Susan (“Suz”) Mac Cormac, chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Energy and Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practices, has been named a Law 360 2021 Private Equity MVP. The award recognizes the five attorneys who had extraordinary wins and contributed most to their practice area in the past year.
Suz combines an elite Corporate and Finance practice with a commitment to furthering the cause of environmental and social responsibility in the profit‑driven world of business. Her innovative work spans a unique range of complex matters, from advising on 10-figure late-stage technology investments and high-profile M&A transactions in the clean technology and renewable energy sectors, to developing novel nonprofit/for-profit “hybrid” corporate structures and corporate governance advice in relation to sustainability.
Of late, Suz has applied her skillset to supporting small businesses in California struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerned that government relief programs might not be reaching the businesses that needed it most, Suz co-founded the California Small Enterprise (CASE) Task Force, a consortium of legal, financial, and nonprofit professionals.
She led efforts to launch its first project, a resource guide for small businesses, which then progressed into weekly virtual group office hours during which attorneys shared information and answered questions posed by small businesses. The CASE Task Force went on to lead the development and implementation of the California Rebuilding Fund, a public-private partnership launched in November 2020. Suz spearheaded the innovative structuring of the Fund and leads the MoFo pro bono team that continues to advise it. Her team worked tirelessly to establish the Fund, seeking over $1 billion in debt financing in order to provide capital to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that would quickly deploy the money as loans to California businesses in need.
In addition to her pro bono work, Suz recently represented Huck Capital and provided diligence support to Schneider Electric in their investment in Uplight, the technology partner of energy providers transitioning to the clean energy ecosystem. She also represented Generate Capital in its $870 million fundraising round to continue to scale its renewable, sustainable infrastructure fleet.
You can view Suz’s MVP profile on Law360’s website.