Our deeds and shared values define our culture. As a firm, we are equally passionate about delivering legal excellence and making a difference in the world. MoFo+ shares news and thought leadership from our lawyers and their teams who are proud to contribute to the legal profession and the communities we call home.<h2>About Morrison Foerster</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Jennifer K. Brown is Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP, with responsibility for the overall direction of the firm’s pro bono program. Ms. Brown also develops pro bono opportunities and promotes lawyers’ participation in the firm’s offices on the east coast of the U.S. as well as in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Ms. Brown was vice president and legal director of Legal Momentum, the nation's first women’s rights legal organization, originally known as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. There, she directed cutting-edge litigation and policy advocacy focused on employment discrimination, domestic violence victims' rights, and sexuality and family rights. Previously, she served as the reproductive rights director with the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York Attorney General and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.Ms. Brown brings to the firm her deep knowledge of public interest legal organizations and the most pressing civil rights issues of the day. She has, as well, a rich array of litigation experience, having represented individuals as well as federal agencies and the public, from both the plaintiff and defense positions, in trial and appellate courts. As Senior Pro Bono Counsel, she applies this knowledge and experience to multiple goals: encouraging the firm's attorneys from all practice areas to bring pro bono projects to the firm; easing the way for attorneys to undertake meaningful pro bono service; and working with legal service and public interest organizations to identify creative ways to tap the passion and intellect of the firm's lawyers to pursue the public good. Recent achievements include collaborating with a legal services organization to represent individuals whose claims for unemployment insurance benefits are challenged, and forming a project to represent disabled individuals who are seeking federal disability benefits.Ms. Brown received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1993, where she was essays editor of the Yale Law Journal (1992-1993) and was awarded the Benjamin Scharps and Israel H. Peres prizes for outstanding writing. Ms. Brown’s publications include, "The Nineteenth Amendment and Women's Equality," 102 Yale Law Journal 2175 (1993) (student note), and "Life and Death with Joan," in AIDS: The Women, Cleis Press, 1988.

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Senior Pro Bono Counsel

Staff

As senior pro bono counsel, Jennifer manages and promotes the pro bono participation of lawyers on the East Coast.

Jennifer K. Brown

Natalie Kernisant is Morrison Foerster’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.Natalie provides strategic leadership to advance recruiting and retention of diverse talent at the firm, as well as providing client development support in the area of diversity and inclusion. She works closely with the firm’s Diversity Strategy Committee co-chairs Alexis Amezcua, Purvi Patel, and Mark Whitaker, and Women’s Strategy Committee co-chairs Carrie Cohen, Julie Park, and Stacey Sprenkel.Natalie joined Morrison Foerster in November 2013. She was appointed to the newly created role of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in December 2020, having previously served as the firm’s Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion.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 interrupt unconscious bias and 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="/culture/diversity#page-section-4" target="_self">diversity and inclusion awards and recognitions</a>.

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Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Natalie Kernisant is Morrison Foerster’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

Natalie Kernisant provides strategic leadership to advance recruiting and retention of diverse talent at Morrison Foerster, as well as providing client development support in the area of diversity and inclusion.

Natalie Kernisant

Dorothy L. Fernandez is Pro Bono Counsel based in the Denver office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. She is responsible for managing and promoting the participation of lawyers in the firm’s extensive pro bono program which includes, among other things, providing free legal services to low-income individuals, advising nonprofit organizations and assisting in other matters that serve the public interest. Dorothy’s primary focus is on working with lawyers in the firm’s Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver and Tokyo offices.In 1999, Dorothy joined Morrison & Foerster as an associate in the Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Criminal Defense Group. She was elected a partner of the firm in 2004. Dorothy handled complex litigation at the state, federal and appellate levels and was responsible for drafting key dispositive motions in some of the firm’s largest securities litigation matters. In addition, she had an active pro bono practice and represented clients in individual matters, as well as cases addressing the treatment of children in foster care and the rights of LGBT individuals.A dedicated advocate for the LGBT community, Dorothy has served as co-chair of the board of directors of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and she also served on the board of the Pride Law Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to law students working on issues related to the equal rights of LGBT citizens and people living with HIV/AIDS.Dorothy currently serves on the board of directors of Centro Legal de la Raza, a nonprofit based in Oakland.Dorothy graduated from Stanford University in 1992 with a B.A. in psychology. She earned a J.D. in 1996 from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and co-chair of HLS Lambda. She has taught as an adjunct instructor at both Golden Gate University Law School and Santa Clara University Law School.

