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MoFo Advises ATL Partners in Acquisition of SkyMark and Rampmaster

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Morrison Foerster advised ATL Partners, a middle-market private equity firm focused on commercial aerospace, national security,...

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Morrison Foerster advised ATL Partners, a middle-market private equity firm focused on commercial aerospace, national security, and transportation and logistics sectors, on the acquisitions of SkyMark Companies, a leading manufacturer of aircraft refueling trucks and hydrant dispensers, and Rampmaster, a premier designer and manufacturer of aircraft refueling solutions for commercial and general aviation markets. SkyMark and Rampmaster are the first investments in ATL’s latest fund, ATL Fund III. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.The MoFo team advising ATL was led by private equity/M&A partner, Patrick Huard, and private equity/finance partner, Dario Avram, with invaluable assistance from private equity/M&A partners Astrid Menendez-Muharram and Michael Santos and associates Mohammed Alismail, Niko Marcich and Hannah Kim, and private equity finance/partners Michael Vernace and Jake Burne and associates Daniel Kim and Ryan George. The wider team included tax partner Richard Nugent, government contracts partner Damien Specht, antitrust partner Megan Gerking, executive compensation partner Josh Lerner, and technology transactions partner Anthony Ramirez.Read the <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260106949888/en/ATL-Partners-Acquires-SkyMark-and-Rampmaster-to-Create-a-Leading-Specialty-Vehicle-Equipment-Platform-Serving-the-Aviation-and-Transportation-Related-End-Markets" target="_blank">press release</a>.

MoFo Advises ATL Partners in Acquisition of SkyMark and Rampmaster

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Darío Avram is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Finance Group and a member of the Private Equity Buyouts & Investment Group. His transactional practice is focused on financings and private equity matters, with additional experience in restructurings.Darío regularly represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a variety of complex U.S. and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged buyouts, refinancings, and restructurings. He has led transactions covering a range of industries, including technology, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrials, professional services, and consumer products, among others. His representative funds clients include Alpine Investors, Altamont Capital Partners, Excellere Partners, Gryphon Investors, Main Post Partners, Palladium Equity Partners, Rubicon Technology Partners, San Francisco Equity Partners, Shamrock Capital Advisors, SkyKnight Capital, and Vector Capital.Darío has been recognized by Chambers USA as a notable practitioner for Banking & Finance in California. He was also recognized by Global M&A Network as one of Americas Top 50 Rising Dealmakers and by Legal 500 as a key partner for Private Equity Buyouts.

Dario D. Avram

Partner

Astrid Menendez-Muharram is a corporate partner in the firm’s Miami office, focusing her practice on advising clients on a broad range of complex domestic and cross-border transactions, with an emphasis on M&A and private equity transactions, both in the United States and Latin America. Astrid has significant experience representing businesses and private equity funds (and their portfolio companies) in a broad range of corporate matters, including strategic mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, growth equity and venture capital investments, and divestitures.Astrid advises clients in all aspects of their investment activity across a wide variety of industry sectors, including consumer and retail; defense and government contracting; food and agriculture; aerospace and transportation; business services; technology; and industrials.She speaks fluent Spanish.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Aurotech, a provider of digital services and business solutions for U.S. federal healthcare and adjacent civilian agencies, in connection with its acquisition by OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm.</li><li>Autodesk in its acquisition of CAMplete, a developer of simulation and other software for machine tooling machinery.</li><li>Banco Inter S.A., a publicly traded Brazilian digital bank and its affiliates, in connection with its $157 million acquisition of Pronto Money Transfer Inc. (also known as “Usend”), a fintech company established in the United States and with subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom.</li><li>Definitive Logic in connection with its acquisition, and related acquisition financing, of Digital Mobilizations, a digital transformation firm with market leading capabilities for enterprise-level digital transformation initiatives at the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Intelligence Community.</li><li>Divvy, a leader in spend management, in its sale to Bill.com (NYSE: BILL), a provider of cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes, and automates complex back-office financial operations for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The stock and cash transaction was valued at approximately $2.5 billion.</li><li>Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLPN), a leading independent entertainment marketing and premium content development company, in its acquisition of Shore Fire Media, Ltd., a public relations and media management firm based in Brooklyn, New York that specializes in music, entertainment and popular culture.</li><li>DPR Construction in connection with its acquisition of GE Johnson, a general contractor headquartered in Colorado Springs with projects in the healthcare, education, multi-family/hospitality, advanced technology, commercial office, public/Federal, and cultural markets.</li><li>onsemi (NYSE: ON), a leading supplier of intelligent power and sensing technologies, in connection with its acquisition of GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), a producer of silicon carbide (SiC), for $415 million in cash. </li><li>Shinagawa Refractories in connection with its acquisition of Saint-Gobain’s ceramic businesses mainly used in the traditional iron and steel industry, including Vinhedo in Brazil and Latrobe in the U.S.</li><li>SoftBank Latin America Fund in connection with its investment in the $200 million Series C funding round in Addi, a fintech startup based in Bogota, Colombia that offers buy-now-pay-later technology.</li><li>SoftBank Latin America Fund, Riverwood Capital, Igah Ventures, and Volpe Capital in connection with their investments in CRM&BONUS’s R$280 million financing round. CRM&BONUS is a Brazilian-based platform that allows real-time control of giftback delivery to consumers.</li><li>SoftBank in its investment in the Series B financing of Buser, Ltd., an intercity bus charter online booking service in Brazil.</li><li>SoftBank in connection with a Series D investment round totaling $250 million in QuintoAndar, a Sao Paulo-based real estate leasing platform that is changing the long-term rental marketplace in Brazil.</li><li>SoftBank in the Series B $108 million financing round in Brazilian IDTech pioneer in ID protection solutions, Acesso Digital. General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, also invested in the round.</li><li>SoftBank as lead investor in the $83 million Series E financing of Brazilian test-prep startup Descomplica.</li><li>Uber Technologies, Inc. on its acquisition of a majority stake in Cornershop, a grocery delivery start-up that is active in Chile, Mexico, Peru and Canada, to expand its food delivery business.</li><li>Uber Technologies, Inc. in its $1.4 billion acquisition of the remaining 47% stake in Chilean grocery delivery company Cornershop Inc., which followed the company's acquisition of a majority stake.</li><li>Unity Technologies, Inc., the world’s leading platform for developing interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content, in its acquisition of Codice Software S.L., a Spain-based developer of version control technology designed to handle source code and all related assets in software projects.</li></ul>

