization activities, joint ventures, outsourcing, and other services arrangements. He was the founding co-head of Morrison & Foerster’s Intellectual Property Group and has served as the firm’s managing partner. Mr. Schwartz is particularly active on transactional and counseling matters relating to computers (including hardware and both open source and proprietary software), communications equipment (including smartphones and other wireless communications devices, internet television, satellites, and other communications infrastructure), semiconductors and other electronic devices, electronic commerce, and other advanced information technology.

Boris Segalis | Morrison Foerster Boris Segalis is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Privacy + Data Security Group. For over a dozen years, he has counseled clients on privacy and cybersecurity issues in the context of strategic product advice, corporate transactions, and regulatory investigations. Boris regularly advises clients on the development and implementation of data-driven products and services, on global privacy and cybersecurity compliance, and on handling cyber incidents affecting companies and users globally. Boris also regularly defends companies in U.S. federal, state, and global privacy and cybersecurity investigations, including representing clients in front of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the New York and California attorneys general, and foreign regulators. Boris’s practice focuses on advising clients on the requirements of a variety of U.S. privacy and cybersecurity laws, including the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA) and other U.S. state privacy laws; state cybersecurity requirements such as the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)’s Cybersecurity Regulation; the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA); the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); CAN-SPAM; NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework (CFS); the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Boris regularly advises financial institutions and Fintech companies on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Boris also has experience advising companies on privacy concerns stemming from the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and other biometric data requirements. Boris has a strong command of global privacy and cybersecurity laws and advises companies on regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and the EU’s ePrivacy Directive.

Jenna Seleznick

Jenna Hope Seleznick | Morrison Foerster Jenna Seleznick is an associate in the Litigation Department in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Jenna focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, including matters at the International Trade Commission and in federal courts and arbitration. Jenna’s clients include companies in the consumer products technology, semiconductor, and software areas.

Nicole Serfoss | Morrison Foerster Nicole Serfoss is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Securities Litigation, Securities Enforcement, and Investigations + White Collar Defense groups. Nicole has more than 15 years of experience representing clients in SEC enforcement matters, corporate internal investigations, securities class actions, and shareholder derivative suits. She represents companies, officers, and directors in a wide range of matters involving alleged accounting and disclosure issues. She also frequently assists audit and special committees with investigations following allegations of corporate misconduct.

Tyler J. Sewell | Morrison Foerster Tyler Sewell is a corporate partner in the firm’s Denver and Washington, D.C. offices, focusing his practice on advising clients on a broad range of corporate matters, with an emphasis on M&A and private equity transactions. Tyler has significant experience representing businesses and private equity funds (and their portfolio companies) in a broad range of corporate matters, including acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, growth equity investments, and divestitures. Clients rely on him for both his sophisticated legal counseling as well as his sharp business acumen. Tyler advises clients in all aspects of their investment activity across a wide variety of industry sectors, including aerospace, defense and government contracting; business services; technology (semiconductors, software, and Internet); consumer products; e-commerce; healthcare; industrials; and transportation.

Stephanie Sharron

Stephanie Sharron | Morrison Foerster Stephanie assists companies with technology and life sciences transactions, representing both private and public companies, from emerging growth through the Fortune 50. In particular, Stephanie focuses on helping companies that leverage data through technology in structuring their business and commercial transactions. Stephanie has over two decades of experience working with clients on the complex technology, intellectual property, and data rights issues across technology and business sectors, including, among others: artificial intelligence (including machine learning and other data analytics approaches), cloud services, life sciences and healthcare, the Internet of Things (IoT), fintech, digital transactions, autonomous systems, cybersecurity solutions, semiconductors, edtech and cleantech. Additionally, Stephanie advises on the commercial technology and intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-off transactions, and private equity investments. Stephanie served on the Responsible AI Venture Council, part of the recently launched Lucas Institute for Venture Ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Stephanie is also a member of the firm’s global ESG + Sustainability steering committee as well as the firm’s FinTech steering committee, where she helps to lead and collaborate with attorneys across multiple practices. Stephanie is also a sought-after speaker and thought leader on the issues at the intersection of technology and law, including regarding AI, Life Sciences and FinTech.

