Morrison & Foerster Elects 10 New Partners

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morrison & Foerster is pleased to announce the election of 10 lawyers to the firm's partnership, effective January 1, 2014. The group, comprised of five women and five men, includes four litigators, four dealmakers, a patent lawyer and an environmental lawyer.

"This is an exceptional group of lawyers, each one of who has demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment to their clients, their communities and their colleagues," said Morrison & Foerster Chair Larren M. Nashelsky. "This highly diverse class mirrors the depth and breadth of our global practices. Their business acumen and commitment to legal excellence will enhance our ability to continue advancing our clients' most critical objectives across the globe."

The following lawyers have been elected partner:

Leopoldo Aguilar, a member of the Corporate Department, resident in the Tokyo office. Mr. Aguilar's practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, including in the mining, energy and technology industries. Mr. Aguilar earned his J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Columbia University School of Law and his LL.B. from the Tecnologico de Monterrey. Mr. Aguilar is fluent in Spanish and admitted to practice law in New York and Mexico.

LaShann M. DeArcy, a member of the Commercial Litigation practice, resident in the New York office. Ms. DeArcy is a trial lawyer specializing in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation. She has represented Fortune 500 companies in antitrust, class action, contract, business tort, trade secret and bankruptcy matters. Ms. DeArcy earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and she was a member of the United States Air Force. Ms. DeArcy is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Fourth Circuits.

Brian B. Ho, a member of the Patent practice, resident in the San Francisco office. Mr. Ho assists clients in securing patent rights for their innovations across a range of technologies. Mr. Ho also focuses on patent litigation support and patent reexamination. Mr. Ho earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School. Prior to joining the firm, he was a biochemist and engineer and has several years of industry experience in the biochemistry, medical device, research and engineering fields.

Kenji Hosokawa, a member of the Corporate Department, resident in the Tokyo office. He has represented Japanese, U.S. and other clients in a range of transactions, including U.S. public offerings and stock exchange listings, private placements, sovereign financings, privatizations and public and private M&A transactions. In recent years, he has been involved in a majority of global offerings conducted by Japanese Real Estate Investment Corporations, or J-REITs, as the issuer's counsel or underwriters' counsel. Mr. Hosokawa earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He has native proficiency in both English and Japanese. He is admitted to practice law in New York and is qualified as a Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi in Japan.

Miles H. Imwalle, a member of the Environment and Energy practice, resident in the San Francisco office. He advises clients on the development of commercial, residential, mixed-use and renewable energy projects throughout California, and in the land use aspects of financing real estate acquisitions and developments, including zoning, land use, permitting and environmental matters. In 2012, The Recorder named Mr. Imwalle among its 50 "Fast Track" lawyers. He earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Michelle Jewett, a member of the Federal Tax practice, resident in the San Francisco office. Her practice focuses on providing tax advice on a broad range of matters including corporate, mergers and acquisitions, partnership, private equity, real estate investment trust and energy tax issues in both domestic and international contexts. Ms. Jewett earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Purvi G. Patel, a member of the Consumer Litigation and Class Action practice, resident in the Los Angeles office. Her practice includes a broad range of complex multi-fora litigation, with a focus on defending retailers and other businesses in unfair competition, false advertising, data security and privacy cases. She regularly counsels clients concerning potential privacy implications of business practices relating to the collection of customer personal identification information in a number of settings. Ms. Patel served as a law clerk to the Hon. Consuelo B. Marshall, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the Hon. Blanche M. Manning, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Wendy J. Ray, a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation practice, is resident in the Los Angeles office. Ms. Ray has successfully tried numerous cases to juries and has litigated a range of high-technology patent matters involving various technologies, including semiconductor chips, microelectromechanical systems, medical devices, video technology and software systems. Ms. Ray has also successfully litigated numerous trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes. Ms. Ray earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She has a B.S. in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in health policy and administration from Yale University. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Aaron P. Rubin, a member of the Technology Transactions practice, resident in the San Francisco office. His practice focuses on transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating license agreements, supply agreements, technology transfers, joint development agreements, information technology and business process outsourcing transactions and other intellectual property and commercial matters relevant to software, hardware, electronic commerce, social media and other advanced information technology businesses. Mr. Rubin served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both U.S. District Judges for the Northern District of California. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law.

Stacey M. Sprenkel, a member of the Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Defense practice, resident in the San Francisco office. Her practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on securities litigation, antitrust matters and corporate internal investigations. Ms. Sprenkel is a member of the firm's FCPA and Anti-Corruption Task Force. She regularly advises clients on cross-border investigations, global anti-corruption compliance programs and anti-corruption due diligence in connection with acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity transactions. The Daily Journal recently named Ms. Sprenkel among its Top Five Associates to Watch and The Recorder named her among its 50 "Fast Track" lawyers. Ms. Sprenkel earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and an M.Sc. from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

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SOURCE Morrison & Foerster LLP