Astrid Menendez-Muharram

Michael Santos is a corporate partner in the Transactions Department. His practice focuses on representing a broad range of investors, including institutional investors, private foundations, and public charities in deploying capital in early-stage and late-stage financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales.Michael also advises companies on structuring for impact, including through the use of benefit corporations, perpetual purpose trusts, hybrid or “tandem” arrangements between nonprofit and for-profit entities, and other alternative ownership structures.

Michael Santos

Mohammed Alismail is a Corporate associate in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Mohammed’s practice focuses on advising on a range of corporate matters, including public and private M&A, private equity transactions, and general corporate and securities matters.Prior to joining MoFo, Mohammed spent nearly two years at the Saudi office of another international law firm, where he advised on domestic and inbound M&A transactions, as well as general corporate, securities and antitrust matters.Mohammed received his LL.B. from the University of Reading (UK) and his LL.M. from the NYU School of Law. Mohammed is a native Arabic speaker.

Mohammed Alismail

Associate

Niko Marcich is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Austin office and a member of the firm’s Transactions Department.Niko represents clients in a variety of corporate and securities matters, including venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and both issuers and underwriters in securities offerings. Niko also advises emerging-growth companies through their entire lifecycle.Niko earned his J.D. at The University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. in International Economics and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia, College of Arts and Sciences.

Niko Marcich

Hannah is a corporate associate in Morrison Foerster’s New York office.Hannah focuses her practice on Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets. She represents issuers in connection with securities offerings, securities regulation as well as related corporate governance matters. She advises on domestic mergers and acquisitions as well as private equity transactions across various industries.﻿Hannah earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School. While at law school, Hannah was a member of the Columbia Journal of Asian Law. She also holds a B.A. from Rice University.Hannah is fluent in Korean.

Hannah Kim

Michael Vernace is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office and member of the firm’s Finance and Private Equity Investments + Buyouts Groups.Mike’s practice focuses on supporting sponsor-borrowers along with additional lender-side representations and borrower-side bankruptcy remote financings. He regularly advises clients through syndicated finance and other commercial lending transactions, including acquisition, leveraged, investment-grade, asset-based, corporate, receivables, net asset value, and hybrid financings. He has extensive experience representing prominent private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in complex domestic and cross-border financings, including acquisition financings and refinancings. He has led transactions covering a range of industries, including healthcare and life sciences, tech, telecommunications, and media and entertainment, among others.Mike was recently recognized by The Legal 500 Green Guide: United States 2024 for his efforts in promoting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, and he brings a wealth of experience from his previous role in another global law firm’s banking and credit group.Mike received his J.D. from Duke University and his B.S. in business administration, summa cum laude, from Boston University. He is admitted to practice in both California and New York.

Michael Vernace

Jake Burne is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Finance Group. He represents both borrowers and lenders on a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including acquisition financings and leveraged buyouts, senior syndicated facilities, fund financings and other secured and unsecured financings.

Jake Burne

Daniel Kim is an associate in the Finance Group, based in San Francisco. His practice focuses on representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, financial institutions, and other business entities in connection with leveraged and acquisition finance transactions, syndicated lending and asset-based lending.Daniel received his J.D. cum laude from Fordham University School of Law and holds a B.A. in economics from Amherst College. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Daniel was an associate at another international law firm.

Daniel Kim

Ryan George is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Transactions Department.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Ryan was a research assistant at the UCLA School of Law, assisting faculty members Eugene Volokh and Jill Horwitz with research ranging from COVID tort replacement to First Amendment law. As a summer associate at Morrison Foerster, he worked on various deals in the Corporate and Finance practices and created internal precedent documents to streamline future deals.Ryan earned his J.D. with a specialization in business law at the UCLA School of Law and earned his B.A. in economics and philosophy from Brown University.

Ryan George

Richard Nugent is a partner in the firm’s New York office and chair of its Tax practice.Richard has over 25 years of experience advising on the tax aspects of complex transactions including public and private M&A, spin-offs, joint ventures, internal restructurings, and financings and capital markets transactions. He also advises debtors and creditors within and outside of bankruptcy.Richard has been recognized in Chambers USA, where he is praised as “an extremely knowledgeable and dedicated attorney” and “well-versed in communicating complex issues.” The Legal 500 describes Richard as having a “deep understanding of the business, including product supply, marketing, and distribution” which clients describe as “priceless when representing us in deal matters.” Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Richard was a tax partner at another international law firm in New York. He serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section and is a member of the Tax Forum. A sought-after speaker, Richard frequently presents on tax topics for Practising Law Institute programs.Richard holds an LL.M. with distinction from Georgetown University, a J.D. with honors from Rutgers School of Law – Newark, and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Saint Peter’s University. He also served as a law clerk to Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit and Judge Robert P. Ruwe of the U.S. Tax Court.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Represented Centuri Holdings and parent company Southwest Gas Holdings in $238 million public offering of common stock</li><li>Represented Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, in its investment in Chex Finer Foods, a value-added specialty food distributor</li><li>Represented the board of Continental Disc Corporation, a portfolio company of Tinicum, in connection to its sale to Baker Hughes, an energy technology company</li><li>Represented Hooter’s Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, L.L.C. in the acquisition of over 100 restaurants from Hooters of America LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 31st in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court</li><li>Represented Centuri Holdings and parent company Southwest Gas Holdings in $353 million IPO and concurrent private placement</li><li>Represented C2 Capital Partners in its investment in Stella & Chewy’s, a leading North American pet food manufacturer</li></ul>

