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Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit 2026

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Morrison Foerster is proud to co-host the Food+Ag networking lunch at the 2026 Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit, the...

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Morrison Foerster is proud to co-host the Food+Ag networking lunch at the 2026 <a href="https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/about-us/all-about-us" target="_blank">Plug and Play</a> <a href="https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/events/silicon-valley-may-summit-2026">Silicon Valley May Summit</a>, the leading conference bringing together the startups, corporate venture capital leaders, and investors pioneering the future of the industry.MoFo partners Anita Choi, Brian Sylvester, Fredo Silva, and Meghan Poon will attend the lunch and introduce MoFo’s unique and integrated Food+Ag Group. They will exchange insights, build connections, and spend time with industry leaders from companies including Mars, Mondelēz, Taylor Farms, CJ BIO, Redstick Ventures, and Oleo, among others. The luncheon will take place from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on May 20, 2026.MoFo partner Fredo Silva will also attend the <a href="https://www.farmroboticschallenge.ai/" target="_blank">Farm Robotics Challenge Awards Ceremony</a>—where he served as a member of an esteemed judging panel—onMay 21, 2026, from 1:30–3:00 p.m. Finalists from the global competition, which was focused on advancing AI-powered and autonomous technologies for agriculture, willalso be recognized.To view the Summit’s full agenda and list of speakers, visit the event <a href="https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/events/silicon-valley-may-summit-2026/agenda" target="_blank">website</a>.<hr>

Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit 2026

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Anita Choi has decades of experience providing strategic advice to companies and investors in the <a href="/capabilities/life-sciences-healthcare" target="_self" dir="ltr">Life Sciences</a> and <a href="/capabilities/food-agriculture" target="_self">Food + Agriculture</a> 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 <a href="/life-sciences-healthcare-leadership" target="_self">Life Sciences + Healthcare Leadership Team</a>, 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.Anita is recognized as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 US for patent prosecution. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Chemistry and was named to the Order of the Coif. During law school, Anita also completed her M.B.A. at the Wharton School of Business.Anita is co-editor of our <a href="https://lifesciences.mofo.com/" target="_blank" dir="ltr">MoFo Life Sciences Blog</a>.Life SciencesAnita gained a solid technical background across disciplines during her time studying at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), where she received her Bachelor of Science with honors. She spent several years working at Pfizer, developing small molecule compounds for use in oncology therapies. She has performed research at CalTech involving unnatural amino acids, and at MIT involving fluorescent zinc sensors, both for use in developing neuroscience applications.Anita has counseled clients in a wide variety of life science technologies, including small-molecule pharmaceuticals, cannabinoids, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical and cosmetic uses, pharmaceutical formulations, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health.Food and AgTechAnita has advised businesses in developing IP strategies for soil and crop technologies, sustainable farming, alternative protein sources, fermentation technologies, extraction technologies, new categories of food and beverage products, and food packaging.The breadth of technologies that Anita works with also enables her to provide IP advice at the intersection of multiple technical disciplines. For example, Anita’s practice is also well positioned at the convergence of data analytics in the Life Sciences and Agriculture industries.ChemistryAnita also has technical expertise in chemistry outside of Life Sciences, such as in the Materials space, including Cleantech. She has developed IP strategies for biobased materials, polymer chemistry, composite materials, catalyst-based technologies, industrial processing, batteries, and carbon capture technologies.IP Due DiligenceAnita is skillful with investor-side and company-side patent due diligence. She supports many of the firm’s corporate deals, advising on ownership and patent portfolio risks and conducting patentability and freedom-to-operate assessments. She also supports her own clients undergoing IP due diligence by investors.IP Litigation SupportAnita also works closely with the IP Litigation Group to formulate strategies for infringement contentions, validity/invalidity contentions, and claim construction positions. She actively supports the patent litigators in pre-litigation diligence matters to evaluate the strength of patents and patent portfolios.Pro BonoAnita has an active pro bono practice and has been awarded the State Bar of California's Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services for many consecutive years. She regularly represents families seeking legal guardianship. She also assists numerous non-profit organizations in developing and securing patent protection for their core technologies.

