Morrison & Foerster Elects 22 Partners

NEW YORK (January 4, 2022) – Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the election of 22 lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2022. The class of 2022 includes lawyers from 16 thriving practices across 10 offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“I am delighted to welcome our class of 2022 to the partnership,” said Larren M. Nashelsky, chair of Morrison & Foerster. “These extraordinarily talented lawyers are thoroughly deserving of this recognition, having demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our clients, values, colleagues, and communities. I look forward to their valuable contributions in years to come.”

The following lawyers have been elected partners:

• Benjamin Butterfield, a member of the Finance Department and part of the Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group, is based in New York. He represents debtors, large financial institutions, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, and official creditors’ committees in Chapter 11 proceedings. Mr. Butterfield also represents clients in out-of-court financial restructurings and cross-border insolvency-related matters. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his B.A. from Patrick Henry College.
• Nicholas Fung, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Intellectual Property Group, is based in Los Angeles. Mr. Fung advises clients on a broad range of intellectual property issues, with a focus on high-stakes patent litigation and trade secrets disputes. With a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, he has litigated matters spanning a broad range of technology, including semiconductors, medical devices, and computer hardware and software. Mr. Fung has counseled companies at all stages of their life cycles/growth, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and has represented clients in federal and state courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and he holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Danielle Hirsch, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in London. She advises on all aspects of global real estate and private equity transactions and has acted for a full range of real estate clients, including sellers, purchasers, lenders, institutions, investors, and servicers. Ms. Hirsch has also worked closely with finance teams in dealing with the real estate aspects on finance transactions, including direct and indirect investment in property, loan origination, loan purchases, CMBS transactions, and restructurings. Her sector focus includes hotels, healthcare, office portfolios, shopping centers, student accommodation, data centers, industrial units, and development properties for some of the world’s largest and most active real estate companies and investors. Ms. Hirsch earned her LL.B. from the University of Manchester and her L.P.C. from the London College of Law.
• Maureen Ho, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in Hong Kong. Her practice focuses on advising private equity and real estate funds, and financial and corporate investors in all aspects of their investment cycle, including private and public mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buy-outs, infrastructure investments, and joint ventures, as well as pre-IPO investments, bolt-on acquisitions, and corporate restructurings. Ms. Ho also has experience advising clients in corporate carve-outs, management buy-outs, and general corporate matters. She was recently named a ‘Rising Star’ in the Private Equity category in the Asia-Pacific region by International Financial Law Review. Ms. Ho speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She received her L.L.B. and her P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong.
• Yuichi Inase, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in Tokyo. His practice focuses on a broad range of litigation matters, including commercial and intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution. Mr. Inase is also experienced in corporate matters, including compliance and regulatory issues, with a particular focus on the technology and e-commerce industries. He earned his J.D. and his B.S.E. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo, and his LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Mr. Inase is a bengoshi admitted to practice in Japan and New York and is a member of the Tokyo Bar Association.
• Mary Kaiser, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Antitrust Group, is based in Washington, D.C. Ms. Kaiser represents domestic and multinational companies as both plaintiffs and defendants in all aspects of antitrust and competition-related matters, including internal and government antitrust investigations, enforcement proceedings, and class action litigation in federal and state courts. She has defended companies in antitrust and related complex litigation involving claims of price-fixing, monopolization, and refusals to deal, as well as prosecuted antitrust counterclaims in patent and IP infringement matters. Ms. Kaiser also has experience counseling clients on antitrust compliance and merger advice. Her clients span various sectors from media to life sciences to computer software. Ms. Kaiser also has an active pro bono practice, with experience representing clients in voting rights, asylum, and landlord-tenant matters. Ms. Kaiser received her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Virginia.
• Shai Kalansky, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in San Diego. His practice focuses on corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions (representing both buyers and sellers), venture capital financings, and a broad range of securities offerings. Mr. Kalansky’s clients include U.S. and non-U.S. investors and public and private companies across the sustainable infrastructure, high tech, consumer products, life sciences, and healthcare industries. He also acts as outside general counsel to companies with respect to licensing matters, commercial contracts, and employment issues. Mr. Kalansky is fluent in Hebrew and conversant in Spanish. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.
