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Financial Times Shortlists MoFo in Three Innovative Lawyers Categories

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Morrison Foerster has been shortlisted in three categories at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers North America 2026 awards. <ul><li>Innovation in People & Skills: “Women in Midlife Initiative” – Our global program combines education, manager resources, workplace accommodations, and coaching to support employees navigating midlife, including perimenopause and menopause. </li><li>Innovative Practitioner: “Commercializing the AI Revolution” – Justin Haan, chair of our Technology Transactions Group, advises leading AI developers and adopters on the commercial, intellectual property, and governance questions that come with bringing AI to market. </li><li>Innovative Lawyers in Responsible Business: “Legal Framework for Artist-Owned Businesses” – A team led by Susan Mac Cormac, with Stephanie Drumm serving as principal drafter, Lawrence Gallick advising on intellectual property, Brian Radigan advising on tax, and Fredo Silva advising on the initial framework, created the Colorado Artist Company Act, the first statutory business entity in the United States designed specifically for artists. Governor Jared Polis signed the legislation into law in June 2026. </li></ul>The awards recognize innovative work in both the practice and the business of law, from law firms and in-house legal teams. The awards ceremony will take place on December 7 at Gotham Hall in New York. Explore the <a href="https://lawyersnorthamerica.live.ft.com/page/6971196/2026-shortlist" target="_blank">full shortlist</a>.

Financial Times Shortlists MoFo in Three Innovative Lawyers Categories

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Justin Haan is the chair of the firm's Technology Transactions Group, advising leading technology industry pioneers to help them navigate their most critical IP and technology needs.Justin’s practice focuses on transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology, including licensing arrangements, technology transfers, and joint development activities. Justin structures, drafts, and negotiates a wide range of commercial agreements, including software and content licenses, service agreements, reseller arrangements, and collaboration, manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements. He advises clients on the development, procurement and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented/virtual reality, semiconductors, data centers, cloud computing services, autonomous vehicles, and unmanned aircraft systems.  Justin also counsels clients on open source software, complex patent-related transactions, and the intellectual property aspects of M&A transactions. Justin’s experience includes advising OpenAI, Arm, Autodesk, Meta, Salesforce, SoftBank, Unity, and others on the IP aspects of complex projects involving cutting-edge technologies and fast-evolving areas of law. Justin serves on the firm’s AI industry committee, where he helps to lead and collaborate with attorneys across multiple practices on the rapid advances of generative AI. Justin is also a sought–after speaker and thought leader on artificial intelligence and has spoken at SXSW on the subject of multimodal AI.Before joining the firm, Justin was an intellectual property associate in the New York office of another global law firm.Justin received his J.D., with a certificate in law and technology, from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where he won the Prosser Prize in intellectual property in the entertainment industries and was an articles editor for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. He received his A.B. from Harvard University.