Richard Nugent

Chair of the Tax Practice

Damien is a partner in the firm’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. Damien represents clients in all facets of government contracts transactions, as well as regulatory counseling, subcontract and teaming agreement negotiations, contract disputes, size protests, and protests. Damien has been recognized as a leading Government Contracts lawyer by various publications. Chambers USA explains that he “is a strong choice for advising government contractors on M&A transactions,” with sources saying that he has “excellent knowledge of government contracts M&A” and that “his biggest strength is that he is very commercial, thinking about both the legal and business side of things.” National Law Journal named him a Trailblazer and found that federal lawmakers turn to him when they “need expert advice about small-business policy.”Damien has played a significant role in more than 200 government contracts transactions, representing industry leaders, private-equity firms and entrepreneurs. He also regularly serves as lead counsel in high-stakes litigation, including pre- and post-award protests at the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and state tribunals, as well as in size protests and appeals.The co-editor of books on small business litigation and government contracts transactions, Damien was a founding member of the ABA Public Contract Law Section Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and serves in the leadership of the American Bar Association Small Business & Other Socioeconomic Programs Committee. Damien has testified about procurement issues before the United States House of Representatives.<h4>GAO PUBLISHED DECISIONS</h4><ul><li>Dawson Solutions, LLC, B-418587, B-418587.2, Jun. 19, 2020, 2020 CPD ¶ 216</li><li>LATA-Atkins Technical Services, LLC, B-418602,B-418602.4, Jun. 10, 2020, 2020 WL 3265159</li><li>Inquiries, Inc., B-418486, B-418486.2, B-418486.3, May 27, 2020, 2020 WL 3034820</li><li>BEAT, LLC, B-418235, B-418235.2, Jan.30, 2020, 2020 CPD ¶ 64</li><li>Battelle Memorial Institute, B-416263.5, Jan. 23, 2020, 2020 WL 508726</li><li>ASRC Federal Data Network Technologies, LLC, B-418028; B-418028.2, Dec. 26, 2019, 2019 WL 7370424</li><li>IPKeys Technologies, LLC, B-416873.2, B-416873.3, Apr. 5, 2019, 2019 CPD ¶138</li><li>ActioNet, Inc., B-416557.4, February 27, 2019, 2019 CPD ¶ 97</li><li>Advanced Software Systems, Inc., B-414892.2, B-414892.3, B-414892.4, B-414892.5, B-414892.6, Jan. 7, 2019, 2019 CPD ¶ 51</li><li>Chenega Healthcare Services, LLC, B-416158, Jun. 4, 2018, 2018 CPD ¶ 200</li><li>Federal Acquisition Services Alliant JV, LLC, B-415406.2, B-415406.3, April 11, 2018, 2018 CPD ¶ 139</li><li>VT Halter Marine, Inc., B-415510.2, B-415510.3, B-415510.4, Jan. 24, 2018, 2018 CPD ¶ 62</li><li>OBXtek, Inc., B-415258, Dec. 12, 2017, 2017 CPD ¶ 381</li><li>Katmai Health Services, LLC, B-413816.3, Jul. 12, 2017, 2017 CPD¶ 220</li><li>Verdi Consulting, Inc., B-414103.2, B-414103.3, B-414103.4, Apr. 26, 2017, 2017 CPD ¶ 136</li><li>Threat Management Group, LLC, B-413729, Dec. 21, 2016, 2017 CPD ¶ 9</li><li>Analytic Strategies LLC; Gemini Industries, Inc.; B-413758.2, B-413758.3, Nov. 28, 2016, 2016 CPD ¶ 340</li><li>Kollsman, Inc., B-413485, B-413485.2, B-413485.3, Nov. 8, 2016, 2016 CPD ¶ 326</li><li>The Boeing Company, B-412441, Feb. 16, 2016, 2016 CPD ¶ 269</li><li>Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., B-411359; B-411359.2, Jun. 16, 2015, 2015 CPD¶ 219</li><li>IAP World Services, Inc.; EMCOR Government Services, B-407917.2, B-407917.3, B-407917.4, B-407917.5, B-407917.6, B-407917.7, 2013 CPD ¶ 171</li><li>AT&T Government Solutions, Inc. , B-406926, B-406926.2, B-406926.3, B-406926.4, B-406926.5, B-406926.6, 2013 CPD ¶ 88</li><li>Weibel Equipment, Inc., B-406888, B-406888.2, 2012 CPD ¶ 279</li><li>O'Gara Training and Services, LLC, B-404901.2, 2011 CPD ¶ 171</li><li>Harrington, Moran, Barksdale, Inc., B-401934.2, B-401934.3, 2010 CPD ¶ 231</li><li>CIGNA Government Services, LLC, B-401068.4, B-401068.5, 2010 CPD ¶ 230</li><li>ITT Corporation, Systems Division, B-310102.6, B-310102.7, B-310102.8, B-310102.9, 2010 CPD ¶ 12</li><li>FedSys, Inc., B-401453, 2009 CPD ¶ 181</li><li>Academy Facilities Management, B-401094.3, 2009 CPD ¶ 139</li><li>Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc., B-400771; B-400771.2, 2009 CPD ¶ 49</li><li>TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, LLC, B-310801.6, B-310801.7, B-310801.10, 2013 CPD ¶ 204</li><li>Evans Security Solutions, Inc. , B-311035, 2008 CPD ¶ 58</li><li>DRS C3 Systems, LLC, B-310825; B-310825.2, 2008 CPD ¶ 103 </li></ul><h4>COFC PUBLISHED DECISIONS</h4><ul><li>AccelGov, LLC v. United States, 170 Fed. Cl. 508 (2024)</li></ul><ul><li>Acuity Edge, Inc. v. United States, 174 Fed. Cl. 46 (2024)</li></ul><ul><li>Alpine Cos., Inc. v. United States, 156 Fed. Cl. 681 (2021)</li></ul><ul><li>Navarro Rsch. & Eng’g, Inc. v. United States, 151 Fed. Cl. 184 (2020)</li></ul><ul><li>Next Phase Sols. & Servs., Inc. v. United States, 164 Fed. Cl. 15 (2023)</li></ul><ul><li>Noble Supply & Logistics LLC v. United States, 168 Fed. Cl. 439 (2023)</li></ul><ul><li>Quanterion Sols, Inc. v. United States, 157 Fed. Cl. 22 (2021)</li></ul><ul><li>HomeSource Real Estate Asset Servs. v. United States, No. 10-416 C, 94 Fed. Cl. 466 (Fed. Cl. 2010)</li><li>ACTA, LLC v. United States, No. 20-356C</li><li>Chenega Healthcare Servs., LLC v. United States, No. 18-861C, 141 Fed. Cl. 254 (Fed. Cl. 2019)</li><li>Trans Digital Techs., LLC v. United States, No. 18-121C, 138 Fed. Cl. 34 (Fed. Cl. 2018)</li><li>Precise Sys. v. United States, No. 14-1174C, 122 Fed. Cl. 263 (Fed. Cl. 2015)</li><li>Palladian Partners, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-317C, 119 Fed. Cl. 417 (Fed. Cl. 2014)</li><li>Pyramid Real Estate Servs., LLC v. United States, No. 10-599 C, 95 Fed. Cl. 613 (Fed. Cl. 2010)</li><li>Acad. Facilities Mgmt. v. United States, No. 09-302C, 87 Fed. Cl. 441 (Fed. Cl. 2009)</li><li>L-3 Communs. EOTech, Inc. v. United States, No. 08-515 C, 83 Fed. Cl. 643 (Fed. Cl. 2008)</li></ul>

