Morrison & Foerster LLP  has named four new partners from its Global Privacy and Data Security Group for 2008.

The four partners are based in offices across the Morrison & Foerster network and represent a continuing investment in developing the firm's Privacy and Data Security practice. Morrison & Foerster was among the first full-service law firms to develop a dedicated practice to advise clients on issues pertaining to the privacy and security of information. Today, the firm has more than 60 attorneys around the world addressing privacy issues, several of whom were instrumental in the drafting of key pieces of legislation in the field.

The new partners are:

• New York: Gabriel Meister; J.D. Harvard Law School (1998); B.A. Brown University (1993). Mr. Meister focuses on data security issues in the context of complex intellectual property and technology transactions, including licensing, information technology outsourcing (ITO), and business process outsourcing (BPO).
• Washington, D.C.: Andrew Smith; J.D. William & Mary (1994); B.A. Williams College (1987). Mr. Smith focuses on consumer financial services law, advising clients on: privacy issues arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and state and federal laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices. He also represents clients before state regulators and the Federal Trade Commission in regulatory matters and enforcement actions.
• Palo Alto: Christine Lyon; J.D. Stanford (1999); B.A. University of Iowa (1996). Ms. Lyon specializes in the areas of employee privacy, with respect to both U.S. and international privacy compliance.
• Tokyo: Daniel Levison; J.D. University of Pennsylvania (1997); M.Sc. London School of Economics (1994); B.A. Cornell (1993). Mr. Levison focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration, as well as internal investigations and international privacy and data security issues.

Miriam Wugmeister who leads the Global Privacy and Data Security Group in New York said “We are delighted to have these four extremely talented individuals join the partnership. These promotions really demonstrate the firm’s commitment to our flourishing privacy practice.”

“While high-profile lateral partners tend to generate the most attention, we’re especially proud of those attorneys who have come up through the ranks here at Morrison & Foerster to join such a cutting edge practice area.” said Morrison & Foerster chair Keith Wetmore.

Although the firm has one of the longest standing privacy practices, having provided advice on financial services privacy since the inception of the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), the firm has been actively developing new aspects of the Privacy and Data Security practice recently. In addition to the recent partner promotions, Morrison & Foerster has recently launched a free Privacy Library and authored a significant treatise on employee privacy.

‘Employee Privacy: Guide to U.S. and International Law’ was written by a team of twenty lawyers in the Privacy and Data Security Practice Group. The scope of the text underlines the firm's pre-eminence in this area, and its lawyers' unrivaled understanding of cross-border issues relating to HR and privacy matters.

Morrison & Foerster’s Privacy Library may be accessed at http://www.mofoprivacy.com. The free site, which provides links to privacy laws, regulations, reports, multilateral agreements, and government authorities for more than 90 countries around the world, is the result of years of research and experience working with clients around the world.