Published : 8 years ago, on 07/01/2017

Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the election of 15 lawyers to the firm’s partnership. The class of 2017 includes individuals from 11 practice groups across 11 offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The promotions became effective on January 1, 2017.

“I’m extremely proud to welcome this highly accomplished group of lawyers to the partnership,” said Morrison & Foerster chair Larren M. Nashelsky. “Through their hard work, leadership abilities, and dedication to client service, they have demonstrated a commitment to our clients and the firm. I’m confident they will continue to make many valuable contributions to the firm in the years to come.”

The following lawyers have been elected partners:

Gemma Anderson, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in the London office. She is a commercial litigator specializing in complex contractual and financial matters, technology disputes, and contentious insolvency and restructuring issues. She regularly advises clients in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australasia on pre-litigation strategy and commercial litigation and arbitration matters with an English law nexus. Ms. Anderson has represented clients in relation to large-scale commercial litigation in the English Commercial Court, Chancery Division, and Court of Appeal. She also has extensive experience of arbitration, including international and domestic arbitrations under both institutional and ad hoc rules. Ms. Anderson is dual qualified in England & Wales and New Zealand. She graduated from the University of Auckland with Bachelors of Law and Commerce, and holds an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge.

Mori Inada, a member of the Real Estate Practice Group, is based in the Tokyo office. Mr. Inada’s practice focuses on financing and real estate transactions, with particular expertise in real estate non-recourse finance, LBO finance, and other structured finance and real estate transactions such as development, acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing for commercial and residential properties. He has represented a range of international and domestic clients including private investment funds and commercial banks. His practice also focuses on advising clients on the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and Act on Securitization of Assets (TMK Law) as well as other financial regulations. Mr. Inada is a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association admitted to practice in Japan (Bengoshi). He earned his J.D. from the Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan, and his LL.M. and LL.B. from Waseda University. Mr. Inada practices with Ito & Mitomi, registered associated offices of Morrison & Foerster in Japan.

Amit Kataria, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in the Hong Kong office. Mr. Kataria has experience advising on mergers and acquisitions transactions, private equity investments, securities offerings, and a broad range of transactional and corporate advisory matters. He represents corporates, financial sponsors, and their portfolio companies in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions across a wide range of industries, including financial services, technology, hospitality, insurance, logistics, manufacturing, real estate, and pharmaceuticals. Mr. Kataria also focuses on advising regional and international strategic acquirers and financial investors on Indian inbound and outbound transactions. He has also regularly advised clients on various litigation, internal investigation, and enforcement matters related to India. Mr. Kataria earned his LL.B. from University of Delhi and his LL.M. from Columbia Law School.

Jessica Kaufman, a member of the Financial Services Litigation Practice Group, is based in the New York office. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on class action, financial services litigation and enforcement, and commercial disputes. Recent representative matters include the defense of a leading marketplace lender in a putative nationwide class action under state usury laws; a major consumer products company in multi-district antitrust litigation; a professional services firm in a malpractice action; a lingerie company facing consumer protection claims, including claims of false advertising; and financial institutions facing claims under the federal and state contract and antitrust laws, RICO Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act, and state unfair and deceptive practices statutes. She also regularly advises and represents clients in complex commercial disputes. Ms. Kaufman earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Kenichi Ko, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in the Tokyo office. Mr. Ko provides advice on a wide range of legal matters with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, joint ventures and alliances, matters related to corporate law and securities law, and litigation matters. He is a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association admitted to practice in Japan (Bengoshi). Mr. Ko graduated from the Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan and earned his LL.M. from the University of Southern California. He practices with Ito & Mitomi, registered associated offices of Morrison & Foerster in Japan.

Mike Krigbaum, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in the Palo Alto office. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions, as well as emerging company counseling. Mr. Krigbaum’s M&A experience includes private and public acquisitions of technology and life sciences companies on both the buy-side and target-side. His expertise includes domestic and cross-border deal structuring and mechanics relating to stock and asset purchases, mergers, divestitures, tender offers, joint ventures, spinoffs, and restructurings. Mr. Krigbaum also represents a number of venture capital firms, corporate venture capital divisions, and emerging companies, both in the technology and life science industries, with respect to venture capital transactions, negotiations, and structuring, as well as general emerging company counseling. Mr. Krigbaum earned his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.