Damien C. Specht

Megan Gerking is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law practice, specializing in government-facing antitrust matters. Megan represents companies in criminal and civil conduct investigations before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state enforcers and in all phases of the merger review process before U.S. and foreign competition authorities.Megan, a former trial attorney with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, is an experienced antitrust attorney focused on complex antitrust law matters, including government investigations, strategic transactions, and civil litigation. She regularly counsels clients on antitrust issues arising from industry consortiums, trade association activities, and other collaborations. While serving in the Antitrust Division, Megan investigated and prosecuted federal antitrust violations and international cartel cases. She leverages her DOJ experience when reviewing, developing, and implementing clients’ antitrust compliance programs and routinely delivers antitrust compliance training for employees.As part of Megan’s merger practice, she regularly helps clients in all aspects of merger review, including developing strategy for structuring transactions, assessing and complying with obligations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”), and securing clearance from antitrust enforcers in the United States and abroad. Megan has represented third parties in agency reviews of deals, including at trial.Megan has experience representing clients across a broad range of industries, including media, telecom, technology and software, financial services, consumer products, aviation, higher education, manufacturing, agriculture, and life sciences. While in the Antitrust Division, Megan prosecuted the first individual extradited to the United States on an antitrust charge. For her work investigating and prosecuting international price fixing, bid rigging, and market-allocation conspiracies by automotive parts suppliers, Megan earned the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Megan was also awarded the DOJ’s Outstanding Mentor Award by the Attorney General. Further, she was recognized this past year in Bloomberg Law’s 40 Under 40 and as a finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2022 Young Lawyer of the Year. Additionally, Megan has served as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network (ICN) and spoke at the ICN Cartel Workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2022. Megan is also a member of our global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee.Megan is currently an editor of ABA magazine The Antitrust Source. Megan received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served on the editorial board of The Tax Lawyer. She received her B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan.Before attending law school, Megan worked in the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs, assisting the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division in all media matters and serving as a spokesperson for national media. She also worked as a paralegal for the Antitrust Division, supporting trial attorneys investigating and prosecuting corporations and individuals for violations of criminal antitrust laws.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Criminal and Civil Antitrust Investigations</h5><ul><li>Obtained non-prosecution protection for two healthcare companies she represented in separate DOJ Antitrust Division criminal investigations.</li><li>Represented an energy company in a criminal investigation.</li><li>Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into market allocation and bid rigging of generic drugs by the DOJ.</li><li>Regularly advises senior executives on DOJ antitrust criminal investigations involving allegations of price fixing, market and customer allocation, and bid rigging and obtained non-prosecution protection for several individuals.</li><li>Assisted a technology company in an FTC monopolization investigation.</li><li>Represented a private equity fund in a state AG investigation.</li><li>Counseled a senior executive in an international criminal cartel investigation.</li><li>Obtained a non-prosecution agreement for a senior executive in a criminal investigation into conduct related to the hiring of employees.</li></ul><h5>Antitrust Merger Review</h5><ul><li>ShowingTime. Navigated ShowingTime Inc., a leading real estate showing management and market stats technology provider, through an extended review by the Federal Trade Commission of its $500 million vertical acquisition by Zillow Group. </li><li>Unity Technologies Corp. Obtained merger clearances for Unity in connection with an asset carve-out acquisition from Weta Digital for certain assets, including its audiovisual effects development and management software tools, for a purchase price of $1.625 billion. </li><li>Grant Thornton. Advised and obtained merger clearances for Grant Thornton LLP in connection with the sale of its Public Sector Advisory practice to Guidehouse.</li><li>Divvy. Represented Divvy, a leader in spend management, in its $2.5 billion stock and cash sale to Bill.com.</li><li>NTT LTD. Represented NTT, a leading IT infrastructure and services company, in its $330 million cash sale of WhiteHat Security to Synopsys, Inc.</li><li>Palo Alto Networks. Advised Palo Alto Networks on its agreement to acquire Cider Security, a pioneer in application security and software supply chain security.</li><li>Continental Building Products. Represented Continental Building Products, a North American leader in wallboard and joint compound materials, in negotiations to secure antitrust approvals for its sale to Saint-Gobain. The transaction cleared without a “second request” investigation.</li><li>The Walt Disney Company. Assisted The Walt Disney Co. in its $71 billion acquisition of certain businesses from 21st Century Fox.</li><li>Bombardier. Represented Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in connection with the worldwide antitrust clearance of its sale of a controlling interest in the “C Series” line of commercial passenger jets to Airbus. The transaction cleared without any second-phase reviews.</li><li>Advised third parties on civil investigative demand (CID) responses, including Nouryon, a global specialty chemical leader, as a third-party witness in an FTC litigation challenge of a transaction between Evonik and PeroxyChem.</li><li>Counseled corporate clients on antitrust issues in complex transactions, including collaborations, joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers.</li></ul><h5>Antitrust Litigation</h5><ul><li>Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Representing Glenmark in a federal antitrust multidistrict litigation alleging price fixing and market allocation of generic drugs by manufacturers of generic drugs.</li><li>Nexstar Media Group. Representing Nexstar, America’s largest local television and media company, in federal antitrust litigation alleging price fixing in television advertising.</li><li>Represented a leading international financial institution in multiple, sprawling class action lawsuits alleging a global conspiracy by some of the world’s largest banks to manipulate the interbank offer rate (IBOR) benchmark for multiple currencies.</li></ul>