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Pro Bono Counsel

Dorothy works with lawyers in our Denver, Los Angeles, and San Diego offices on various pro bono initiatives.

Dorothy L. Fernandez

Rachel Williams is pro bono counsel based in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office. She is responsible for managing and promoting the participation of lawyers in the firm’s extensive program of providing free legal services to low-income individuals, to nonprofit organizations, and in matters that serve the public interest. Rachel works primarily with lawyers in the firm’s San Francisco, Palo Alto, London, Berlin, and Brussels offices. She is an active member of the Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative and the board of directors of OneJustice. Rachel joined the firm in 1999. Prior to becoming a pro bono counsel, Rachel was a litigation associate in the firm’s Palo Alto office and worked on attorney training and development initiatives. Before law school, Rachel worked for various nonprofit organizations, was an investigator for the public defender’s office in Seattle, and served as a Coro Public Affairs Fellow in New York City.

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Rachel is responsible for managing and promoting the participation of lawyers in the firm’s extensive program of providing free legal services to low-income individuals, to nonprofit organizations, and in matters that serve the public interest.

Rachel P. Williams

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Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion, and pro bono work. MoFo+ shares news and thought leadership from our lawyers and their teams who are proud to contribute to the legal profession and the communities we call home.

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MoFo Wins Asylum for Cameroonian Political Refugee

MoFo Sponsors the 2024 NAPABA Convention

Navigating Justice and Disability: A Conversation with Judge David Tatel

The MoFo Foundation Supports Pro Bono Partners

MoFo Sponsors the Black Counsel Forum 2024

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MoFo recently won asylum for a Cameroonian man after more than 10 years of persistent advocacy through multiple procedural tangles. The firm’s client was persecuted by the ruling party in Cameroon, CPDM, and feared returning to Cameroon because he had been arrested, detained, and tortured by the CPDM on multiple occasions based on his political opinion and activity with an opposition political party.The client initially arrived in the United States in 2013 with a D-1 crewmember visa after securing a job on a Greek ship scheduled to depart from the U.S. Just before his departure however, his home in Cameroon was burned down in what he feared was an act of further persecution. Consequently, he made the decision to seek asylum instead of joining the ship’s crew. In February 2014, MoFo submitted an asylum application on his behalf. However, due to his entry on a D-1 visa, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that it lacked jurisdiction over his asylum claim and referred the claim to immigration court. Due to a clerical error, a notice to appear in immigration court was never issued and the client’s asylum application sat pending for several years. During this time, the client married a U.S. citizen and filed an application to adjust his status based on the marriage, which was denied because of the D-1 visa issue.In 2020, USCIS reissued the notice to appear at the request of MoFo, effectively restarting the client's asylum application process before the immigration court. In early July of this year, the MoFo team submitted supplementary evidence to support the client’s application. Finally, on July 17, the government attorney conceded the majority of the issues raised in the client’s application and limited her cross-examination to the nexus between the client’s political opinion and his detention and torture at the hands of the CPDM. As a result, the Judge granted the client asylum at the hearing, holding that he had established that he was persecuted based on his political opinion and had a reasonable fear of returning to Cameroon.The MoFo team representing the client was led by Washington, D.C. partner Mary Prendergast, and included New York of counsel Jonathan Newmark, Washington, D.C. associate Joshua Fattal, and New York associate Michael Ahern, with support from Washington, D.C. paralegal Clara Chilian. The case was referred to MoFo by Human Rights First, a leading nonprofit whose Refugee Representation program trains and mentors pro bono lawyers to represent asylum seekers across the U.S.“The MoFo team was proud to be able to secure our client’s asylum status after a long and circuitous path through USCIS and immigration court,” said Michael Ahern. “We hope that this decision provides closure for our client and allows him to open a new chapter of his life in the U.S.” The team continues to work with the client on applications for his three children, who currently live in Cameroon, to join him in the U.S. as derivative beneficiaries of his asylum status.<a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/pro-bono" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about MoFo’s pro bono efforts.

