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Eric McCrath Receives Distinguished Leader Award

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Law.com’s California Legal Awards honored Morrison Foerster Chair Eric T. McCrath with its Distinguished Leader Award for 2026,...

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Law.com’s California Legal Awards honored Morrison Foerster Chair Eric T. McCrath with its Distinguished Leader Award for 2026, recognizing leaders who have driven significant achievements within their organizations and the legal profession.The honor reflects a year of strong performance and strategic growth for Morrison Foerster. As chair, Eric led the firm to record financial results while remaining actively involved in high-profile client matters, including advising SoftBank on its record-breaking $41 billion investment round in OpenAI. He also guided the firm’s continued expansion, investments in innovation, and operations.Eric further reinforced Morrison Foerster’s commitment to pro bono service by emphasizing the importance of pro bono work across the firm. That commitment is reflected in Morrison Foerster’s rise into the top 20 firms in The American Lawyer’s 2025 Pro Bono Scorecard.In addition to Eric’s win, Morrison Foerster was recognized as a finalist in five other California Legal Awards categories:<ul><li>Tech Industry Litigation Department of the Year, recognizing the firm’s landmark AI and technology litigation victories.</li><li>Dealmakers of the Year, recognizing Eric, Kenneth A. Siegel, and Christopher C. McKinnon for advising SoftBank on its record-breaking $41 billion investment round in OpenAI.</li><li>Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year, recognizing Joseph C. Gratz for leadership in precedent-setting AI and copyright litigation.</li><li>Office Managing Partner of the Year, recognizing Thomas T.H. Chou for leadership of the Los Angeles office and response to the Los Angeles wildfires.</li><li>Community Advocacy and Impact Initiative, recognizing Whitney O’Byrne, who led the firm’s Los Angeles wildfire response and housing advocacy efforts.</li></ul>The California Legal Awards ceremony was held on June 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. <a href="https://www.law.com/therecorder/2026/06/25/winners-announced-at-the-2026-california-legal-awards-ceremony/?kw=Winners+Announced+at+the+2026+California+Legal+Awards+Ceremony&utm_position=1&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_content=20260625&utm_campaign=afternoonalert&utm_term=law&oly_enc_id=3736I4745901F2B&user_id=675cd8a3afc2d122600ebd15" target="_blank">View the complete list of honorees and finalists and learn more about the California Legal Awards</a>.

Eric McCrath Receives Distinguished Leader Award

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Eric T. McCrath is the Chair of Morrison Foerster.Eric has been a trusted advisor on hundreds of public and private M&A, private equity, and financing transactions over the course of his career. As part of his market-leading M&A practice, he counsels strategic acquirers and targets in a variety of industries, including technology (semiconductors, software, AR/VR, FinTech, AI), healthcare, consumer products, financial institutions, media, gaming, and transportation. He represents leading U.S. and global companies and regularly advises on complex cross–border transactions.Eric is regularly recognized by leading publications, including Legal 500 US and Chambers USA, with client sources describing him as “greatly skilled at advising on the most complex and high–profile M&A transactions,” and noting that he “combines strong technical skills and a flair for complexity with commercial awareness, pragmatism and sound judgment.”Eric joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in 2007. He has held multiple leadership roles at the firm prior to being elected chair in June 2022. He has been a member of Morrison Foerster’s Executive Committee since 2016, the Compensation Committee since 2019, has served as Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department of over 400 lawyers since 2018, and has also held a number of practice leadership roles.A diverse lawyer of Asian heritage, Eric is also one of the longest-standing members of Morrison Foerster’s Diversity Strategy Committee, having served since 2010.

Eric McCrath

Chair

Thomas Chou is the Managing Partner of Morrison Foerster’s Los Angeles office, where he advises on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private equity and venture capital financings, with a focus on the U.S. and Asia. With more than 25 years of experience, Thomas brings deep cross-border expertise, having practiced in MoFo’s Palo Alto, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and now Los Angeles offices. During his time in Asia, he served as head and co-head of the firm’s Asia Private Equity practice for 15 years.Thomas’ clients include industry-leading emerging growth companies and a broad range of investors who fund them (traditional private equity and venture capital funds, prominent Asian family offices, the corporate/strategic investment arms of large corporates, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds). His broad industry coverage includes media, entertainment and gaming; CPG/food and beverage; hard tech; Fintech; biopharma, MedTech, health and wellness.Clients and outside ranking organizations routinely cite Thomas’ accomplishments:<ul><li>Thomas is “a strong advocate for his client, offering strategic and actionable advice, evaluating and clearly prioritizing the key issues in complex situations and proactively anticipating concerns from counterparties in negotiations."</li><li>“Thomas Chou is excellent in understanding the industry and leads the team in working on the same. He is very responsive and works 24 hours responding to the clients.”</li><li>“Thomas has significant experience handling complex cross–border transactions across the Asia–Pacific region. His counsel is frequently sought by global technology corporations to advise on their investments in the region. He also commands considerable respect from private equity clients.”</li><li>His clients pinpoint his “decades of venture capital experience both in the United States and in Asia,” with one noting: “He is patient, attentive to details and someone who has clearly conquered many battlefields.”</li><li>Thomas is particularly praised for his communications skills, with clients saying, “Any issues we had he would always provide a solution. He is not only interpreting regulations, but he is also commercially savvy.”</li></ul>Thomas is on the Board of the Morrison Foerster Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