Megan E. Gerking

Josh Lerner is a partner in the Executive Compensation + Benefits Group based in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Josh advises clients on all matters involving the compensation of senior executives, including employment, change in control, equity compensation, and severance arrangements.He counsels public and private companies on executive compensation issues in a range of corporate transactions, restructurings, and financings. He has experience designing, drafting, and negotiating employment agreements and administering equity incentive plans and awards. He also works regularly with public companies on compensation-related disclosures and corporate governance matters, including Securities Exchange Act of 1934 reports. Josh earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a senior articles editor of the Columbia Business Law Review.<h4>Representative Matters</h4><ul><li>Snow Software, a technology intelligence platform, on its acquisition by Flexera Software, a data-oriented SaaS solution company.</li><li>U.S. Silica Holdings, a global industrial minerals and logistics leader, in its $1.85 billion sale to entities affiliated with Apollo Global Management.</li><li>Rivian Automotive in the formation of an equally controlled and owned joint venture with Volkswagen Group to create next generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platforms to be used in both companies’ future electric vehicles.</li><li>Palladium Equity Partners, in the $695 million sale of its majority interest in Trachte, a leading provider of highly engineered protection and control buildings with mission critical applications, to nVent Electric plc, a leading global provider of electrical connection and protection solutions.</li><li>The rock band KISS and its co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in the sale of substantially all rights related to KISS to Pophouse Entertainment.</li><li>McGrath RentCorp, leading provider of temporary and permanent space solutions, in its $3.8 billion acquisition by WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp., a leader in innovative temporary space solutions.</li><li>Astellas Pharma in its acquisition of Propella Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company that combines medicinal chemistry with lymphatic targeting to create new oncology drugs.</li><li>SoftBank in connection with its $375 million acquisition of Berkshire Grey, a robotic automation company that went public via a SPAC merger in 2021.</li></ul><ul><li>Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest audit, tax, and advisory firms, in the sale of its Public Sector Advisory practice to Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital and leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets.</li><li>MTY Food Group, a leading franchisor in the North American restaurant industry, in its $200 million acquisition of BBQ Holdings, a franchisor and operator of fast casual dining.</li><li>Odevo AB, a Swedish company and a portfolio company of private equity client Fidelio Capital, in connection with its acquisition of KW Property Management & Consulting, LLC, a Florida-based company that provides property management services to homeowner associations, condominium boards, cooperative boards and townhome communities. </li><li>Tinicum and its portfolio company TSL Engineered Products in the sale of Advantek, a leading provider of highly engineered carrier tape and associated protective packaging products, to Cornell Capital.</li></ul>

Joshua Lerner

Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

Anthony M. Ramirez

Kristie Espiritu is a tax associate in the San Diego office of Morrison Foerster.Kristie’s experience spans a wide range of transactional, structuring, and advisory tax matters affecting domestic businesses. She regularly advises clients on their tax issues in the areas of joint ventures, partnerships, real estate investment trusts, renewable energy, mergers and acquisitions, and tax- exempt organizations.Kristie is an adjunct professor at USD School of Law, where she teaches classes on partnership tax.