Certain Electronic Eyewear Products and Components Thereof

Certain Infotainment Systems, Components Thereof, and Automobiles Containing the Same

Smartphone Litigation

Teradata Corp. v. SAP SE, SAP America, and SAP Labs

BASF v. James Matthey Inc.

Certain Digital Cameras, Software, and Components Thereof

Yardi Systems v. Entrata Inc. 

Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC et al. v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc. et al.

Certain Portable Electronic Devices and Components Thereof

Alcon LenSx v. Neev

Nikon Metrology v. Faro Technologies

Anvik v. Nikon

Teva v. Sandoz

Allergan v. Sandoz

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Partner

Mary is a trial lawyer with extensive experience litigating patent and trade secrets cases in courts across the country and at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Mary Prendergast

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Associate

Michael Ahern is an associate in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s New York office.
Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Mr. Ahern clerked for the Honorable Eileen Bransten in the Comm

Michael G. Ahern

Michael Ahern

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Joshua R. Fattal is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Privacy + Data Security Group. He advises clients across industries on data protection best practices, product development, complex national and international regulatory compliance, transaction diligence, incident preparedness and response, and emerging topics, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Joshua R. Fattal

Joshua Fattal

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Of Counsel

﻿Jonathan Newmark is an of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Privacy + Data Security Group. He advises clients across industries on data protection best practices, national and international regulatory compliance, information governance, product development, consumer trust and safety, transaction diligence, crisis management, and cyber incident response.



Jonathan Louis Newmark

Jonathan Newmark

MoFo Wins Asylum for Cameroonian Political Refugee

Lawyers in Morrison Foerster offices all around the world live out our proud pro bono tradition every day. In all matters, we are guided by the principle of according equal dignity and applying equal rigor to our pro bono endeavors. Likewise, the <a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/mofo-foundation" target="_blank">Morrison & Foerster Foundation</a>, one of the oldest law firm-affiliated charitable foundations in the United States and funded primarily by MoFo’s lawyers and staff, promotes our collective social engagement while respecting and celebrating the differences that make our communities thrive.In September, the MoFo Foundation announced the largest set of grants in its history, in recognition of its 40th anniversary. The Foundation celebrated the milestone with $1.7 million in large Special Project Grants for nonprofit organizations broadly serving disadvantaged youth and families.Two of the firm’s pro bono partners, <a href="https://advocatesforchildren.org/" target="_blank">Advocates for Children of New York (AFC)</a> and <a href="https://oaklandreach.org/" target="_blank">Oakland REACH</a>, were among the organizations nominated by lawyers and employees and chosen by the Foundation to receive funds from this year’s Special Project Grants Program.The Foundation donated $225,000 to AFC, which will assist in the addition of a Bilingual Education Advocate to provide direct assistance to migrant families living in shelters who are experiencing barriers to a quality public education.AFC’s mission is to ensure a high-quality education for New York students who face barriers to academic success, focusing on students from low-income backgrounds with special education needs. AFC services include legal representation, trainings, and workshops for families, communities, and educators. The organization also engages in policy advocacy and impact litigation to compel education reform.In July, a team of MoFo litigators—supported by attorneys at AFC—secured early intervention services for a three-year-old child with autism who was wrongfully denied assistance by public agencies in New York City. After a lengthy hearing and even lengthier settlement negotiations, the defendants agreed to provide the child 210 hours of compensatory services and to pay $75,000 in attorneys’ fees. This was an excellent outcome for the child and her family, who needed these early intervention services to help the child overcome a significant developmental delay. The case presented novel jurisdictional issues between the Department of Health and the Department of Education, and the MoFo team’s creative strategy broke the deadlock in time to make a real difference in the client’s life.“The jurisdictional questions presented us with a difficult and interesting case, but honestly our client and her family couldn’t have cared less about the thorny legal issues. What matters is that, together with the great team from AFC, we got what our client needed—exactly what we try to do for all of our clients,” said New York partner Michael Miller.Along with Michael, the MoFo pro bono team included Washington, D.C. associate Victoria Dalcourt Angle and New York associate Jacqueline Chervak.The Foundation donated $150,000 to the Oakland REACH, which will help create a new curated mobile tech platform, inREACH, that provides supplemental academic support to accelerate learning and help close the achievement gap for low-income children of color in Oakland, California.Oakland REACH empowers families and community members by providing them with training to become tutors for students in Oakland’s lowest-performing schools. Additionally, the program equips them with the skills to effectively advocate for the educational needs of these students.Oakland REACH was a plaintiff in the firm’s recent pro bono case, <a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/news/240201morrison-foerster-secures-2-billion-for-california-students" target="_blank">Cayla J. v. State of California</a>, in which MoFo secured at least $2 billion in funding to support California students who fell behind during the COVID-19 pandemic—one of the largest education-related settlements in U.S. history. Under the settlement agreement, local education agencies will direct Emergency Block Grant Funds to evidence-based programs that are proven to increase student outcomes. The programs must serve the lowest-performing students in the school district, identified using a data-driven “needs assessment” process that incorporates academic performance as well as absenteeism data.The MoFo pro bono team, led by the recently retired Michael Jacobs, was also comprised of Palo Alto partners Lily Li and Erik Olson, Los Angeles partner Purvi Patel, San Diego partner John Lanham, Palo Alto associates Chelsea Kehrer and Max Levy, and San Francisco associate Ian Bennett.<a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/pro-bono" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about MoFo’s commitment to pro bono work.

