NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 11, 2008  - Morrison & Foerster LLP today announced that Chiahua Pan joins the firm as partner in the Capital Markets Practice, where she will focus on insurance transactional and regulatory work.  Ms. Pan brings more than 20 years of experience to the practice.  Ms. Pan joins Capital Markets Practice partner Rachel Coan in focusing on this growing practice area.

Ms. Pan, formerly special counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, focuses on complex insurance-related transactions and regulatory work, including life settlement and premium finance transactions, life settlement and annuity securitizations, and establishment of life settlement and premium finance operations.  She also has experience in insurance company mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and rehabilitations, regulatory capital financings and reinsurance transactions.

Keith C. Wetmore, Chair of Morrison & Foerster, said, “With Ms. Pan joining our capital markets practice, we are continuing to expand our capabilities across the spectrum of transactional and regulatory work so critically important to our financial institution clients.  Ms. Pan has worked at the forefront of the emerging field of insurance-based capital markets products.  With her depth of knowledge and experience, I believe she will be a great addition to our firm and a valued resource for our clients.”

“I’m very excited to be joining Morrison & Foerster’s leading capital markets practice and working with the wonderful attorneys here,” said Ms. Pan.

Ms. Pan began her legal career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and has also worked at Sullivan & Cromwell.  She received her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California.  She earned an MA from Columbia University and Yale University.  She earned her AB from Radcliffe College, Harvard University. 

About Morrison & Foerster

With more than one thousand lawyers in key financial and technology centers around the world, Morrison & Foerster offers clients comprehensive, global legal services in business and litigation.  The firm is distinguished by its unsurpassed expertise in finance, life sciences, and technology, its legendary litigation skills, and an unrivaled reach across the Pacific Rim, particularly in Japan and China.  We have one compelling mission: to deliver success for our clients.

• Annually ranked by Bloomberg, Thomson Financial and The American Lawyer as one of the leading firms for issuer and underwriter representations for initial public offerings, international offerings, REIT offerings, offerings of hybrid securities, offerings of preferred securities and debt offerings.
• By volume, in 2007, over $250 billion in securities offerings.
• Ranked by Chambers USA and by Chambers Global as one of the leading derivatives practices.
• Structured Products magazine Law Firm of the Year, Americas (2006 and 2007).