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

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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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Mark Whitaker is co-chair of the firm’s global IP Litigation Practice and cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group. Mark’s clients benefit from his more t

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Partner Spotlight: Mark Whitaker | MoFo+

<a href="https://www.mofo.com/people/mark-whitaker.html">Mark Whitaker </a>is co-chair of the firm’s global IP Litigation Practice and cross-disciplinary <a href="https://www.mofo.com/capabilities/patent-litigation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Intellectual Property Group</a>. Mark’s clients benefit from his more than 30 years of experience crafting litigation strategies in high-stakes patent and trade secret litigation. He is a U.S. Navy veteran, serving as a member of the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Mark is also a past president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and was elected to their prestigious Fellows membership. In addition to his regular practice, Mark is also co-chair of the firm’s <a href="https://www.mofo.com/culture/diversity#diversitystrategycommittee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diversity Strategy Committee</a> and is a frequent speaker at the American Bar Association and numerous CLE events across the country.Briefly describe, in two or three sentences, your practice. My practice involves litigating high-stakes, complex intellectual property disputes involving patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights. And I practice exclusively in federal district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission in so-called Section 337 investigations, and related appellate courts.Why did you choose to make MoFo your professional home? MoFo had and has a reputation in excellence in IP litigation. The firm really possesses a very talented group of lawyers, partners, and associates, who work with a lot of energy toward bringing the best results for our clients. MoFo is also simply a nice, fun place to work where colleagues truly work together and collaborate as opposed to working in silos with limited interaction between the practice groups.I’ve also been involved in diversity and expanding diversity and inclusion in the various organizations that I’ve been a part of. And one of the things that truly drew me to MoFo, as well, beyond the legal work and its reputation in IP litigation, was the fact that it was a progressive leader in diversity. It’s been a real pleasure to be a co chair of the Diversity Strategy Committee that helps drive some of these strategic initiatives for D+I. It is a place that I have enjoyed the past nearly five years and expect to enjoy on into the future.How do clients benefit from having diverse teams of lawyers working for them? Diverse teams naturally bring a broad breadth of backgrounds, education, life experiences, and intellect to problem solving, which is important in the work that we do. Having teams that look and think like all of America brings knowledge to every legal endeavor that less diverse teams simply cannot. As a trial attorney, it is especially important for our trial teams to look like the jury sitting in front of us. Having diverse teams is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart business thing to do to bring about the best and most positive results in client matters.What does Black History Month mean to you? Black History Month for me is really a time to reflect gratefully and with some awe at the strength, resilience, faith, and bravery exhibited by all of the Black people and leaders who came before me. It’s also a time to pick up new books and references, to study, and fill in gaps of my own knowledge base about the black experience in America. To that point I currently have Promised Land by Barack Obama and Water Dance by Ta-Nehisi Coates on my reading list.I think most importantly, it is a time for me to remember that I would not be here today at MoFo or even in the legal profession perhaps without all of those selfless sacrifices and countless deaths of those who have fought for equality and justice before me. I just wouldn’t be here.If you could have dinner with any civil rights pioneer who would it be and why? This is a tough one for me because there are so many conversations that I would love to have with people over the years. But if I was going to pick one, it would be Thurgood Marshall, because he was the true impetus behind my desire to become a lawyer. There’s a quote that he has about the word equal and what it means that has always stuck with me from the time when I was young. It’s been sort of a guiding light for me.The quote is “Equal means getting the same thing at the same time and in the same place. A man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for hard work and many heartbreaks. In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” Those words to me were true when I was just a young boy and they seem to cross every generation. Thurgood Marshall’s quote is so true for our generations today. I’d also like to ask him about all the pickup basketball games that I know that he played when he was a young justice of the Supreme Court. So, I would love to have dinner with him and just pick his brain.How have you seen the legal industry shift in recent years with respect to diversity and inclusion? The legal industry has struggled with respect to diversity and inclusion in particular with retaining diverse talent in law firms. Of course, there are a myriad reasons as to why, ranging from the problem of favoritism and silos in firm structure all the way to systemic and institutional racism. But corporations have taken steps to force change and that has been very helpful.Until firms internalize and understand that D+I is important to their financial bottom line, struggles will continue. But I am heartened by the fact that many firms and companies in recent years have begun to embrace D+I and open doors formally shut to diverse attorneys, especially in leadership roles in law firms. I do believe progress is being made, but we are far, far from finished.MoFo is a leader in this area. And the firm does put diverse attorneys into leadership roles all the way up to the executive committee. That is something that is absolutely necessary. It’s necessary for our recruitment purposes. It’s necessary for our retention of good diverse talent and it’s also just the right thing to do because again, bringing and having diversity on your teams is important to the bottom line and ultimately allows us to achieve the best results for our clients.