(April 15, 2026) – Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Leif Dautch as a partner in the Investigations + White-Collar Defense Group in the San Francisco office. Leif brings more than 13 years of combined state and federal prosecutorial experience, enhancing the firm’s State and Local Government Enforcement team with a former senior leader in the California Attorney General’s Office (CA AG) and expanding the firm’s deep bench of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
Leif’s arrival follows the recent addition of partner Avy Mallik, who served in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and was the former General Counsel of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, underscoring the continued expansion of the firm’s already strong State AG practice. With Leif’s and Avy’s arrivals, the firm has welcomed four former high-ranking government investigations and enforcement lawyers in the last year, including Congressional Investigations partners Carlos Felipe Uriarte and Kimberly Hamm. Their additions grow the firm’s multi-state investigations team and reinforce the firm’s position as a destination firm for managing complex State AG investigations that often are conducted in parallel with federal inquiries, legislative hearings, and class action litigation.
Leif spent seven years as a Deputy Attorney General in the CA AG, where he prosecuted hundreds of cases, argued before the California Supreme Court and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and served in supervisory and policy advisory roles. His familiarity with key decision-makers and institutional processes broadens Morrison Foerster’s State AG practice, while also deepening our roster of distinguished former Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Leif most recently served as Chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where he supervised a team of prosecutors and handled complex investigations involving wire fraud, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, money laundering, and racketeering. Leif also brings first-chair federal trial experience to the firm’s extensive Northern District bench and strengthens our overall trial and regulatory capabilities.
“Leif brings extensive experience in navigating State AG inquiries, including an insider’s view on California State policy, enforcement, and trial practices,” said Carrie H. Cohen, Head of Morrison Foerster’s State + Local Government Enforcement Group, who previously served in the New York Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. “His arrival enhances our ability to help our clients successfully navigate complex regulatory environments on the state and federal level and across the full spectrum of high-stakes investigations and white-collar matters.”
“Morrison Foerster’s market-leading investigations platform and State AG enforcement capabilities are a natural fit for my practice,” said Leif. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to assist clients facing increased scrutiny from State AGs, particularly in the Bay Area, and an evolving regulatory landscape nationwide.”