Justin Haan

Chair of Technology Transactions Practice

Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the Sustainability + Corporate Responsibility and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her practice focuses on late-stage financings, secondaries, and other corporate transactions for investors, such as SoftBank and Temasek, and on investments for some of the top investors dedicated to impact, from “impact first” foundations to family offices to private equity funds. She co-led the drafting group for the first of the new corporate forms (the Social Purpose Corporation in California), has created hybrid/tandem corporate structures and crafted debt and equity instruments that blend impact with traditional financial terms, and has used corporate law to develop creative capital market solutions to pressing environmental problems. She also advises the boards of public and private companies on corporate governance and fiduciary duties as applied to sustainability and climate change.She was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) in 2012 and 2016 by Daily Journal and the Most Innovative Lawyer in North America in 2015 by the Financial Times.Leading Business AdvisorA powerhouse negotiator, clients note that “you cannot get a better corporate counsel” and that Suz “understands the big picture, could not be more responsive, and understands the business” (The Legal 500 US). She has extensive experience providing corporate and finance advice to companies and investors in connection with growth equity financings and secondaries, with particular experience in late-stage investments that have come to rival traditional strategic acquisitions in size and significance. Her experience includes leading some of the highest-profile late-stage investments over the past few years, including notable transactions for SoftBank Group (in the two largest private tender offers in history) in its $7.7 billion investment in Uber, $4.4 billion investment in WeWork, further $10 billion investment in WeWork, $1 billion investment in SoFi, and $250 million investment in Kabbage. She has also advised Temasek on its $800 million investment in Verily Life Sciences, Intel on its equity investment in Cloudera, and each of Fortress, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, Generation Investment Management, and Pontifax AgTech in numerous mid- to late-stage investments in clean technology, sustainability, education, food, and agriculture technology.Social Enterprise and Impact InvestingSuz is the go-to legal resource for social enterprises (for-profit and non-profit companies focused on social or environmental purpose), impact investors (investors interested in social or environmental returns), and mainstream companies developing environmental, social, and corporate governance policies. With deep expertise in the impact investing model, institutional investors exploring the space turn to her for creative solutions and her ability to structure both investments and companies to emphasize impact and returns.She represents a wide range of investors who are focused on impact, from foundations like the Gates Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Rockefeller Foundation, to family offices like Armonia, Cornerstone Capital, Emerson Collective, New Island Capital, and Omidyar Network, to private equity funds like Goldman Sachs, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, and Generation Investment Management, in their equity investments in companies and projects that are focused on generating impact and returns for investors. She has deep experience and expertise ensuring energy, sustainability, and other investments have positive impact through the use of new corporate forms, hybrid or “tandem” structures with non-profits and for-profits, and alternative debt and equity instruments.Notable work in this space includes the establishment of a tandem structure, The Carbon Endowment, to retire coal assets at scale while securing a revenue stream for community reinvestment and job training in coal communities. Suz also advised on the structuring of Common Sense Growth as an extension of the non-profit Common Sense Media (to invest in companies that address issues related to children, education, and technology), the establishment of a fund for TPG Rise to provide debt financing to Echoing Green fellows, the spin-out of PRX from Public Radio International (to generate new revenue flows up to the non-profit), the establishment of a for-profit joint venture with non-profit Medicines360 (to allow the non-profit to distribute its healthcare products to women in the developing world), and the structuring of a for-profit evergreen fund that allows The Nature Conservancy to aggregate return-seeking and donor capital in order to invest in preserving our natural resources. She has also advised numerous clients on converting to a public benefit corporation or social purpose corporation model (which requires balancing traditional fiduciary duties against a social or environmental purpose), including This American Life, Revolution Foods, Rise Labs, and Beneficial State Bancorp.Suz also regularly advises boards of directors of private and public companies, special committees, and CEOs on corporate governance, particularly the intersection of fiduciary duties with sustainability, and focuses on environmental, social, and governance issues.Unmatched Cleantech and Renewable Energy ExperienceIn addition to founding and chairing the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, Suz serves as Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Energy Group and has extensive experience representing start-up to late stage private companies in the clean technology or sustainability space. She provides corporate and finance advice in connection with equity and debt financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, reorganizations, and joint ventures. She has experience working with renewable energy start-up companies and renewable energy developers in the solar, wind, and biofuels industries. Suz has assisted renewable energy start up companies with raising venture capital and has advised renewable energy developers on project acquisitions.Suz’s representative renewable energy, cleantech, sustainable, and social enterprise clients include Anaergia, Change.org, EDF Renewables, E.ON, Etsy, First Look, OneSun, Planet Labs, Rising Sun Energy, RSF Social Finance, SustainBio, Trelys, Inc., Wikipedia, and Xpansiv.Board Activity and Thought LeadershipMs. Mac Cormac was a founding board member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), is a member of the board of directors of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the Ceres President’s Council, and the Earth Genome Project, and is an advising board member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy’s Strategic Investor Initiative.She has joined the faculty (teaching on the intersection of sustainability and fiduciary duties) at both the Stanford Director’s College and the Northwestern Corporate Counsel Institute and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, teaching a course on Social Enterprise.

