San Francisco -- January 16, 2003 -- Morrison & Foerster LLP is pleased to announce that seven lawyers from six offices were elected to the partnership, effective January 1, 2003. The new partners represent the Denver, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo offices, and the practice areas of litigation, intellectual property, technology transactions, financial services, labor, and tax. In addition to these seven new partners, Martin M. Noonen from the Los Angeles office and Michael W. Vella from the San Diego office were elected to the partnership effective September 1, 2002.

"We welcome this talented group into the partnership," said Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith C. Wetmore. "Morrison is delighted to start off the new year with the announcement of such a stellar partnership class. These lawyers represent the best that the firm has to offer -- smart people, strong values, commitment to superior client service, and the ability to deliver a broad range of expertise in key global markets." The new partners are:

• Steven M. Haines practices civil litigation with an emphasis on intellectual property and other complex commercial and business cases. Mr. Haines joined Morrison & Foerster in 1995. He received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in 1993. (Associate) Tokyo office
• Oliver I. Ireland practices in the Financial Services Practice Group with a focus on wholesale and retail financial transactions and systems. Before joining Morrison in 2000, Mr. Ireland served as Associate General Counsel of the Federal Reserve System. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1974. (Of Counsel) Washington, D.C. office
• Lawrence R. Katzin practices complex civil litigation including business and tort claims, healthcare litigation, and securities fraud litigation. Mr. Katzin joined Morrison in 1999 from the San Francisco firm Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon. He received his J.D. degree from The University of Chicago Law School in 1989. (Of Counsel) San Francisco office
• Neil I. Pomerantz practices in the State and Local Tax Group with a focus on sales and use taxes, income and franchise taxes, property taxes, and unclaimed property issues. He received his J.D. degree with honors from Harvard Law School in 1994. Mr. Pomerantz joined Morrison in 1994. (Associate) Denver office
• Eric A. Tate practices all aspects of labor and employment law, including discrimination, wrongful termination, and the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements. Mr. Tate joined Morrison in 1995. He received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1995. (Associate) Palo Alto office
• Michael R. Ward practices in the Intellectual Property/Patent Group with a focus on patent law and biotechnology. He holds a Ph.D. in plant physiology and an M.S. in agronomy from the University of California, Davis. After completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Ward was a post-doctoral fellow in molecular biology at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining Morrison in 2000, Dr. Ward was with the IP boutique Limbach & Limbach. Dr. Ward received his J.D. degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1996. (Of Counsel) San Francisco office
• Russell G. Weiss practices in the Technology Transactions Group specializing in entertainment and technology matters, including negotiating and drafting a broad range of agreements involving the design, development, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, and promotion of entertainment and technology products and services. Mr. Weiss joined Morrison in 1999 from the Motion Pictures Division of Columbia Pictures where he served as in-house counsel. He received his J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1994. (Of Counsel) Los Angeles and Century City offices

New partners effective September 1, 2002:

• Martin M. Noonen practices intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on patent infringement cases. Mr. Noonen joined Morrison in 2000. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Denver School of Law in 1993. (Associate) Los Angeles office
• Michael W. Vella practices intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on patent infringement cases for clients in the biotechnology, semiconductor and commercial electronics industries. Mr. Vella joined Morrison in 2000. He received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1990. (Of Counsel) San Diego office