Click here for attorney bio.

Shane Shelley | Morrison Foerster Shane Shelley is a partner in the Federal Tax Group and is based in Morrison Foerster’s San Diego office. He has a comprehensive tax practice with a focus on U.S. federal income tax matters. Shane advises on the tax aspects of most business transactions, including M&A, fund formations, joint ventures, spin-offs and divestitures, international structuring, capital markets offerings, and venture capital investments. In addition to his general tax practice, he offers a vast depth of knowledge in a variety of complex tax areas, including REITs and real estate, renewable energy, and financial products. He counsels his REIT and real estate clients regarding tax compliance and structuring in connection with their significant offerings, M&A transactions, U.S. and non‑U.S. fund formations and joint ventures, property contributions, like-kind exchanges, and other transactions. He advises clients in the renewable energy sector with respect to tax matters through all phases of project development, including project M&A, “beginning of construction” issues, tax equity structuring matters, and the monetization of tax benefits. Clients have described Shane as “one of the brightest tax minds” they have ever worked with, having “the rare ability to simultaneously think like a tax expert and a business leader.”

Jeffrey Silberman

Jeff Silberman | Morrison Foerster Jeff Silberman is co-chair of the firm’s Financial Services Group and co-lead of our Fintech practice, where he provides business-oriented and strategic advice to fintech companies and financial institutions. Jeff’s focus includes bank/fintech partnerships, online and app-based financial services, digital assets and blockchain based payment systems, marketplace business models, and capital markets matters. He has extensive experience negotiating commercial and strategic relationships in highly regulated markets and is known for advising financial institutions and high-growth companies on the various legal, regulatory, and operational complexities associated with financial infrastructure, digital-first financial products, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and licensing arrangements, and the adoption and scale of online, app, and cloud-based business models. Jeff regularly acts as external general counsel advising early and growth stage startups, as well as incumbent fintech companies and financial institutions, on all areas affecting their organizations. He works closely with senior management and boards of directors to provide practical legal and business advice.

Alfredo B. D. Silva | Morrison Foerster Alfredo Silva is a partner in the Transactions Department, co-chair of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, and a member of the ESG Strategy Committee. Alfredo represents companies and investors in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters, with a focus on businesses in the life sciences, agtech and fintech sectors. Alfredo’s practice includes capital markets transactions, venture capital, growth equity and corporate venture financings, tender offers and other secondary offerings, digital token matters, and mergers and acquisitions. Alfredo also helps clients leverage environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to evaluate risk and opportunities and to invest responsibly in businesses seeking sustainable growth and impact. In his private company practice, Alfredo has served as company or investor counsel in early- and late-stage financings, minority strategic investments and impact investments in dozens of private companies, including representation of SoftBank and SoftBank Vision Fund in financings with a combined value of over $2 billion, Temasek in its $800 million minority investment in Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, and Visa Ventures in strategic fintech investments around the world.

John E. Smith | Morrison Foerster John E. Smith, former Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is co-head of Morrison Foerster’s National Security practice, and a member of the Crisis Management group and Investigations + White Collar group. After serving 11 years as a top official at OFAC and three years as its Director, Mr. Smith brings to the firm unmatched experience in economic sanctions, enforcement, and national security. Both in the United States and globally, clients turn to Mr. Smith for his deep experience and unique perspective on the complexities and escalating risk of U.S. and multilateral sanctions. He is a trusted advisor for clients navigating significant civil and criminal enforcement actions by U.S. and other government prosecutors and regulators.

