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California’s Mandatory Diversity Reporting for VC Fund Managers Starts March 1 – Compliance Roadmap and Key Considerations

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Status Update (March 17, 2026): On March 17, 2026, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI)...

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Status Update (March 17, 2026): On March 17, 2026, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it will suspend implementation and enforcement of S.B. 164, the Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law (the “California Diversity Reporting Law”). DFPI will instead engage stakeholders over the coming months before launching formal rulemaking, which must be completed within one year once initiated. In the interim, DFPI will not require covered entities to submit further registrations or file reports by the April 1, 2026 deadline.<hr class="divider">Beginning March 1, California will require certain venture capital fund managers to comply with new mandatory diversity reporting obligations. The law introduces significant new data collection and disclosure requirements that may impact fund operations, investor communications, and compliance infrastructure. Join Stephanie Thomas, Avy Mallik and Andrew Turnbull for an in-depth discussion covering: <ul><li>Overview of the Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law </li><li>Registration and Reporting Requirements </li><li>Which VC Firms Are Covered by the New Rules? </li><li>Background on Diversity Reporting Law in California and Nationwide </li><li>Next Steps </li></ul><a href="https://mofo.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NvWxKYM0T26Ef9-5ROS3kQ#/registration" target="_self">Register</a>.<hr>

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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.Investment Advisers. Stephanie advises fund sponsors and other investment advisers on the principal aspects of the Investment Advisers Act and the Dodd–Frank Act. She assists her clients in navigating the regulatory landscape, including new state and federal registration requirements, exemption eligibility, compliance programs and ongoing compliance matters.Stephanie works in the firm’s Palo Alto office and is active in the business community. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, she was a member of the fund formation group in the Palo Alto office of Cooley LLP.

Stephanie Thomas

Chair of Global Private Funds Group

Avy Mallik is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Financial Services Group. His practice focuses on financial services regulation and enforcement, with a particular emphasis on emerging technologies, including fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital assets.Avy advises banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions on a broad range of financial regulatory issues, including consumer protection, investor protection, payments, money transmission, banking law, BSA/AML compliance, financial privacy, and the use of emerging technologies in financial services.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Avy served as General Counsel to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), appointed by California Governor Newsom, and oversaw the office’s Legal Division, Securities Regulation Division, Broker Dealer and Investment Advisor Division, and Digital Financial Assets Law Division. In his time as General Counsel, Avy has overseen landmark legislative and regulatory initiatives, including the drafting and implementation of California’s Digital Financial Assets Law, and he has managed high profile enforcement and policy responses to major bank failures and emerging fintech issues. Previously, he served as Director of Fintech Policy for the Financial Services Committee at the U.S. House of Representatives, leading the task forces on AI in the Financial Services, Fintech, and the Digital Assets Working Group. He has also served as Assistant Attorney General for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General and Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Program and Foreclosure Prevention Staff Attorney at Civil Justice.Avy is regularly invited to speak on legal and policy issues related to financial innovation and has testified before legislatures and briefed state, federal, and international policymakers on emerging regulatory challenges related to fintech products, digital assets, and AI.Avy earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in English Literature from Reed College.

Avy Mallik

Partner

Andrew Turnbull is a partner in the firm’s Global Employment + Labor Group and co-leader of the firm’s Anti-Bias 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.A primary focus of Andrew’s practice involves helping companies handle the unique employment issues and challenges from doing business with the federal government, including:<ul><li>Defending whistleblower qui tam and retaliation claims under the False Claims Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, and other whistleblower laws;</li><li>Advising and defending government investigations and litigation under the Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, and other prevailing wage laws;</li><li>Compliance and litigation defense relating to federal and state affirmative action requirements and DEI related risks;</li><li>Advising on unique compliance issues for federal contractors, such as mitigating discrimination risks when screening for export control compliance under ITAR and EAR, conducting E-Verify audits and compliance, and navigating the Drug-Free Workplace Act.</li></ul>Andrew is problem-solver. He routinely provides clients from Fortune 100 companies to startups with practical and business-minded risk mitigation strategies for various employment and labor issues, including:<ul><li>Developing DEI, affirmative action, pay transparency, antidiscrimination, and antiharassment programs and policies;</li><li>Conducting pay equity studies, adverse impact analysis, and bias testing of employment tests and tools, including for artificial intelligence;</li><li>Developing trade secrets protection and restrictive covenants strategies;</li><li>Reductions in force, furloughs, and high-risk terminations;</li><li>Risks related to 1099s and other contingent workers; and</li><li>Risks related to I-9 and E-Verify compliance, audits, and raids.</li></ul>Andrew also advises companies and executives on a wide range of employment agreements, including drafting and negotiating executive employment agreements, separation agreements, non-competes and non-solicits, and commission and bonus plans.Andrew also represents employers in matters involving union avoidance, negotiating and drafting collective bargaining agreements, handling union grievances, and avoiding and defending unfair labor practice charges.Prior to joining private practice, Andrew worked as a human resources manager for a company recognized on the Inc. 500, an annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.  Andrew received his J.D. with honors from the George Washington University Law School, where he served as a notes editor for The George Washington Law Review.  While in law school, Andrew interned at the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice.Andrew is an active member of the steering committee of the Washington Metro Industry Liaison Group.

Andrew Turnbull

Emerging Companies + Venture Capital

Private Funds

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California’s Mandatory Diversity Reporting for VC Fund Managers Starts March 1 – Compliance Roadmap and Key Considerations

20 Feb 2026 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PST