Susan Mac Cormac

Partner

Lawrence Gallick is a partner in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.In 2023, Lawrence seconded at Amazon Lab126, where he led the negotiation of high-profile licensing deals for a variety of Amazon device teams. The secondment was an immersive opportunity to gain additional insights and experience from the perspective of in-house counsel. Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in California, New York, and Texas. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

Lawrence Gallick

Brian Radigan is a partner in the Federal Tax Group at Morrison Foerster. He has a broad tax practice advising U.S. and non-U.S. clients on complex tax structuring and the tax aspects of corporate transactions.Brian advises private equity funds, startup entities, REITs, and established multinational corporations on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cross-border corporate restructurings, and capital markets transactions. He has a particular focus on international tax, helping clients on cross-border structure formation and tax-driven internal reorganization, navigating tax laws across multiple jurisdictions to maximize global tax efficiency.Brian regularly advises emerging companies and venture capital firms on the tax aspects of capital raises, changes to capital structure, and general tax planning, providing strategic insight and tailored tax solutions to drive tax-efficient growth. He also advises financial institutions and corporations on capital markets offerings, financial products, and FATCA compliance.Brian is Recommended for US Taxes: Non-Contentious by Legal 500 US 2024.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Brian spent over a decade as a senior in-house tax advisor at General Electric and, more recently, as the global head of tax at New Fortress Energy (NFE). He structured the transition of NFE from an Up-C investment of Fortress Investment Group to a multibillion-dollar, fully public company. In his in-house roles, he served as a trusted advisor to senior executives, founders, and board members on various high-profile transactions, including a $2 billion LNG infrastructure joint venture between NFE and Apollo and a $5.1 billion acquisition by NFE of Hygo Energy Transition and Golar LNG Partners, LP.

Brian Radigan

Alfredo Silva is a key member of the firm’s Social Enterprise + Impact Investing Group and the Emerging Companies + Venture Capital practice. He advises companies and investors—particularly in life sciences, agtech, and fintech—on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, with a strong focus on venture capital, growth equity and corporate venture capital financings. Alfredo brings particular expertise in complex restructuring and recapitalization transactions. He also advises both impact-first and return-first investors on building mission lock into their strategies, works with clients to form Delaware public benefit corporations and structure for-profit/non-profit “hybrid” entities that can attract both philanthropic and traditional capital, and on a pro bono basis advises nonprofits and small businesses on formation, structuring and governance matters.In his private company practice, Mr. Silva has served as company or investor counsel in early- and late-stage financings, minority strategic investments and impact investments in over a hundred private companies, including representation of SoftBank and SoftBank Vision Fund in financings with a combined value of over $2 billion, Temasek in its $800 million minority investment in Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, and Visa Ventures in strategic fintech investments around the world.In his public company practice, Alfredo counsels issuers on strategic transactions, such as the stock-for-stock merger of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. with Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp, as well as corporate governance and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and stock exchange listing standards, including advising on cutting-edge issues with respect to ESG disclosures and materiality assessments.In addition, Mr. Silva works extensively with nonprofit organizations, providing advice on fiduciary issues, entity formation, structuring and other corporate matters, and assists small businesses pro bono. He incorporated and continues to advise Illuminate, the nonprofit producer of The Bay Lights, a 25,000 LED sculpture on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in structuring, corporate governance, and project management matters. Mr. Silva currently chairs the audit committees of the boards of directors of Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, a nonprofit founded by three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and The New York Times bestselling author Ayesha Curry to unleash the potential of every child, and San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which for nearly 30 years has been pursuing a future where health justice is achieved for all people living with or at risk for HIV, both of which Mr. Silva has previously advised as corporate counsel.Alfredo is recognized by The Recorder as a 2013 Lawyer on the Fast Track, in 2014 was the inaugural recipient of the firm’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Service, is a 2017 Lawyers Committee for Legal Diversity Fellow, and was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2023 National Public Service Award.