Ruti Smithline | White Collar Defense + FCPA | Morrison Foerster Ruti Smithline serves as co-chair of the firm’s Latin America Desk, in addition to being a member of Morrison Foerster’s FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption group and a former co-chair of the Investigations + White Collar Defense group. Her practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on white collar criminal defense, SEC enforcement, and corporate internal investigations. Ruti regularly advises clients on cross-border investigations, global compliance programs and anti-corruption due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures, and private equity transactions. Ruti has represented individual and corporate defendants in cross-border criminal investigations, SEC enforcement matters, and other regulatory proceedings, including matters related to trade sanctions and anti-money laundering. She has experience conducting corporate internal investigations both domestically and internationally, often advising clients on remedial measures responsive to the issues investigated. Ruti was born and raised in Colombia and is fluent in Spanish. She has conducted investigations, seminars and anti-corruption training in Spanish throughout Central and South America. Ruti has been recognized by industry leading publications including Chambers & Partners, where she is ranked in the USA guide for Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations in New York and nationally for their FCPA category, in addition to being ranked in the Latin America guide for Corporate Crime & Investigations across the LatAm region. She has also been recommended by Legal 500 US in their Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense category, was recently selected by LatinVex as one of "Latin America's Top 100 Lawyers: FCPA & Fraud" for 2022, and has also been named to Global Investigations Review's "Women in Investigations" 2018 survey, which recognizes the top 100 leading female investigations specialists from around the world. Ruti received her J.D. from The George Washington University School of Law, where she graduated with honors and as a member of the Order of the Coif. She received her B.A. degree cum laude from Cornell University. She is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.

Damien Specht | Morrison Foerster Damien is a partner in the firm’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. Damien represents clients in all facets of government contracts transactions, as well as regulatory counseling, subcontract and teaming agreement negotiations, contract disputes, size protests, and protests. Damien has been recognized as a leading Government Contracts lawyer by various publications. Chambers USA explains that he “is a strong choice for advising government contractors on M&A transactions,” with sources saying that he has “excellent knowledge of government contracts M&A” and that “his biggest strength is that he is very commercial, thinking about both the legal and business side of things.” National Law Journal named him a Trailblazer and found that federal lawmakers turn to him when they “need expert advice about small-business policy.” Damien has played a significant role in more than 200 government contracts transactions, representing industry leaders, private-equity firms and entrepreneurs. He also regularly serves as lead counsel in high-stakes litigation, including pre- and post-award protests at the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and state tribunals, as well as in size protests and appeals

Partner, Government Contracts + Public Procurement

Cooper Spinelli

Cooper J. Spinelli | Morrison Foerster Cooper Spinelli is a member of the Litigation Department and part of the firm’s Employment & Labor Group. His practice focuses on trade secrets and restrictive covenants, employee mobility and executive disputes, whistleblower claims, and general business litigation. Cooper has represented clients in both affirmative and defensive trade secret misappropriation and employee mobility cases, including cases involving related IP issues. Cooper has, for example, represented a Fortune 50 company in prosecuting an employee-raiding and computer-fraud case against former high-level executives and managers, resulting in a favorable settlement. Cooper also defended a North American provider of IT solutions and services in a series of putative trade secret and employee mobility cases, helping oversee defensive and affirmative litigation across multiple state and federal jurisdictions. And on behalf of a leading multi-cloud security and application management company, Cooper is defending and has helped secure an initial dismissal of a 12-defendant, 26-cause-of-action case in federal court concerning claims of copyright infringement, fraud, and tortious interference based on alleged conduct in Russia and California.

Dave B. Sturgeon | Morrison Foerster David Sturgeon is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Federal Tax practice. Dave advises clients on a broad range of complex business transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs and other divestitures, as well as financings, refinancings, restructurings and other business transactions.

Joseph Sulzbach

Joseph Sulzbach | Morrison Foerster Joe Sulzbach is a partner in the Transactions Department, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Joe has represented numerous public and private entities in a variety of transactions, including domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, private equity transactions, joint ventures, and corporate governance matters. He has advised a broad range of clients across industries, including technology, media, and telecom (TMT), industrial, chemicals, consumer goods and retail, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and real estate.

Ragesh K. Tangri | Morrison Foerster Ragesh Tangri brings diverse experience representing clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 100 companies in high-stakes intellectual property and trade secret disputes, in addition to commercial litigation and legal malpractice, in jurisdictions across the country. Ragesh regularly represents major technology companies, law firms, and individuals in their most significant disputes. Ragesh has litigated matters involving high-stakes breach of contract and tort claims, as well as legal malpractice and professional negligence claims arising from work done in a variety of underlying areas, including intellectual property litigation, patent prosecution, general corporate matters, and tax. He has, during several pleadings motions, obtained complete dismissal of all claims asserted against law firm clients.