Jennifer K. Brown is Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP, with responsibility for the overall direction of the firm’s pro bono program. Ms. Brown also develops pro bono opportunities an

Jennifer Brown

Dorothy L. Fernandez is Pro Bono Counsel based in the Denver office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. She is responsible for managing and promoting the participation of lawyers in the firm’s extensive pro b

Dorothy Fernandez

Rachel Williams is pro bono counsel based in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office. She is responsible for managing and promoting the participation of lawyers in the firm’s extensive program of p

Rachel Williams

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)

In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (Eastern District of New York)

Copperweld Wiring (Northern District of Alabama and other courts)

SoftBank/Sprint/T-Mobile

Arm Limited/Softbank

Southwest Gas Holdings

Programmatic Advertising

Alcon Vision (Southern District of New York)

Dale v. T-Mobile, et al. (Northern District of Illinois)

EMV Litigation (Northern District of California)

In re Late Fee and Over-Limit Fee Antitrust Litigation (Northern District of California)

In re Dental Supply Antitrust Litigation (Eastern District of New York)

Antitrust and Bank Holding Company Act Litigation (Middle District of Florida)

Amadeus IT Group (Southern District of New York)

Overdraft Litigation (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)

Other Merger Clearances

FCRA Matters

GSE FCRA Litigation (Ninth Circuit, District of Arizona)

Data Breach Matters

Privacy Litigation (District of Columbia; District of Columbia Superior Court)

Richbell Information Services, Inc., et al. v. Jupiter Partners LP, et al

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Michael Miller regularly represents clients in managing antitrust risk in complex transactions and other business matters, including strategy and structuring of transactions to avoid antitrust risk an

Michael Miller

Michael B. Miller

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Tori Dalcourt Angle is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office.
Tori advises clients on various government contract matters, including both pre

