Private Equity Group of the Year: Morrison & Foerster

Morrison & Foerster's private equity practice was profiled as one of Law360's 2021 Private Equity Groups of the Year.

Patrick Huard, who helps lead the firm's private equity practice in the U.S., said collaboration is key to the group's success, particularly in cross-border transactions, which often call for attorneys to work across time zones and offices.

"I have found the culture here of that collaboration means people always pick up the phone, they're always willing to dive in, no matter the timeliness or the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the request," he said.

Marcia Ellis, the firm's global chair of private equity, said MoFo had predicted in late 2020 that in 2021 the SPAC craze would hit Asia.

"It turned out to be quite correct. We'd worked on quite a number of Asia-based SPACs and de-SPACS," Marcia said, adding that MoFo is also involved in advising clients on listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchanged.

Mitchell Presser, MoFo's global corporate co-chair, added: "We're really across the capital structure in Asia and very, very strong. And that strength really distinguishes us."

He added that MoFo has also led the way in advising on environmental, social, and corporate governance standards, or ESG, which have grown increasingly important to private equity firms in recent years. The firm has had an ESG practice for over 20 years, which is "before most people could even spell ESG," Mitchell joked.

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