William Tarantino

William Tarantino | Morrison Foerster Drawing on his considerable experience in environmental health, William (Bill) focuses his practice on environmental and consumer protection law, with an emphasis on climate-related goals and claims, hazardous substances, mass torts, and consumer product safety. Bill started his career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Regional Counsel in San Francisco, and he currently leads the firm’s environmental practice. Bill routinely advises clients in connection with their carbon reduction and climate-related goals and claims (including carbon neutral and net zero carbon commitments) and helps clients substantiate their claims and avoid greenwashing claims. He frequently advises clients in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, state consumer protection statutes, and a broad range of sustainability and chemical disclosure laws. He defends clients in environmental and consumer class action litigation in courts throughout the country and is highly regarded for his ability to coordinate technical, legal, and communications teams to counsel clients through crises. He has tried cases in state and federal courts for a variety of complex and multidistrict litigation matters, including product liability claims and environmental and land use disputes. Bill represents the firm’s clients in nearly every aspect of environmental regulation and supports the firm’s global transactional practices in all areas of U.S. environmental law. He is also a member of the firm’s ESG + Sustainability Steering Committee. Environmental Litigation and Regulatory Bill has represented the firm’s clients before a broad range of environmental regulatory agencies in rulemaking proceedings, permit applications, and appeals and enforcement actions. Bill heads MoFo’s environmental due diligence teams and serves as the lead on transactional negotiations involving environmental liability risks, including significant experience in cross-border transactions. Consumer Class Action, False Advertising, and Product Liability Bill has broad experience in consumer class action and false advertising litigation, especially concerning claims of health or environmental benefits. He has also advised numerous well known life sciences, technology, and consumer product companies on consumer disclosures and warnings, including compliance with U.S. and European requirements governing product safety.

Eric Akira Tate

Eric Akira Tate | Morrison Foerster Eric Akira Tate co-chairs the firm’s Global Employment and Labor Group. He represents technology and other companies in bet-the-company trade secrets and employee mobility cases. Eric also represents boards of directors and companies in #MeToo and other sensitive internal investigations and disputes with executives, whistleblower, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, and other employment litigation. Eric also advises companies in employment law compliance and transactional matters, including restrictive covenants and other personnel policies and procedures, and employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions throughout the United States and globally.

Jeffrey J. Temple | Morrison Foerster Jeff Temple is the co-chair of the firm’s U.S. Real Estate Group and has over 35 years of experience representing a broad spectrum of clients making investments in, acquiring, financing, developing, operating, and selling large commercial real estate assets. He regularly advises institutional lenders, private equity investors, investment fund sponsors, REITs, foreign investors, and family offices. Leading lenders and borrowers call on Jeff for representation in complex, multi-tiered finance transactions and credit facilities of all types, including transactions involving the acquisition and disposition of real estate assets, as well as the acquisition and sale of loans and loan portfolios. Jeff regularly represents financial institutions, REITs, and private equity funds in connection with syndicated credit facilities (secured and unsecured), construction loans, preferred equity investments, A/B notes and participation arrangements, mezzanine financings, note purchase transactions, note financings, and intercreditor and co-lending arrangements involving major office, residential, industrial, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use projects.

Stephanie Thomas

Stephanie C. Thomas | Morrison Foerster Stephanie, Chair of the firm’s global Private Funds Group, has over 20 years of experience advising on private fund formation and operations, as well as on regulatory compliance matters. She represents U.S. domestic and global fund sponsors and institutional investors in connection with the formation of, and investments in, buyout funds, venture capital funds, secondary funds, debt funds, infrastructure funds, fund–of–funds, social impact funds and other private funds with a broad range of investment strategies. She has been described by a client as “extremely knowledgeable in the fund formation space, very good to work with and thoughtful about the needs of her clients.” Private Fund Sponsors. Stephanie represents fund sponsors and the management teams of private funds in the formation of their private funds, as well as in ongoing fund operations, including upper–tier planning, parallel and feeder fund structures, alternative and offshore vehicles, securities law matters, ERISA compliance, transfers or sales of partnership interests, including secondary transactions, and other tax and regulatory matters. She has considerable experience negotiating anchor investor arrangements, navigating cross–border fund matters, structuring co–investment and overage programs, representing firms and individual partners at the time of hire or departure (including involuntary removal), and the formation of feeder vehicles, parallel funds and special purpose vehicles. She also advises U.S. and international companies in the structuring of their corporate venture capital programs. Institutional Investors. Stephanie has advised institutional investors in hundreds of private fund formations, involving foreign and domestic funds ranging in size from $40 million to $21 billion. These investors, including state and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, universities, fund-of-funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors, have commitments ranging from $5 million - $1 billion on a per-deal basis. Her experience includes representing significant limited partner investors in some of the largest private market funds ever raised.