• Ryan Keats, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the firm’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White Collar Defense Group, is based in San Francisco. He represents companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, shareholder derivative lawsuits, and other high-stakes litigation. He also regularly advises boards and management on shareholder demands, disclosure issues, and governance matters. His clients span a range of industries, including technology, communications, energy, consumer retail, and financial services. Mr. Keats earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.
• Victor Liang, a member of the Finance Department and part of the Finance & Projects Group, is based in San Francisco. His practice focuses on the representation of borrowers, lenders, and other financial institutions in connection with domestic and cross-border financial transactions, including secured and unsecured financings, syndicated lending, asset and cash-flow based lending, warehouse facilities, acquisition finance, structured finance, leveraged finance, equipment finance, and real estate-backed loans. Mr. Liang earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated with a B.A. in International Relations and French from the University of Southern California.
• Joshua Pierce, a member of the Finance Department and part of the Real Estate Group, is based in Boston. He represents domestic and foreign investors in large-scale acquisitions, financings, and dispositions of U.S. commercial real estate assets and in the structuring and documentation of strategic joint ventures and direct investments in U.S. commercial real estate assets. Mr. Pierce also represents institutional lenders providing financing to commercial real estate projects and borrowers throughout the U.S. and abroad with respect to a wide variety of asset classes, including office, multi-family, hotel, industrial, condominium, and land deals. He regularly represents lenders in connection with construction, mortgage, and mezzanine loans; fund, REIT, and bond transactions; sale-leasebacks; unsecured lines of credit; and warehouse lines of credit. Mr. Pierce received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from The George Washington University.
• Anthony Ramirez, a member of the Corporate Department and part of the Technology Transactions Group, is based in New York. He advises clients on commercial and transactional matters relating to intellectual property, and his clients include technology, media, and communications companies with significant intellectual property assets. Mr. Ramirez’s practice focuses on IP development and licensing, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to software, data and content licensing, mobile applications, social media, and corporate acquisitions involving technology companies. Mr. Ramirez received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.S. from Cornell University.
• Trevor Salter, a member of the Finance Department and part of the Financial Services Group, is based in Washington, D.C. His practice focuses on helping technology companies, retailers, travel companies, and financial institutions form strategic partnerships and outsourcing relationships in financial services. In particular, Mr. Salter has advised on some of the largest co-branded payment card strategic partnerships forged between banks and nonbanks in recent years. He also advises on e-commerce and payments law by helping companies and financial institutions go to market with new payments and lending products. Mr. Salter earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and his B.A. from Brigham Young University.
• Lee Shepard, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in Palo Alto. He focuses on fund formation and transactions, as well as corporate and securities law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private financings, public offerings, and general corporate matters. Mr. Shepard represents venture capital and private equity sponsors and institutional investors in connection with the formation of, investments in, and investments by private funds and alternative investment vehicles, including funds focused on life sciences, pharmaceutical development, and alternative energy power generation. He advises institutional investors on co-investments in private equity-sponsored acquisitions and leveraged recapitalization transactions. Mr. Shepard received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his B.S. and M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.
• Lisa Silverman, a member of the Corporate Department and part of the Patent Group, is based in Palo Alto. She focuses on patent portfolio management and strategic patent counseling in the areas of chemistry and life sciences. Dr. Silverman has extensive experience in securing U.S. and foreign patent protection for pharmaceutical products and a deep understanding of patent lifecycle management and strategies for maximizing patent term. She routinely represents clients in both investor- and target-side due diligence, including patentability and freedom-to-operate assessments, and she has a keen interest in the intersection of patent and regulatory considerations for pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Dr. Silverman obtained her J.D. from Stanford Law School, her Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University, and her B.A. in chemistry and political science from Barnard College.