Alfredo B. D. Silva

Natalie Kernisant is Morrison Foerster’s Chief Workplace Experience Officer. Natalie provides strategic leadership to advance recruiting and retention of talent with a wide range of experiences and perspectives at the firm, as well as providing client development support in the area of inclusion and engagement strategy. She works closely with the firm’s Community Advisory Board and leaders of our various Affinity Programs. Natalie joined Morrison Foerster in November 2013. She was appointed to the newly created role of Chief Workplace Experience Officer in 2025, after having served first as the firm’s Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion and then as the firm’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Natalie served as Human Resources Manager for Risk Management within Global Banking and Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Before that, she practiced trademark and copyright law and then served as the Special Projects Manager in the Office of Institutional Policy & Planning at Harvard Medical School overseeing the school’s 2011 accreditation process.In 2021, Natalie was named by Crain’s New York Business to its list of Notable Black Leaders & Executives 2021. The special section recognizes black men and women who have impacted New York City in major ways and sets out to honor their professional, civic, and philanthropic achievements. In 2023, Natalie was recognized as one of Savoy Magazine’s 2023 Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion. She was also selected to Law360’s Diversity & Inclusion Editorial Advisory Board, whose goal is to provide feedback on Law360’s coverage as well as expert insight on how to shape future coverage. Additionally, she was recognized in the Financial Times 2023 North America Innovative Lawyers report as one of seven individual “Change Makers” in the legal industry for her strategic leadership of the firm’s efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In 2024, Natalie was named as a Change Driver in the Annual Diversity Awards of World IP Review (WIPR). The annual Diversity Awards recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to diversity and inclusion in the field of intellectual property.During Natalie’s tenure at MoFo, the firm has received multiple <a href="/community/we-at-mofo/inclusion#awards" target="_self">diversity and inclusion awards and recognitions</a>.

Natalie Kernisant

Chief Workplace Engagement Officer

Julie Park is the practice group chair of Morrison Foerster’s Complex Litigation + Advisement practice group and managing partner of the San Diego office.Julie protects her clients’ products throughout the product life cycle. Drawing on her deep technical and legal experience, she counsels clients on consumer product safety regulation and pharmaceutical and medical device preemption. She manages complex and multijurisdictional litigation both in state and federal court and also guides clients through product recalls.Clients appreciate Julie’s ability to assess both the practical business implications and legal impact of a matter. They also value the way she recommends solutions that meet their objectives.Julie is committed to providing thought leadership for her clients. She is an editor of, and frequent contributor to, MoFo’s <a href="http://classdismissed.mofo.com/" target="_blank">Class Dismissed</a> blog, where she provides insights on class-action and product–related issues affecting companies in the consumer arena. She has been recognized for her writing as a top author in the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, 2016–2019.Julie is also committed to pro bono service and diversity in the legal profession. While at Harvard Law School, she worked at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services. She has continued her pro bono work at MoFo, which has resulted in her being a regular recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Award from the California State Bar for pro bono contributions. She co-chairs the firm’s Women’s Strategy Committee and has served on the Associates Steering Committee of Athena San Diego, an organization that promotes professional growth for women executives and rising managers in science and technology.Julie brings an industry perspective to her work with MoFo. Before going to law school, she was a medicinal chemist at Pfizer, where she researched cancer drugs.Beyond her impressive legal work, Julie has a life in the arts. She is a professional-level violinist who performs with chamber music groups in the San Diego area and has played with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, and La Jolla Symphony.