James A. Tucker | Morrison Foerster Jim Tucker is of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Jim’s practice runs the gamut of litigation and counseling in federal procurement matters, with an emphasis on bid protests, Cost Accounting Standards disputes, and small business matters. He has represented both protesters and awardees in scores of protests before the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and procuring agencies, in acquisitions ranging from small business procurements to multibillion-dollar contracts of global significance. His representative protest matters span the aerospace sector, the Intelligence Community, base operations and logistics, healthcare, nuclear and environmental work, and information technology and software acquisitions. His protests have included both classified and unclassified programs. In addition to prevailing in published decisions, Jim has also secured favorable corrective action on behalf of clients in a wide variety of protests that were resolved without a published decision.

Andrew Turnbull

Andrew R. Turnbull | Morrison Foerster Andrew Turnbull co-chairs the firm’s Global Employment + Labor Group and DEI Strategy + Defense Task Force. He has extensive experience advising, defending, and investigating high stakes and class discrimination, harassment, and whistleblower claims, including enforcement actions by EEOC, DOL, DOJ Civil Rights, ICE, and similar state agencies. He is also well versed in defending and pursuing employee mobility and trade secret misappropriation claims, including breach of non-competes, non-solicits, and non-disclosures claims as well as and duty of loyalty and trade secrets claims. Andrew also routinely defends and advises companies, board of directors, and executives on the significant reputational, business, and compensation issues arising from executive disputes.

Brandon Van Grack

Brandon Van Grack - National Security Lawyer | Morrison Foerster Brandon L. Van Grack co-chairs Morrison Foerster’s National Security and Crisis Management groups. His practice focuses on investigations, criminal defense, and compliance matters involving export controls and sanctions, foreign investment, and cyber incidents. Brandon’s arrival to the firm follows more than a decade of service at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he held multiple senior positions. In those positions, he helped manage the U.S. government’s tools to address perceived national security threats in China and Russia, oversaw every criminal investigation involving sanctions and export controls, and was Chief of DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit. Brandon’s leadership and breadth of national security experience offers clients in the financial services, technology, artificial intelligence, defense, media, and communications sectors unmatched insider enforcement perspective across the entire national security landscape, including sanctions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), export control, cybersecurity matters, and FARA.

Michael Vernace

Michael R. Vernace | Morrison Foerster Michael Vernace is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office and member of the firm’s Finance and Private Equity Investments + Buyouts Groups. Mike’s practice focuses on supporting sponsor-borrowers along with additional lender-side representations and borrower-side bankruptcy remote financings. He regularly advises clients through syndicated finance and other commercial lending transactions, including acquisition, leveraged, investment-grade, asset-based, corporate, receivables, net asset value, and hybrid financings. He has extensive experience representing prominent private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in complex domestic and cross-border financings, including acquisition financings and refinancings. He has led transactions covering a range of industries, including healthcare and life sciences, tech, telecommunications, and media and entertainment, among others.