周至恒（Thomas Chou）律师在公司业务领域非常活跃，重点处理跨境并购（中国境内外）、合资、私募股权和风险资本融资业务。他的客户包括新兴成长型公司，传统以及非传统投资者（私募股权和风险投资基金，家族办公室，公司/公司的战略投资部门，金融机构以及主权财富基金）。他的执业领域主要是技术、媒体和电信、医疗和生命科学以及消费和零售业。客户和外部评级机构都经常称赞周律师的成就：<ul><li>“周律师在处理亚太地区复杂跨境交易方面经验丰富，全球科技公司常因在该地区的投资而寻求其意见，他也广受私募股权客户推崇。”</li><li>“（周律师）资历深厚，精于各种风险投资及私募股权事宜，包括前期与后期的投资及并购，他在科技领域的经验尤其丰富。”</li><li>客户赞赏他“在美国及亚洲均有数十年风险投资经验”，并称其“非常耐心，注重细节，实战经验丰富”。</li><li>周律师的沟通技巧尤其为人所称道，他的客户指出：“不管我们出现任何问题，周律师都能提出解决方案。他不仅能准确把握法律条文，同时极具商业头脑。”</li></ul>周律师是美富亚洲私募股权业务的联席主管，也是新兴公司 + 风险投资业务组和并购业务组的活跃成员。他在上述业务领域均持续受到独立的法律行业排行榜和律师评级机构的高度认可。周律师还是星光儿童基金会的董事会成员。

Thomas Chou

Managing Partner, Los Angeles

Clients turn to Joe Gratz to handle trailblazing litigation where copyright and trademark law meet new technologies. An experienced litigator, Joe draws on his strong technical background to distill complex issues into simple, accurate concepts for judges, juries, and clients. Joe’s cases have set key precedents in Internet law, from the Google Books case that laid the groundwork for today’s generative AI innovations to key cases establishing the boundaries of intermediary liability. In addition to representing their interests in the courtroom, Joe helps his clients navigate their thorniest product counseling puzzles to reduce the risk of litigation.His appellate victory in Long v. Facebook set the standard for platforms in carrying out DMCA removals of user-generated content. And Joe’s win in Stevens v. CoreLogic established limitations on DMCA 1202 claims that have since been adopted by numerous other courts. His amicus brief on behalf of independent booksellers was cited by the Supreme Court in its opinion in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng, and he has submitted amicus briefs in other copyright cases on behalf of Center for Democracy & Technology (in Oracle v. Google) and on behalf of art law professors (in Warhol v. Goldsmith).A recognized commentator on copyright and internet law, Joe was selected as an advisor for the American Law Institute’s project to develop a Restatement of Copyright, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He frequently speaks on emerging issues in Internet law and was called upon by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 to testify about the interaction between the DMCA 512 safe harbor and fair use. Joe was the 2022 recipient of the California Lawyers Association’s IP Vanguard award, presented to one private practitioner each year for achievements at the forefront of emerging issues in intellectual property law.

Joseph Gratz

Partner

Chris represents venture capital investors, private equity firms, and emerging and established companies in corporate finance matters, including investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.Recognized as a top-tier advisor in the technology sector, Chris was recently named one of the Dealmakers of the Year by The American Lawyer and Most Innovative Lawyers in Science and Technology by The Financial Times, among other Rising Star/Top 40 Under 40 honors by Venture Capital Journal, Daily Journal, and San Francisco Business Times.Chris has significant experience advising on complex deals involving high-growth, venture-backed technology companies. He regularly advises on capital raising, partnership and exit transactions for startups and investment fund transactions, buyouts, and divestitures for private equity sponsors.Before rejoining Morrison Foerster, Chris served as lead negotiator at a global investment firm, executing cross-border investment and M&A transactions. Leveraging that experience as a battle-tested dealmaker, Chris provides clients with creative, business-forward, and solutions-oriented advice.Chris is on the leadership committee of the ABA’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee, regularly speaking and writing about investment- and M&A-related topics and trends. At NYU School of Law, Chris was a Lederman Fellow in Law & Economics and on the executive board of the NYU Journal of Law & Business. He majored in business economics as an undergraduate at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Christopher McKinnon