Kristie Espiritu

Rachel Faye Smith is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Boston office and serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Benefits practice.A seasoned benefits and executive compensation advisor with over two decades of industry experience, Rachel has provided counsel to a wide range of clients and business sectors, including both public and private companies, venture capital and private equity firms, limited liability companies and partnerships, and nonprofit, government, and religious organizations, in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. Rachel specializes in ERISA and employee benefits, both in the context of mergers and acquisitions and in the complex regulatory requirements for benefit plan operations. She has significant experience working with private equity-backed medical and dental practices, and other forms of professional corporations, with a particular focus on the controlled and affiliated service group rules, MEWAs, and the single-employer requirements of employee benefits law.Rachel’s work includes advising on the drafting, administration, and compliance issues associated with qualified plans, such as profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, cash balance plans, defined benefit pension plans, ESOPs, and non-ERISA plans such as governmental and church plans. She frequently represents clients before the Department of Labor, IRS, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in the context of plan audits, compliance, and terminations. Additionally, she advises clients on employee health and welfare benefit plans, including issues relating to the Affordable Care Act and COBRA. Rachel represents clients on the integration and transition of employee benefits plans, from both a buyer and seller perspective, in corporate transactions, and had particular experience with ESOP transactions. She also represents clients in the submission of qualified plans to the IRS for Determination Letters, as well as compliance and correction submissions under the IRS’ Voluntary Correction Program.Before focusing on employee benefits, Rachel’s practice included executive compensation. Rachel has worked extensively with management carve-out and change of control plans, bonus arrangements, employment and severance agreements, equity compensation and incentive plans, and other deferred compensation arrangements. She has experience with both company-side and executive-side negotiation of executive compensation.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Rachel was a partner advising on executive compensation and employee benefits law at other national and multinational law firms in Boston, and she previously served as chair of a tax and employee benefits practice group.Rachel is a thought leader and author on topics relating to the employee benefits space. She has served as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Tax Steering Committee and ERISA Subcommittee. Rachel is also a graduate of YW Boston’s 2024 LeadBoston program, which trains professionals in fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.Rachel received a B.A. (Hons.) in political science with a general major in French from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and an M.A. in Asia-Pacific International Relations from the International University of Japan. She also holds an LL.B./B.C.L. in both common law and civil law from McGill University. She speaks fluent French, conversational Spanish, and conversational Japanese.

Rachel Smith

Co-Chair, Executive Compensation + Benefits

Andre Amorim is an associate in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Benefits practice.Andre’s practice focuses on a wide range of compensation and benefits matters. He advises both public and private companies on tax and securities law issues in connection with complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financings, and initial public offerings. He also advises employers and executives in the negotiation, design, and implementation of employment, severance, change in control, deferred compensation, equity, and other incentive compensation plans and arrangements.Prior to joining the firm, Andre advised on executive compensation and employee benefits law at another multinational law firm. He was also previously with Ernst & Young’s People Advisory Services Department, where he focused on various executive compensation and employee benefits issues with respect to foreign and domestic equity-based incentive plans, long-term incentive plans, ERISA and Affordable Care Act compliance, and qualified retirement benefit plans.Andre earned his B.A. in economics from Fordham University and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Andre Amorim

Arton Falahati is an associate in the San Francisco office of Morrison Foerster and member of the firm’s Executive Compensation + Benefits practice.Prior to joining the firm, Arton was a Legal Intern for a Fortune 500 consumer products company, an investor-owned utility company, as well as a webcasting and virtual event technology company. Arton earned his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where he served as Staff Editor for the Business Law Journal and Research Editor for the Social Justice Law Review. He also served as the Vice President of the Middle Eastern North African South Asian Law Students Association. He also holds a Master of Education from University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.A., magna cum laude, from San Jose State University.

Arton Falahati

Nicole Giles is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office.Nicole represents government contractors on various contract matters, including mergers and acquisitions, bid protests, contract claims and disputes, and compliance issues. Before joining the firm, she worked as a government contracts associate for a leading law firm and clerked for the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.Nicole’s experience includes advising on mergers and acquisitions involving both the purchase and sale of government contracting concerns or related assets, including performing due diligence and negotiating purchase agreements; prosecuting and defending bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC); representing government contractors in disputes with the federal government, including appeals of contracting officer final decisions to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) and Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA); and counseling clients on various compliance issues, including those involving the Service Contract Act (SCA).Nicole graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in History and Philosophy. She earned her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. While in law school, Nicole served as Editor-in-Chief of the Public Contract Law Journal and served as Co-Chair of the Judges Committee for the GW Law Moot Court Board. She also interned for the Honorable Thomas C. Wheeler at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and at the Bureau of Arms Control of the U.S. Department of State.

Nicole Giles

Liam Bowers is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s New York office.Liam received his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School with high honors and a concentration in Government Procurement Law. He served as a member of the Public Contract Law Journal and was the recipient of the 2022 Murray J. Schooner Scholarship for Government Procurement Law. While in law school, he served as judicial intern to Judge Thompson Michael Dietz in the United States Court of Federal Claims and as a summer law clerk in the Department of the Navy, Office of General Counsel. Before joining the firm, he worked as a transactional associate at a leading law firm in New York.Liam received a B.A. in political science with a minor in environmental systems from the University of California, San Diego.

Liam Bowers

Ali Young is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office.Ali’s practice focuses on a full range of government contract litigation and compliance matters including bid protests, contract claims and disputes, small business compliance and disputes, and mergers and acquisitions. She has represented clients in both pre- and post-award bid protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). She has also assisted clients draft requests for equitable adjustments and certified claims and has litigated claims disputes at the COFC and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA).Ali’s practice additionally includes counseling clients on a variety of regulatory and contractual compliance issues, particularly in small business matters such as and size determination and appeals at the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals, mentor protégé joint venture agreements, and socioeconomic status eligibility.She has worked on a number of mergers and acquisitions involving the purchase of government contracting concerns or related assets, including performing due diligence, negotiating purchase agreements, and counseling on post-transaction structures.Ali has taught several seminars on various small business matters and organizational conflicts of interest.Ali graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2013, receiving her B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and History. In 2017, she earned her J.D. with honors from the George Washington University Law School, where she received the Patricia A. Tobin Government Procurement Law Award for excellence in the area of government contracts law and served as the editor-in-chief for the International Law in Domestic Courts Journal. Ali was also a Thurgood Marshall Scholar.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Ali practiced government contracts law at a mid-sized law firm. While attending law school, Ali clerked at a large Washington, D.C. law firm in the government contracts group, and interned at various international human rights non-profit organizations.Ali is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