Claudia Vetesi | Morrison Foerster Claudia focuses her practice on the defense of consumer class actions and on complex commercial litigation, including unfair business competition, false advertising, product liability, and privacy matters. She is currently representing numerous consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in false advertising and mislabeling class action lawsuits. Claudia also regularly counsels clients in the food, cosmetics, retail, and technology industries. She represents companies in false advertising disputes before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. More about Claudia Claudia is active in MoFo’s pro bono efforts, and recently traveled to El Paso, Texas, to work with families separated and detained at the border. She is also supervising a pro bono collaboration with Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit fighting for gender justice in work places and schools across the country. The initiative will help students who have been victims of sexual assault, attempted assault, or harassment find support and seek justice. Claudia is also a board member of Bay Area Legal Aid and a former board member of Equal Rights Advocates. Claudia is an editor and frequent contributor to MoFo’s Class Dismissed blog, which provides reports about the latest defense news, developments, and trends in class action lawsuits and product liability issues that affect consumer-facing companies. Her perspectives are also respected in the larger legal community: Claudia has published articles about class action and false advertising issues, and is a co-author of Chapter 7 — “Unfair Competition in California Business Litigation 2016” — of The Recorder. She also regularly speaks at conferences on class action and advertising trends. Claudia is currently serving as a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California. She received her J.D. degree in 2004 from Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall School of Law), where she was an associate editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

Katie Viggiani | Morrison Foerster Katie Viggiani is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Complex Litigation + Advisement practice group and a partner in the firm’s New York office. She specializes in the defense of complex commercial disputes and consumer class actions, crafting strategies that look beyond a single dispute to further clients’ holistic goals inside and outside the courtroom. Katie is a versatile commercial litigator who represents U.S. and international companies in courts and arbitral tribunals throughout the country. Her clients include technology, retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and financial firms from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Consumer Class Actions and Privacy Litigation Katie regularly represents companies against consumer class actions, including ones asserting privacy claims based on novel theories of liability. She has defended companies against claims under federal wiretap statutes, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and other privacy laws. She also defends companies in high-profile cases involving data security issues and the handling of sensitive information. Mass Arbitration, Mass Torts, and Multijurisdictional Claims Katie has extensive arbitration experience. She helps companies navigate mass arbitrations—the coordinated filing of a large number of nearly identical claims—guiding companies to favorable resolutions and outcomes, including in cases involving parallel class actions. Katie’s practice also includes defending corporate clients in serial mass tort and class action litigation filed and pending in multiple jurisdictions. In 2023, The Legal 500 recommended Katie in Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action Defense. Enforcement Actions and Trial Experience Katie also represents clients at the intersection of enforcement actions and civil litigation. She has represented clients facing regulatory investigations and enforcement actions involving securities fraud, benchmark manipulation, market manipulation, tax evasion, and accounting brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Katie was also part of a trial team that represented the founder and former CEO of a high-tech company in a criminal prosecution alleging stock option backdating and improper revenue recognition. The team achieved two separate criminal trial victories, obtaining acquittal on six counts and a hung jury on the one remaining count. More About Katie Katie maintains an active pro bono practice with a particular focus on indigent criminal defense, civil rights work, and legal issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. She was a founding member of the firm’s NY LGBTQ+ Affinity Group and is an active member of the MoFo Proud Network and the firm’s Women’s Strategy Committee. Katie earned her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where she was a managing editor of the UCLA Women’s Law Journal. While in law school, Katie worked as a law clerk for the Los Angeles County Public Defender and was a member of UCLA’s Criminal Defense Clinic.

Marian Waldmann Agarwal

Marian Waldmann Agarwal | Morrison Foerster Marian Waldmann Agarwal is a partner in the Privacy + Data Security Group at Morrison Foerster. She also co-leads the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Group and is a member of the global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Responsible Tech Committee. Marian’s unique blend of business and legal skills, honed through her background in information systems and business management, is a key asset in her role. Her in-house experience as a secondee to two different companies has provided her with firsthand knowledge of the internal business needs required for company initiatives to succeed. Marian has been instrumental in advising global clients on the developing field of AI. Clients seek her guidance due to her extensive understanding of, and experience with, the ethical use of AI and the developing legal compliance requirements, including data privacy and regulatory provisions, in connection with the design and implementation of innovative AI tools. Her work extends to helping clients identify and mitigate the potential risks associated with AI technologies.