Matthew Lau, a member of the Tax Department, is based in the Hong Kong office. His practice focuses on the tax structuring aspects of cross-border mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings, particularly in the United States, China, Japan, and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. He also regularly advises U.S. and Asia-based fund sponsors and institutional investors on tax issues related to the formation of, and investments in, private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, co-investment vehicles, and other alternative investment products. Mr. Lau has represented multinational corporations and funds in acquisitions and restructuring transactions across more than 30 jurisdictions. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Natalie Fleming Nolen, a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group, is based in the Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on antitrust litigation, commercial litigation, and financial services litigation. Recent representative matters include the defense of a financial institution in a large multi-district antitrust litigation; defense of a company against allegations of deceptive marketing; and representing a large company that was being investigated by regulatory authorities. Ms. Fleming Nolen earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Julie O’Neill, a member of the Privacy and Data Security Practice Group, is based in the Washington, D.C. office. Ms. O’Neill provides clients with practical solutions to compliance challenges around a wide variety of both online and offline privacy issues, including online and offline tracking, interest-based advertising, geo-targeting and other mobile tracking, personalization, and cross-device tracking. Ms. O’Neill also creates compliance programs for clients’ use of a wide variety of channels for communicating with and marketing to consumers in the U.S. and around the world. She works with clients to develop their social media strategies and to clear their social media content. Ms. O’Neill also reviews advertising in both traditional and new media for compliance with applicable laws, including Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and various FTC rules and guides. As a former FTC staff attorney, Ms. O’Neill regularly defends companies in investigations by the FTC and before data protection authorities around the world. She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Julie Park, a member of the Product Liability Practice Group, is based in the San Diego office. Ms. Park handles a wide range of product issues for pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer product manufacturers. She represents clients in multi-district and multi jurisdictional proceedings in product liability and consumer class action cases. She also advises clients on product liability-related issues, including evaluating and recommending warnings; assessing compliance with federal, state, and industry standards (including the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act, ANSI, and the Consumer Product Safety Act); guiding clients through product recalls; and conducting risk assessments. Ms. Park earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Tina Reynolds, a member of the Government Contracts and Public Procurement Practice Group, is based in the Northern Virginia office. She represents a wide variety of government contractors including information technology, defense, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies, with a focus on general contract counseling, compliance, and litigation. Her litigation experience includes government contracts claims litigation in federal courts and before boards of contract appeals, bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, and complex disputes in federal courts, including civil fraud and False Claims Act litigation. She has extensive experience with internal investigations, as well as government ethics, intellectual property, and cybersecurity-related matters. Ms. Reynolds earned her J.D. from the University of North Carolina.

Nathan Sabri, a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group, is based in the San Francisco office. Mr. Sabri focuses his practice on patent and copyright litigation, and has experience litigating in state courts and federal courts throughout the country.  He also has experience managing global strategy in large cases spanning multiple jurisdictions. His matters have included advice and litigation involving subject matters such as antibody development, noninvasive prenatal diagnostics, surgical robotics, smartphones, email software, and graphical user interfaces. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Tyler Sewell, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in the Denver office. He focuses his practice on advising clients in M&A and other complex corporate transactions. Mr. Sewell has advised clients in various transaction structures including leveraged acquisitions, divestitures, asset acquisitions, stock acquisitions, mergers, auction transactions, and cross-border transactions. He has worked with domestic and foreign companies in a variety of industries including Internet, consumer, hardware, semiconductor, e-commerce, and health care verticals. Mr. Sewell received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Alfredo B. D. Silva, a member of the Corporate Department, is based in the San Francisco office. Mr. Silva represents public and private companies and investors in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters. His practice includes initial public offerings, primary and secondary offerings, private placements, preferred stock financings, and public and private mergers and acquisitions. In his public company practice, Mr. Silva also counsels issuers on corporate governance issues, compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws, and compliance with the listing standards of Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. In his private company practice, Mr. Silva has led venture financing, late-stage financing, strategic investment, and impact investment transactions for companies in a wide variety of industries. He received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School.

Christiane Stuetzle, a member of the Technology Transactions Practice Group, is based in the Berlin office. She is co-chair of the firm’s Global Film & Entertainment Practice Group and a Certified Specialist for Copyright and Media Law, Arbitrator on the International Arbitration Panel of the IFTA (Independent Film & Television Alliance). Ms. Stuetzle’s practice focuses on transactional matters in the field of film and entertainment, as well as legal and strategic advice and lobbying support at all stages of the development, financing, production, and distribution of audiovisual products, mainly for U.S.-based clients doing business in Germany. She has deep industry knowledge and experience aligning standards when handling matters of U.S. and other international clients doing business in Germany. Ms. Stuetzle is the founder and organizer of the Berlin office’s annual film production and financing panel and reception for high-ranking individuals from the international film community, held during the Berlin Film Festival since 2002. She has published various articles on media law topics and is co-author of a film and media law handbook. She earned her First State Exam from the University of Passau and her Second State Exam from Higher Regional Court of Dresden.