“Reflect, Imagine, Celebrate,” is the theme that MoFo used to mark the 20th anniversary of its San Diego office opening. In honor of the occasion, members of MoFo’s San Diego office welcomed roughly 200 guests, including, alumni, clients, friends, community leaders, and members of the local technology, life sciences, biotech, business and philanthropic communities, for a night of celebration and reflection on October 17, 2019.
In recognition of the milestone, all of the office’s original founding members were in attendance, including: Mark Danis, Vice President – Associate General Counsel at The Clorox Company, Eric Acker, MoFo Patent Litigation partner, Kate H. Murashige, MoFo Patent Counseling + Prosecution senior of counsel, and Andrea C. Hyder, the firm’s first secretary. In addition, MoFo Chair, Larren Nashelsky, was present for the celebration.
To mark the occasion, MoFo’s San Diego office was transformed to highlight significant moments in the firm’s past, present, and future. Each room was decorated to represent significant years for the office, including, 1999, 2009, 2019, as well as a futuristic 2039 room. The rooms included slide shows with important pop culture references and key office highlights inspired by the time periods. The 1999 room, for example, paid homage to Prince’s famous hit song, Party Like It’s 1999, and also included timely references to MoFo’s entrance into San Diego that year, a time when the city’s active life sciences, biotech, and technology sectors were in the midst of explosive growth.
Additionally, each room included large boards encouraging guests to write on them and share their memories, or to mark an important moment for them at the firm. Even the food in each of the rooms was inspired by the distinct time periods. The 2039 room, in particular, was a standout, which included a “MoFo on Mars” theme and food served in test tubes, reimagined for the futuristic time period.
MoFo also used the occasion to encourage guests to give back to the local community. Upon arrival as guests were checking in, they were asked to “Give Like a MoFo” by taking a succulent plant, which is native to the region, and putting it into a larger plant arrangement donation box. For every succulent planted, MoFo contributed a $10 donation on behalf of that guest, which was donated to The Legal Aid Society of San Diego and the North County Food Bank (a chapter of the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank). Additionally, each of the decorated rooms were dedicated to the charities.
According to attendees, the event was a success, with one guest commenting on the unique theme and creative ambiance: “The party was fun and very well planned – delicious and creative food, theme, flow through offices, and nice to see your firm donating to two very worthy organizations.”
Managing partner of MoFo’s San Diego office, Steve Rowles, shared similar sentiments of the occasion: “Our 20th anniversary party was a rousing success. I received many compliments from attendees on the creative set up and execution. Best of all, it was a lot of fun.”
Visit MoFo’s San Diego office page to learn more.
(From left) MoFo founding members, Eric Acker, Mark Danis, Kate H. Murashige, and MoFo Senior of Counsel, David Doyle, enjoy a moment together during the celebration.
Party attendees, Genevieve Baker (left) and Tiana Hayden (right) add succulents to the larger plant donation box.
MoFo’s futuristic 2039 “Mofo on Mars” themed room.
Soup served in test tubes reimagined for the 2039 room’s futuristic theme.
Celebratory signs with the various San Diego office milestone years are displayed.