J. Ward | Morrison Foerster J. Alex Ward is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement group. His practice covers a full range of government contracts matters, including investigations, bid protests, claims, general litigation, corporate transactions, and counseling. Alex strives in all matters is to provide his clients the highest level of efficient and effective representation. Alex represents contractors in internal and external investigations, disclosures to the government, and qui tam litigation, with great success in reducing or eliminating his clients’ exposure through active engagement with the government. His work in this area includes obtaining numerous declinations and dismissals of False Claims Act cases in their earliest stages, sparing his clients the cost, risk, and exposure of litigation. He has also served as lead counsel in dozens of bid protests involving military and civilian agency procurements of a wide range of products and services, including all manner of pre- and post-award protests in the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and state tribunals, as well as appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and size protest appeals before the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Michael Ward Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Michael (Mike) Ward is co-chair of the firm's Life Sciences + Healthcare Group, Patent Group, Intellectual Property Group, and Food + Agriculture Group. As co-chair of the Patent Group, Mike manages a team that includes 80+ Ph.D.s and 100+ attorneys and others with advanced scientific degrees in life sciences and related engineering disciplines. From small molecules and antibodies to gene editing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, MoFo has deep experience protecting some of the most important innovations in the life sciences and food and agriculture sectors.

Mark Whitaker | Morrison Foerster Mark Whitaker is co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice and has more than 30 years of experience crafting legal strategies in high-stakes patent and trade secret litigation. Mark sees the whole board for each of his clients, and works closely with them to define a successful litigation outcome and determine the best path to achieve that goal. He has extensive experience navigating the rules and procedures in the nation’s top patent litigation venues, including U.S. district courts, the International Trade Commission, and the Court of Federal Claims.

Anna Erickson White

Anna Erickson White | Morrison Foerster Anna has almost 30 years of experience in securities and other complex, high-stakes civil litigation. She has represented companies, as well as their officers and directors, in securities class actions, derivative suits, merger and acquisition litigation, and general commercial disputes. She also regularly advises boards and management on disclosure and high-profile governance issues. Her clients span a range of industries including technology, life sciences, renewable energy, gaming, and financial services. In recognition of her ability to add real value to clients’ businesses, Anna was named a Client Choice Award winner. She is also recommended by Chambers USA and Legal500 US for securities litigation defense and most recently was honored with Euromoney LMG’s “Outstanding Achievement” award, which is given to a lawyer with an illustrious career and considerable achievements who has earned unanimous market recognition and praise. She was also recently named a “Top Woman Lawyer” in California by Daily Journal and was previously named a “Woman Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Journal in 2014. Anna is also a frequent speaker on securities litigation and corporate governance topics and is regularly quoted in publications such as the Daily Journal, The Recorder, and Law360. Some recent engagements include: Stanford Directors' College Practising Law Institute Benchmark Women in Litigation Women in Securities (WISe) Directors Roundtable

David J. Wiener | Morrison Foerster David is a partner in Morrison Foerster's San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation group. His practice focuses on the representation of public companies and their officers and directors in securities fraud class actions, shareholder derivative lawsuits, and other high-stakes litigation. He also regularly advises boards and management on shareholder demands, disclosure issues, and governance matters. David has represented clients across a range of industries including technology, social media, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare, and has litigated at the civil trial and appellate court levels in federal and state courts throughout California and the Delaware Court of Chancery. David’s experience includes defending claims arising under: The Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act The California Corporations Code The Delaware General Corporation Law David received his J.D. from the UC Davis School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was an articles editor of the UC Davis Law Review. He received the UC Davis Law School Medal for the highest academic achievement in his graduating class, as well as seven Witkin awards for the highest academic achievement in specific subjects. David received his B.A. in political science with honors from UC Santa Barbara.

Bryan Wilson | Morrison Foerster Bryan Wilson is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. He is a first-chair trial lawyer with an expansive range of experience handling intellectual property matters in a variety of venues. His successful track record in recent years includes trade secrets and patent cases in both state and federal courts as well as in arbitration proceedings. He is co-chair of the firm's Trade Secrets Working Group and former chair of the Litigation Department in the firm's Palo Alto office. Bryan teaches a seminar in trade secret law as a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School and is a contributing editor to Trade Secrets (Law and Business 2016).