Whitney O’Byrne is a first-chair trial lawyer who represents technology companies, growth-stage startups, life sciences companies, and institutional clients in complex, high-stakes litigation. She handles disputes spanning intellectual property, class actions, trade secrets, product liability, and commercial litigation.Whitney recently served as lead counsel in a landmark DMCA Section 1202 jury trial in Hartford, CT, holding a multibillion-dollar statutory damages claim to less than 1% of the amount sought.Her broader trial experience includes a multidistrict antitrust case in the Southern District of New York, several patent trials in the Northern District of California and District of Delaware, criminal trials in California and New York, and multiple JAMS and AAA arbitrations. Whitney is also a NITA trial skills instructor and has taught trial advocacy at multiple levels for over 10 years.In the emerging artificial intelligence space, Whitney helped lead trial efforts in a landmark copyright class action involving a leading generative AI company that resolved in a $1.5 billion settlement. The case presented novel questions regarding fair use and large language model training, positioning her at the forefront of industry-defining AI litigation.Clients rely on Whitney not only for courtroom advocacy, but also for strategic counseling in the lead-up to trial, including risk assessment, expert development, and dispositive motion practice.Whitney serves as Hiring Partner for Morrison Foerster’s Los Angeles office, where she plays a central role in recruiting and integrating litigation talent. She also co-founded the firm’s Middle East North Africa (MENA) Affinity Network and serves on the boards of the Southern Center for Human Rights and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Whitney most recently practiced at a premier litigation boutique, where she worked on trade secrets, legal malpractice, and class action litigations for companies ranging from early-stage startups to established technology companies. Whitney also served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of New York.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Representing major healthcare company in trade secrets litigation concerning remote patient monitoring.</li><li>Representing leading online and mobile marketplace in class action litigation alleging employee misclassification.</li><li>Representation of victim and witness in connection with prosecution of Michael Avenatti for extorting Nike.</li><li>Representation of a Fortune 100 investment bank in connection with DOJ investigation.</li><li>Representation of large Japanese bank with respect to investigations conducted by multiple regulators.</li><li>Representation of Argentine sports marketing agency in connection with various investigations related to FIFA corruption.</li></ul>

Whitney O'Byrne

Ken Siegel is the managing partner of Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo oﬃce and the head of the oﬃce’s 50-attorney M&A team. Ken’s practice focuses on the representation of high-technology companies in acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.Ken has been consistently ranked as one of the leading U.S. attorneys in Japan. Among other things, he is the only attorney rated as a “Star Individual” for M&A in Japan (the level above Band 1) by Chambers Global, having been ranked at this level for more than a dozen years (2011–2024 editions). According to Chambers Asia-Paciﬁc, Ken is “commercial and pragmatic, an incredible M&A attorney” who “deserves tremendous credit for his M&A practice” and has “outstanding acumen, experience and leadership.”In 2026, Ken and his team were named “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer for their role advising SoftBank on a series of transformative artificial intelligence transactions, including its record-breaking $41 billion investment in OpenAI. He has also been recognized multiple times by the publication – including as “Dealmaker of the Week” for his work on Hitachi’s $5 billion sale of its hard disk-drive business to Western Digital, as well as for representing SoftBank in its $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint, a transaction that was named the Global M&A Deal of the Year by The American Lawyer.He has also been recognized by the Financial Times—receiving its Innovative Lawyers Award in 2022, as one of the most innovative lawyers in the Asia Pacific region, and again in 2025, when he and his team were named Innovative Lawyers in Science and Technology for their groundbreaking AI work on Stargate, a joint venture developing advanced AI infrastructure in the United States.Ken received his B.A. magna cum laude from Amherst College. He studied Japanese language at Stanford University’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language in Tokyo and at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), receiving a graduate degree in International Aﬀairs. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.<h4>Select Rankings</h4>Ken’s recent notable awards include:<ul><li>Dealmaker of the Year (The American Lawyer 2026)</li><li>Most Innovative Legal Practitioner in Asia-Pacific (Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Award 2022)</li></ul><ul dir="ltr"><li>Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Global 2024)</li><li dir="ltr">Star Individual for Japan: Corporate/M&A (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024)</li><li>Hall of Fame for Japan: Corporate and M&A (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026)</li><li>Market Leader for Japan: M&A (IFLR1000 2025)</li><li>Corporate, M&A Law, Private Equity, Private Funds and Venture Capital Law [The Best Lawyers in Japan (Recognized since 2009)]</li><li>Foreign Lawyer of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2018)</li><li>Tokyo Managing Partner of the Year (Asian Legal Business (ALB) Japan Law Awards 2017)</li></ul>