• Maria Strickland, a member of the Finance Department and part of the Finance & Projects Group, is based in Boston. Her practice focuses on representing banks and other financial institutions in single-lender and syndicated financing transactions with foreign and domestic private equity and venture capital funds, their general partners, management companies, and portfolio companies. Ms. Strickland has extensive experience advising clients on structuring and cross-border issues in connection with subscription facilities, capital call facilities, NAV-based facilities, GP and management facilities, fund guarantees and intercreditor agreements. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and her B.S. from Northeastern University.
• Dave Sturgeon, a member of the Tax Department, is based in New York. He advises clients on a broad range of complex business transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs, and other divestitures, as well as financings, refinancings, restructurings, and other business transactions. Mr. Sturgeon earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, his LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law, and his B.A. from McGill University.
• Joseph Sulzbach, a member of the Corporate Department and part of the Private Equity Investments + Buyouts Group, is based in New York. He focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and corporate governance matters, and has represented numerous public and private entities in a variety of transactions, including domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, private equity transactions, joint ventures, and corporate governance matters. Mr. Sulzbach has advised clients across a broad range of industries, including technology, media and telecom, industrial, chemicals, consumer goods and retail, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and real estate. He received his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.A. from Gettysburg College.
• Roman Swoopes, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Intellectual Property Group, is based in Palo Alto. His practice focuses on patent and copyright litigation and counseling. Mr. Swoopes represents clients in industries including computer software, hardware, and peripherals, data storage, digital imaging, consumer electronics, music, and graphic design. He has represented clients at two intellectual property trials. Mr. Swoopes has considerable experience in the areas of copyrightable and patent-eligible subject matter for software. He has also represented clients in disputes involving open source software licenses. Mr. Swoopes is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark office and has represented clients in inter partes review proceedings. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his S.B. in electrical engineering and computer science from Harvard University.
• Andrew Turnbull, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Employment + Labor Group, is based in Washington, D.C. He represents companies on a broad range of labor and employment litigation and counseling matters, successfully defending clients before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. A primary focus of Mr. Turnbull’s practice involves helping federal contractors navigate the unique employment issues that arise when doing business with the federal government, including OFCCP audits and compliance. He is also well-versed in litigating trade secret misappropriation, restrictive covenant, discrimination, and retaliation claims, as well as handling executive disputes and internal investigations. Mr. Turnbull received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and his B.A. from Hendrix College.
• Katie Viggiani, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Investigations + White Collar Defense and Class Actions + Mass Torts Groups, is based in New York. Her practice focuses on investigations, white collar defense, and commercial litigation. Ms. Viggiani represents companies and individuals in criminal and civil enforcement matters, conducts internal investigations, and advises companies on global compliance issues. She also has extensive experience representing financial institutions, consumer-products companies, and Fortune 500 firms in class actions and complex commercial disputes, from pre-litigation strategy through trial and settlement negotiations. Ms. Viggiani earned her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law and her B.A. from The George Washington University.
• Marian Waldmann Agarwal, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Privacy + Data Security Group, is based in New York. She leverages a unique blend of business and legal skills when counseling clients on privacy and data security matters in the U.S. and across the globe. Ms. Waldmann Agarwal works with companies on designing and building privacy programs, performing global assessments of privacy compliance programs, and has a special expertise in cross border movement of data. Ms. Waldmann Agarwal received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her M.B.A. and B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
• David Zins, a member of the Litigation Department and part of the Employment + Labor Group, is based in Los Angeles. He is an experienced advisor to employers and regularly litigates employment-related disputes in federal and state courts and agencies. Mr. Zins’ practice focuses on advising and defending employers in wage-and-hour matters arising under state and federal law, with an emphasis on defeating class actions, PAGA representative actions, and FLSA collective actions filed against California employers. He also represents and defends employers facing a broad array of employment-related claims and maintains a counseling practice. Mr. Zins graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and received his B.A. from Wake Forest University.