Alissandra McCann

Michael Schulman is a partner in the firm’s Global Employment and Labor Group and co-head of the firm’s Washington, D.C. Litigation Department.Michael regularly advises clients in connection with important workforce-related matters, including hiring and negotiating employment agreements for senior executives, sensitive executive separations, internal workplace investigations, employment claims and disputes, and employment issues arising in the context of mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies and other corporate transactions. Michael is known for using a pragmatic, efficient, and results-oriented approach, focused on achieving his clients’ desired business outcomes.Michael regularly guides clients through complex workforce issues, including, for instance allegations of workplace misconduct; restrictive covenant drafting, enforcement, and strategic evaluation; worker classification and wage-and-hour compliance practices; and the unique issues that arise in a unionized workplace. Michael’s experience covers a broad range of employment and labor laws at the federal, state, and local level, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and corresponding state and local laws.Michael has unique experience addressing labor and employment matters that arise in connection with corporate transactions, particularly for private equity firms. Michael has represented clients in over 2,000 transactions, including many large-scale multinational mergers, acquisitions, and asset carve-outs. He regularly conducts acquisition-related labor and employment due diligence and advises clients on the employment and workforce integration or separation implications of mergers, acquisitions, sales, and financings.In the litigation context, Michael represents employers in U.S. federal and state court litigation, administrative agency proceedings, and arbitrations arising out of alleged labor and employment law violations. Michael defends employers against actions brought by government agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor, as well as actions initiated by current and former employees. He also prosecutes suits against former employees and their new employers for breach of restrictive covenants.

Michael Schulman

Melissa Harclerode is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Employment + Labor Group in the Washington, D.C. office.Melissa represents companies in a broad range of employment compliance and counseling matters, with a particular focus on navigating the employment dimensions of various complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, and restructurings. She also has in-depth experience negotiating and drafting various employment, separation, and restrictive covenant agreements. Melissa routinely advises employers on mitigating risks for a variety of HR issues, including hiring, terminations, wage-and-hour compliance, leaves of absence, and policy management, among other areas.Melissa has experience with internal investigations of employment claims, including MeToo claims. She has also defended clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and other equivalent state agencies.Prior to joining the firm, Melissa was an associate at two international AmLaw 100 law firms.Melissa received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she received the Pro Bono Certificate of Recognition. During law school, she was the managing editor for Virginia Law and Business Review.

Melissa Harclerode

Niki Hendi is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Litigation Group.Her practice focuses on employment matters.Prior to joining the firm, Niki was a summer associate in the New York office. She also spent time as a Criminal Division intern at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. While at law school, Niki was an assistant online editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law.Niki earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and her B.A. in economics and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia.

Niki Hendi

Rohan George is a corporate associate in the New York office of Morrison Foerster and a member of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group.Rohan advises on IP, information technology, privacy and cybersecurity issues arising in connection with licensing, development agreements, distribution and commercialization activities, joint ventures, and other services arrangements as well as general corporate transactions. He also advises public and private companies and private equity funds in connection with complex corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, investments, financing arrangements and securities offerings.Prior to joining the firm, Rohan was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where he advised on a broad range of corporate, intellectual property and technology transactions.Rohan earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as the Staff Editor for the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review. Rohan holds an LL. B. from London School of Economics, where he received the Nicola Lacey Prize for the highest mark in Criminal Law Examinations.

Rohan E. George

Addison Yang is an associate in the New York office of Morrison Foerster and a member of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group.His practice is focused on transactional matters involving a broad range of intellectual property and technology issues, including in licensing and development agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and general startup matters. Addison works across a variety of industries, including in the areas of artificial intelligence, software and cloud services, software development, semiconductor manufacturing, Fintech, and blockchain applications.During law school, Addison served as a law clerk to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he supported legislative drafting and committee hearings about artificial intelligence, social media algorithms, and vehicle safety regulation. Addison also interned for the New York State Attorney General, Bureau of Internet & Technology, where he supported consumer protection investigations into digital and hardware products. Prior to law school, Addison worked at a blockchain technology provider, where he coordinated regulatory and policy matters.Addison received his J.D. from New York University School of Law. While in law school, he worked as a senior intellectual life editor for Journal of Legislation and Public Policy and served as president of the Asia Law Society. Addison received his B.A. magna cum laude in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Addison Yang

Drawing on his considerable experience in environmental health, William (Bill) focuses his practice on environmental and consumer protection law, with an emphasis on climate-related goals and claims, hazardous substances, mass torts, and consumer product safety. Bill started his career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Regional Counsel in San Francisco, and he currently leads the firm’s environmental practice.Bill routinely advises clients in connection with their carbon reduction and climate-related goals and claims (including carbon neutral and net zero carbon commitments) and helps clients substantiate their claims and avoid greenwashing claims. He frequently advises clients in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, state consumer protection statutes, and a broad range of sustainability and chemical disclosure laws. He defends clients in environmental and consumer class action litigation in courts throughout the country and is highly regarded for his ability to coordinate technical, legal, and communications teams to counsel clients through crises. He has tried cases in state and federal courts for a variety of complex and multidistrict litigation matters, including product liability claims and environmental and land use disputes.Bill represents the firm’s clients in nearly every aspect of environmental regulation and supports the firm’s global transactional practices in all areas of U.S. environmental law. He is also a member of the firm’s Sustainability + Corporate Responsibility Steering Committee.<h5>Environmental Litigation and Regulatory</h5>Bill has represented the firm’s clients before a broad range of environmental regulatory agencies in rulemaking proceedings, permit applications, and appeals and enforcement actions. Bill heads MoFo’s environmental due diligence teams and serves as the lead on transactional negotiations involving environmental liability risks, including significant experience in cross-border transactions.<h5>Consumer Class Action, False Advertising, and Product Liability</h5>Bill has broad experience in consumer class action and false advertising litigation, especially concerning claims of health or environmental benefits. He has also advised numerous well known life sciences, technology, and consumer product companies on consumer disclosures and warnings, including compliance with U.S. and European requirements governing product safety.<h5>More About Bill</h5>Before entering private practice, Bill clerked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX Office of Regional Counsel, where he assisted in the prosecution and resolution of cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for violation of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.Bill received his J.D. with honors from the Georgetown University Law Center and completed the Law and Public Health program sponsored by Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through this program, he earned a master’s in public health, as well as specialty certification in environmental health risk assessment from the Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute. At Georgetown, he was an executive editor of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Journal and received the CALI Award for Excellence in International Environmental Law. In 2000, he studied law at the Universidad de Mendoza, in Mendoza, Argentina, as an international law fellow. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