Julie Park

Chair of Complex Litigation + Advisement

Carrie H. Cohen is a partner in Morrison Foerster's Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group and leads the firm's State Attorneys General + Local Government Enforcement team. Prior to joining the firm, Carrie served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) where she prosecuted public corruption and securities matters, including obtaining the first trial conviction of former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver. Carrie also served in the New York State Attorney General’s Office as Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau and an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau where she received the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for outstanding service. As a former federal and state prosecutor, Carrie routinely represents corporations, boards, and c-suite executives in government-facing investigative and regulatory matters with a particular focus on state and local government matters. Carrie’s extensive trial experience and distinguished record of success in high‑stakes, white collar defense matters cement her position as a leading lawyer who often is called upon for particularly sensitive matters. Carrie’s trial and white collar expertise have been recognized by a variety of organizations including Chambers USA, which describes her as “a terrific trial lawyer with great judgment and timing, [who] knows how to present complex cases in a digestible way.” Carrie also routinely prepares clients who are called to testify before Congress and state and city legislatures and works on matters that involve multijurisdictional investigations and significant media attention.Carrie is a recognized industry expert in public corruption and state and local government actions. She is frequently selected by government agencies to serve as independent counsel and issue public reports, including her appointment as independent monitor for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, special counsel to the New York City Council, special independent counsel to the City of Rochester, and counsel to the California Attorney General’s Office (CA AG) as well as being part of the Monitorship Team appointed by DOJ for the global Odebrecht corruption matter. She was also appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to the Metropolitan Transit Authority Inspector General’s Board and serves as its acting chair, and was appointed by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York as counsel to the Court’s Grievance Committee. Carrie is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a seminar on Public Corruption and the Law.Carrie serves on multiple bar committees and task forces as part of her efforts to promote the rule of law. She was appointed as chair of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Task Force on Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes and served as a member of the NYSBA Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. As a leader of the Bar, Carrie was appointed as co-chair of the Federal-State Judicial Advisory Council and previously served as a vice president and trustee of the Federal Bar Council and president of its Inn of Court as well as prior service as a vice president of the New York City Bar, chair of its Executive Committee, and member of its Nominating Committee. Carrie was also appointed by the SDNY to its Criminal Justice Act Panel to serve as counsel to indigent defendants in federal criminal cases.<h4>Representative Experience</h4>Government Appointments/Public Corruption Matters. Independent counsel for federal, state, and local government agencies. Representing elected and appointed public officials, public entities, and individuals doing business with the government in a variety of public corruption-related matters with a focus on public-facing reports, including:<ul><li>Independent monitor for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation related to workplace issues.</li><li>Special independent counsel to the New York City Council related to investigations of certain council members for misconduct and corruption.</li><li>Special counsel to the MTA related to an examination of time, attendance, and overtime, which included presenting a report to the MTA Board.</li><li>Independent counsel to the CA AG related to conducting a review of its public release of confidential personal information associated with firearms permit holders and applicants, which included the preparation and release of a public report.</li><li>Service on the DOJ-appointed Monitorship Team for the global Odebrecht corruption matter.</li><li>County officials related to allegations of official misconduct and bid rigging.</li></ul>Trial Counsel. Serving as first-chair trial counsel for individuals in federal and state court criminal matters. Representations include Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren for state campaign finance charges; Hon. John A. Michalek for state and federal public corruption offenses; and Hon. Sylvia Ash for federal obstruction of justice charges.Financial Institutions/Securities Matters. Representing banks and other financial institutions in investigations of regulatory and consumer-related matters. Representing corporations and individuals in a variety of criminal investigations and regulatory matters involving federal and state securities laws.Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Representing corporations in FCPA investigations across industries and in numerous jurisdictions. Serving on the DOJ-appointed Monitorship Team in the criminal prosecution of Odebrecht.Workplace Misconduct. Conducting investigations for corporations and boards related to workplace misconduct and #MeToo issues and providing related advocacy and legal advice.Cybersecurity. Conducting investigations of cybersecurity incidents and representing companies in related government and regulatory matters concerning disclosures of data and privacy issues.RICO/Civil Fraud/Commercial Litigation. Representing a wide variety of public and private corporations in civil fraud, RICO, and commercial litigation including at trial. Represented UPS at trial in SDNY in a case brought by the NYAG and the City of New York alleging illegal transportation of untaxed cigarettes.