Anita Choi

Partner

Brian P. Sylvester is a partner in our FDA & Healthcare Regulatory and Compliance Group. He is the head of Food Regulatory and an influential thought leader and practitioner in the field of food regulation.Brian counsels clients across the full life cycle of regulated products, serving global brands, startups, life sciences companies, investors, and trade associations. He has been recognized by a number of legal industry awards and publications such as Chambers USA, Bloomberg Law, and The National Law Journal. Chambers USA reports that Brian “is widely noted as an expert in regulatory issues relating to novel food technologies, with significant experience advising on USDA and FDA regulations.”Brian focuses his practice on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulated products, with an emphasis on the food and beverage sector. He additionally counsels early-stage, growth, and global clients on all aspects of cosmetics, over the counter (OTC) human drugs, medical devices, animal food and drugs, and a range of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulated commodities. Across all these regulated product categories, his work spans enforcement actions, audits and investigations, regulatory compliance, labeling and advertising, import and export, due diligence, consumer litigation, comment preparation, public policy advocacy at the federal and state levels, and new product development.In the area of food and beverage, Brian develops regulatory strategies to commercialize a range of food tech innovations, including transgenic crops and alternative proteins, such as cultivated meat and fermentation-derived food ingredients, among others. As a former regulator at USDA, he adeptly counsels clients on strategic considerations around engagement with and advocacy before USDA and FDA on numerous complex issues, including those of first impression.Brian is an author and frequent speaker at industry-leading events in the United States, the European Union, China, Israel, and other parts of the world. He is regularly called upon to offer insights on trending legal issues by preeminent industry and global publications.

Brian Sylvester

Alfredo Silva is a key member of the firm’s Social Enterprise + Impact Investing Group and the Emerging Companies + Venture Capital practice. He advises companies and investors—particularly in life sciences, agtech, and fintech—on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, with a strong focus on venture capital, growth equity and corporate venture capital financings. Alfredo brings particular expertise in complex restructuring and recapitalization transactions. He also advises both impact-first and return-first investors on building mission lock into their strategies, works with clients to form Delaware public benefit corporations and structure for-profit/non-profit “hybrid” entities that can attract both philanthropic and traditional capital, and on a pro bono basis advises nonprofits and small businesses on formation, structuring and governance matters.In his private company practice, Mr. Silva has served as company or investor counsel in early- and late-stage financings, minority strategic investments and impact investments in over a hundred 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.In his public company practice, Alfredo counsels issuers on strategic transactions, such as the stock-for-stock merger of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. with Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp, as well as corporate governance and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and stock exchange listing standards, including advising on cutting-edge issues with respect to ESG disclosures and materiality assessments.In addition, Mr. Silva works extensively with nonprofit organizations, providing advice on fiduciary issues, entity formation, structuring and other corporate matters, and assists small businesses pro bono. He incorporated and continues to advise Illuminate, the nonprofit producer of The Bay Lights, a 25,000 LED sculpture on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in structuring, corporate governance, and project management matters. Mr. Silva currently chairs the audit committees of the boards of directors of Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, a nonprofit founded by three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and The New York Times bestselling author Ayesha Curry to unleash the potential of every child, and San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which for nearly 30 years has been pursuing a future where health justice is achieved for all people living with or at risk for HIV, both of which Mr. Silva has previously advised as corporate counsel.Alfredo is recognized by The Recorder as a 2013 Lawyer on the Fast Track, in 2014 was the inaugural recipient of the firm’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Service, is a 2017 Lawyers Committee for Legal Diversity Fellow, and was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2023 National Public Service Award.

Alfredo B. D. Silva

As chair of the biotechnology group and a member of the firm’s food and agriculture steering committee, Dr. Meghan Poon counsels clients on patent preparation and prosecution, portfolio strategy, and IP due diligence in the areas of life science and agriculture. Meghan is passionate about working with cutting edge technologies at the frontier or science that impacts human health and global food security. She has significant experience in diverse technologies including antibodies, cell and gene therapies, diagnostics, and gene edited plants. Meghan manages a cross-technology team to service clients developing technology at the interface of life science and AI.Meghan represents clients ranging from large international pharmaceutical companies to midsized companies, startups, and universities. She has filed numerous Patent Term Extension applications to secure additional term for her clients’ patents which cover FDA approved products. In addition, Meghan has extensive experience addressing complex obviousness-double patenting and subject matter eligibility issues impacting her clients’ patent portfolios. Meghan also represents clients in both investor side and target side due diligence in deals from seed funding to initial public offerings.Meghan is a thought leader on intellectual property issues facing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agriculture companies and is sought after to speak at events and publish on these issues. Meghan has written numerous articles on the topics of patents vs. trade secrets, subject matter edibility, written description and enablement in life sciences. Meghan is editor of the MoFo Life Sciences Blog, where she directs content.Prior to law school, Meghan earned her PhD in biological chemistry based at the University of California, Los Angeles. Meghan’s Ph.D. work focused on analysis of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions of site-specific recombinases. Meghan is the author of several scientific publications and has presented her research at international conferences.Meghan received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School and spent a year as a visiting student at Santa Clara University, where she focused on intellectual property.

Meghan Poon

Food + Agriculture

Plug and Play Silicon Valley May Summit 2026

19 May 2026 - 21 May 2026