William F. Tarantino

Michael Fine is an associate in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s Boston office.Michael’s practice focuses on environmental law and policy. Michael regularly advises clients on compliance and risk mitigation under federal and state environmental regulations concerning recyclability, consumer products and packaging, climate disclosures, and green marketing claims.Michael also performs environmental due diligence for clients in a range of corporate and real estate transactions involving environmental liability risks.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Michael was a summer associate at MoFo and served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Michael A. Shipp.Michael received his J.D. magna cum laude from Boston University School of Law. While in law school, he served as diversity & inclusion editor for the Boston University Law Review. Michael received his B.A. in political science and sociology from Rutgers University.

Michael Fine

Clients seek out Julie because of her practical advice on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of privacy and consumer protection laws. She provides clients with practical solutions to compliance challenges around a wide variety of both online and offline privacy issues, including tracking, interest-based advertising, geo-targeting and other mobile tracking, personalization, and cross-device tracking. Recognized in The Legal 500 US 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2020 and Chambers USA 2021 for her exceptional legal work, her clients praise her saying, “She is really good at giving practical, targeted advice and taking stock of what the risk profile of the client is, so that the advice is holistic.” (Chambers USA).Julie provides clients with creative and practical advice on meeting the requirements of state and federal privacy laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). She crafts guidelines and compliance programs for clients’ collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in diverse contexts and throughout the life cycle of their initiatives, such as for connected products (the Internet of Things) and mobile services. She also drafts privacy and cookies policies, online service terms of use, agreements involving online and offline advertising and marketing practices, and agreements concerning a variety of data uses. In addition, Julie helps clients assess and manage privacy risks, including in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions.Julie creates compliance programs for clients’ use of a wide variety of channels for communicating with and marketing to consumers, including email, telephone, text message, and fax, both in the United States and around the world. She works with clients to develop their social media strategies and to clear their social media content. She also reviews advertising in both traditional and new media for compliance with applicable laws, including Section 5 of the FTC Act and various FTC rules and guides. In addition, she works with clients to structure, market, and implement their sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions in compliance with applicable laws.As a former FTC staff attorney, Julie regularly defends companies in investigations by the FTC and before data protection authorities around the world.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>A company that creates online software used by schools in an FTC investigation of alleged COPPA violations.</li><li>A consumer services company investigated by the Korean data protection authority for alleged privacy violations</li><li>A manufacturer in connection with a challenge of its environmental advertising claims by the FTC </li><li>An advertising services company in an investigation of alleged privacy-related violations of the FTC Act</li><li>An online provider of entertainment services in an FTC investigation of alleged COPPA violations</li><li>A beverage company in an FTC investigation of alleged COPPA violations</li></ul>Before attending law school, Julie was a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa.

Julie O'Neill

Jonathan Newmark is an of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Data, Cyber + Privacy Group. He advises clients across industries on data protection best practices, national and international regulatory compliance, information governance, product development, consumer trust and safety, transaction diligence, crisis management, and cyber incident response.Jonathan counsels clients ranging from emerging to late-stage to public companies in a variety of industries on complex data privacy and cybersecurity issues related to local, global, and industry-specific legal frameworks, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, state and federal wiretapping laws, the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).As part of his practice, Jonathan has negotiated data transfer and processing agreements, implemented vendor risk management programs, developed information security policies and procedures, guided product development and design, and advised on corporate transactions. Jonathan has also coached clients through largescale data breaches and regulatory scrutiny related to information security and consumer protection, which has included representing clients in front of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general, and foreign regulators.Jonathan’s representative matters have comprised designing and implementing a large social media organization’s internal technical investigation related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, advising on the development of a large technology company’s metaverse platform, designing trust and safety programs for an artificial intelligence chatbot application and a teen social media platform, and coaching a mobile banking business through cooperation with the Department of Justice and law enforcement authorities in consumer fraud investigations.Jonathan also maintains an extensive pro bono practice, which has included counseling nonprofit organizations on data protection best practices as well as successfully representing LGBTQ+ and other refugees in their applications for asylum and immigration status in the United States.Jonathan is designated as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.Jonathan received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He received his B.A. from Harvard College, where he graduated cum laude.

Jonathan Newmark

Of Counsel

Kevin Wang is an associate in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster's Washington, D.C. office. Kevin helps clients address a wide range of antitrust concerns, including both litigation and transactional matters. He is dedicated to helping clients identify and mitigate antitrust risks while achieving their business goals and defending their interests when litigation arises.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Kevin worked as a law clerk at an international law firm, where he conducted legal research on topics related to antitrust, consumer protection, and data privacy and drafted memoranda and legal motions. He also worked as a student advisor at his law school’s Administrative Law Clinic, where he drafted and edited a Supreme Court amicus brief regarding the rulemaking ability of career officials.During law school, Kevin interned for the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning and for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.Prior to law school, Kevin was a paralegal specialist at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he worked on the government challenge of two large merger transactions and received the Assistant Attorney General Award.Kevin received his J.D. from the George Mason University Law School, where he served as managing editor of George Mason University International Law Journal, and a research assistant for Professor Joshua Wright. He graduated with a B.A. in political science from University of California, Berkeley.