Larren Nashelsky Chairman Morrison & Foerster

Morrison & Foerster has officially begun its new leadership era, as  Larren Nashelsky takes over as firmwide Chair,  succeeding Keith Wetmore. At the same time, partners Craig  Martin, Anna Erickson White, and Eric Piesner begin their new roles as co-managing partners, succeeding Pamela Reed.

Mr.  Nashelsky, 45, a bankruptcy partner who has served as co-chair of Morrison  & Foerster’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice, was elected Chair in July. Mr. Wetmore, who had served a total of four three-year terms beginning  in 2000, remains with the firm as Chair Emeritus.

Among the new  managing partners, Mr. Martin and Ms. Erickson White, both based in San  Francisco, will oversee MoFo’s nine U.S. and European offices, while the  Tokyo-based Mr. Piesner assumes responsibility for the firm’s four Asia  offices. Ms. Reed, a partner in the Real Estate practice, had served as  managing partner since 1999.

Mr. Nashelsky joined Morrison &  Foerster as a partner in 1999 and was instrumental in building the Bankruptcy  group and guiding it through an era of sustained and high-profile growth,  including its involvement as debtor counsel in the largest Chapter 11 filing  of 2012 (Residential Capital) and as trustee counsel to Louis Freeh in the  largest bankruptcy of 2011 (MF Global). MoFo also played a key role in  restructuring Iceland’s troubled banking sector after the onset of the  financial crisis. Mr. Nashelsky, based in New York, previously served as a  firmwide managing partner.

Ms. Erickson White, a member of the  Securities Litigation, Enforcement + White Collar Defense Group, returns to a  post she held from 2006 to 2009. She also chairs the Business Review  Committee, which advises the firm on conflicts and strategy issues. Mr. Martin  is also a member of the Securities Enforcement Group, representing clients in  internal investigations and SEC and DOJ enforcement litigation. Mr. Piesner is  head of the firm’s Asia real estate practice and co-chair of the 550-lawyer  firmwide Business Department.

Mr. Wetmore leaves as Chair having  doubled firm revenue and tripled net income, and with Morrison & Foerster  one of only eight Am Law 100 firms to have enjoyed at least 1,000% growth in  revenue and 500% growth in profits per partner over the life of the 100 list.  Under his stewardship the firm reinforced its strong market position,  financially as well as in terms of professional excellence and reputational  leadership, as well as lawyer satisfaction. Morrison & Foerster continues  to be an industry pacesetter in terms of workplace diversity and pro bono  service, and maintains globally respected practice areas in intellectual  property, litigation, cleantech, life sciences, technology, and finance, among  many others.

Ms. Reed’s tenure as managing partner saw Morrison &  Foerster expand its global platform and deepen its commitment to Asia in  particular, where it is the leading international firm in Tokyo and has a  robust China practice based in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

In  2012 Morrison & Foerster has enjoyed a remarkable string of successes.  This month MoFo played a central role in one of the largest M&A deals of  the year, representing Japanese wireless carrier Softbank in its announced  $20.1 billion investment in number-three U.S. wireless operator Sprint Nextel.  The deal is the biggest outbound investment on record by a Japanese company. 

The firm was also victorious in the biggest technology trial of the  year in its representation of Apple in the company’s patent infringement win  against Samsung, resulting in a $1.05 billion jury award to Apple. Lastly,  MoFo is handling the largest bankruptcy matter of 2012 (ResCap).

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