William F. Wilson | Morrison Foerster William Wilson is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. William provides guidance to startups, major corporations, and venture capital and private equity investors. His practice spans business and technology transactions, including counseling, as well as structuring and negotiating deals across various industries, with a specialized emphasis on the Fintech, software, and technology sectors. William provides legal representation across the entirety of a company’s lifecycle, from general corporate and IP counseling, to early- and late-stage financings, to exit event. As an active participant in the venture ecosystem, William is involved with various startup accelerators and incubators, including MIT Delta V, NYU Endless Frontier Labs, and Spark Cleantech Accelerator.

Mark Wojciechowski

Mark S. Wojciechowski | Morrison Foerster Mark Wojciechowski is Senior Of Counsel in the Finance Group of Morrison Foerster’s New York office. Mark focuses on leveraged and acquisition finance, middle market and asset based finance, mergers and acquisitions and hybrid transactions involving structured debt and equity investments. His clients include major foreign and domestic commercial banks and investment banks, as well as private credit debt funds and public and private corporations. Mark routinely advises these clients on both transactional and regulatory matters.

Christine Y. Wong | Morrison Foerster Christine Wong focuses her practice on investigations, white collar criminal defense, and cross-border compliance matters. Christine draws on her unique background as an internal advisor and as a federal prosecutor in advising companies, boards and executives in a variety of matters that present significant legal and reputational risk – including white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement, internal investigations and related civil litigation. She also provides ongoing compliance advice to corporate clients. Christine has an active trial practice as first chair in both criminal and civil cases. Christine is a former co-chair of MoFo’s Global Litigation Department and the firm’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White Collar Defense practice group. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she taught Civil Trial Practice. Christine served as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of California, where she investigated a wide range of matters including public corruption, fraud, and organized crime, and served as lead counsel in over a dozen jury trials. She briefed criminal appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before joining MoFo, Christine led the development and implementation of the global compliance program for a Fortune 500 multinational corporation, where she served as vice president, head of international compliance. In that capacity, she conducted risk assessments for dozens of entities, which resulted in enacting necessary amendments to business workflows and policies. She was responsible for managing investigations and related litigation, reviewing policies and procedures, developing and delivering training modules, and ultimately reporting to the board of directors. Christine speaks conversational Mandarin and Cantonese.

Miriam Wugmeister

Global Co-chair

Yuan Xia | Morrison Foerster Yuan Xia is an associate at Morrison Foerster’s Palo Alto office. She is a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation + Benefits practice. Yuan’s practice focuses on the transactional aspects of executive compensation matters in the context of domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, public offerings and restructurings. Yuan regularly counsels public companies, private equity funds, and startup companies on the design and implementation of equity, incentive and non-qualified deferred compensation agreements, change in control, retention and severance, and executive employment agreements. Yuan also has distinct experience advising public companies on executive compensation disclosures for annual proxy statements and merger proxies, initial public offerings and Form 8–Ks. Yuan was recognized by Legal 500 US as a Rising Star in Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans (Transaction) for 2024.

Janet Xiao Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Janet focuses her practice on worldwide patent procurement, patent portfolio management, and strategic planning for life sciences companies. Janet’s clients range from large multinational biopharmaceutical companies, such as Celgene and Genentech, to emerging startup companies around the world. She advises her clients on patent matters relating to various technologies, including antibody therapeutics, cell therapeutics, nanomedicine, gene therapy, drug delivery systems, diagnostics, and nutraceuticals.

Jie Zhou Ph.D. | Morrison Foerster Dr. Jie Zhou is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Life Sciences Group. Her practice focuses on patent prosecution and counseling clients in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. She has significant experience developing worldwide patent portfolios for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to multinational companies. She also advises clients on IP management and strategic portfolio planning. Because of her extensive experience in patent prosecution and counseling, as well as her deep knowledge and hands-on experience in bioscience and other technologies, companies often rely on Dr. Zhou for their most difficult and challenging patent work, which involves: developing overall patent strategy to support their business objectives; patent application drafting; and prosecution of high value patent portfolios. Dr. Zhou has successfully obtained patent coverage for many therapeutic candidates that are in early development or in various phases of FDA approval.