Victoria Dalcourt Angle

Victoria Angle

Morrison Foerster lawyers don’t just worry about climate change – they take action by providing pro bono legal services to address the issue. In fact, since 2018, our firm has contributed more than $25 million in pro bono legal services to organizations that are addressing climate change, conservation, sustainability, and other environmental issues. In honor of Climate Week, we are shining a spotlight on some of the pro bono matters our dedicated lawyers have undertaken to assist clients who are combatting the challenges posed by climate change.MoFo lawyers are utilizing their specialized knowledge of corporate structures, finance, and tax to enable <a href="https://gridalternatives.org/" target="_blank">GRID Alternatives</a> (“GRID”) to aggregate and deploy capital for solar projects. GRID is the nation’s largest nonprofit installer of clean energy technologies. GRID’s solar installations are primarily focused on low- and moderate-income communities, but its work goes far beyond increasing access to low-cost solar power. GRID also provides solar installation job training programs and helps graduates connect with employers in the industry. It works with tribal communities in the U.S. to build economic opportunities and reach clean energy goals, and its international program has given communities in Nicaragua, Nepal, and Mexico access to solar power. GRID is developing a platform to allow charitable foundations to more easily provide program-related investments to commercial-scale solar projects that serve low- to moderate-income communities. MoFo advised on and helped form GRID’s <a href="https://www.energyresiliencefund.org/" target="_blank">Energy Resilience Fund</a>, a mission-driven investment and loan fund that works with philanthropic investors, developers, intermediaries, and community organizations to pool resources, scale impact, and return local sovereignty to communities on the frontlines of climate change.MoFo lawyers also lend their expertise to early-stage social enterprises that are focused on addressing climate change. The global steel sector contributes an estimated 8% of carbon dioxide emissions annually, and our pro bono client <a href="https://herthametals.com/" target="_blank">Hertha Metals</a> is tackling this problem head-on by developing new technology to produce iron and steel with a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Hertha Metals is supported by the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, which selects and supports teams around the globe whose technological innovations have the potential to drastically cut production of greenhouse gases. MoFo’s patent lawyers are advising Hertha on its intellectual property strategy and filing the patents that are necessary to advance its work.While most approaches to mitigating climate change focus on reducing production of the greenhouse gases that trap heat and result in global warming, our pro bono client <a href="https://www.meer.org/" target="_blank">MEER</a>—Mirrors for Earth’s Energy Rebalancing—is pioneering a complementary approach that goes straight to the source, using mirrors and other reflective materials to deflect sunlight and reduce its warming effect on the planet. MEER recently partnered with the Chief Heat Officer of Freetown, Sierra Leone, along with recent graduates from a local university to implement this strategy in Kroo Bay, an impoverished neighborhood with tightly packed housing. It achieved indoor temperature reductions of 5-7°C (9-13°F). A <a href="https://vimeo.com/993104925?share=copy" target="_blank">just-released documentary</a> highlights the impact on one family’s quality of life. MoFo lawyers are currently helping this visionary organization with various corporate matters in Japan.Public awareness is crucial to increasing public demand for effective policies that address global warming. MoFo lawyers are providing pro bono counsel to the Be Cool Campaign of the Climate Music Project, which connects people to climate science and action through the emotional power of music. Recalling mass musical projects of the past, the campaign is centered around a climate-themed song titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr3l2Vi0hlo" target="_blank">I Wanna Be Cool</a>. It invites youth choirs and young singers to submit recordings of the song, which will be combined in a master recording and video that will also feature professional artists. MoFo lawyers are preparing consent and release forms for contributors so the Be Cool Campaign has the necessary rights and permissions with respect to these recordings. This effort aims to create a powerful resource to raise awareness and mobilize support for climate action.<a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/pro-bono" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about MoFo’s pro bono efforts.

MoFo’s Pro Bono Efforts to Combat Climate Change

MoFo’s Pro Bono Efforts to Combat Climate Change

Morrison Foerster lawyers don’t just worry about climate change – they take action by providing pro bono legal services to address the issue. 

MoFo is committed to supporting those in need through our pro bono efforts. On July 2, 2024, our Washington, D.C. office demonstrated this commitment by assisting 18 Ukrainian refugees in their quest to stay in the United States as the war in their home country continues. Nineteen of our lawyers and summer associates volunteered their time to complete humanitarian re-parole applications, which are necessary to maintain the refugees’ lawful presence in the United States.Our clients, who fled their homeland in the wake of the Russian invasion in early 2022, were initially granted humanitarian parole to live and work in the United States for two years. As the war in Ukraine continues, the federal government authorized “re-parole” applications earlier this year, allowing successful applicants to extend their stay and continue their employment in the United States.Through a Zoom-facilitated legal clinic, our team worked in pairs, meeting virtually with clients and their caseworkers, who also served as interpreters. They completed an application for re-parole for each client, as well as applications for a waiver of the $630 per person filing fee. Each team saw a client in the morning and another in the afternoon, and D.C partner and Pro Bono Committee member Chris Gloria hosted a lunch for participants between the morning and afternoon sessions. This clinic was facilitated by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, in collaboration with Church World Service. Their support and coordination were invaluable in rendering this crucial service to individuals stranded in the United States by circumstances far beyond their control.<a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/pro-bono" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about MoFo’s pro bono efforts.

MoFo Provides Legal Support to Ukrainian Refugees in the United States