Published by Gbaf News
Posted on June 10, 2017
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Dr. Carter’s coming to Morrison & Foerster further highlights the firm’s commitment to adding talented lawyers in the Bay Area
Dr. Scott Carter
Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, announced today that life sciences lawyer Scott Carter has joined the firm’s global Life Sciences Group in San Francisco. Dr. Carter comes to the firm from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and has nearly 20 years of experience in representing life sciences companies and investors in complex transactions relating to the development and commercialization of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device products. He has extensive experience with negotiating corporate partnership, licensing, research and development, clinical trial, manufacturing, and supply agreements.
“Scott has advised on a variety of critical deals for premier international and domestic life sciences clients,” said Janet Xiao, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s global Life Sciences Group. “Scott’s impressive background in negotiating complex intellectual property and commercial agreements will be an asset to our clients operating in this fast evolving market and we are delighted to add him to our team.”
Dr. Carter will join a robust global Life Sciences Group at Morrison & Foerster that handles significant corporate transactions for leading life sciences companies, including M&A, strategic partnerships, and joint ventures. The firm also offers outstanding expertise in patent prosecution, IP licensing, and enforcement matters in the United States, with substantial support from teams across the globe.
Dr. Carter’s move to Morrison & Foerster also further highlights the firm’s commitment to adding talented lawyers in the thriving San Francisco Bay Area market. Last month, Morrison & Foerster announced the arrival of a team of six highly regarded IP litigators, led by partners Stefani Shanberg and Jennifer Schmidt. Over the last year, the firm has also welcomed to its Bay Area offices four new corporate partners – Dario Avram, Patrick Huard, Alex Kaufman, and Sara Terheggen – and Joshua Hill, Jr., a partner in the Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Defense Group.
“I was drawn to Morrison & Foerster because of its highly impressive global life sciences platform, its destination technology transactions practice, and its outstanding reputation,” said Dr. Carter. “I’m thrilled to join Morrison & Foerster’s team, and look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in providing continued value to the firm’s life sciences clients.”
Dr. Carter is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Carter’s research at Caltech centered on non-natural nucleosides and the design, synthesis, and testing of DNA-binding molecules in the laboratory of Peter Dervan.
While at Caltech and throughout law school, Dr. Carter was also the assistant director of the Office of Technology Transfer at Caltech. In this role, he managed the Institute’s life sciences patent portfolio and negotiated and drafted license, research, and material transfer agreements, as well as advising Caltech entrepreneurs on new ventures.
Dr. Carter’s coming to Morrison & Foerster further highlights the firm’s commitment to adding talented lawyers in the Bay Area
Dr. Scott Carter
Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, announced today that life sciences lawyer Scott Carter has joined the firm’s global Life Sciences Group in San Francisco. Dr. Carter comes to the firm from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and has nearly 20 years of experience in representing life sciences companies and investors in complex transactions relating to the development and commercialization of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device products. He has extensive experience with negotiating corporate partnership, licensing, research and development, clinical trial, manufacturing, and supply agreements.
“Scott has advised on a variety of critical deals for premier international and domestic life sciences clients,” said Janet Xiao, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s global Life Sciences Group. “Scott’s impressive background in negotiating complex intellectual property and commercial agreements will be an asset to our clients operating in this fast evolving market and we are delighted to add him to our team.”
Dr. Carter will join a robust global Life Sciences Group at Morrison & Foerster that handles significant corporate transactions for leading life sciences companies, including M&A, strategic partnerships, and joint ventures. The firm also offers outstanding expertise in patent prosecution, IP licensing, and enforcement matters in the United States, with substantial support from teams across the globe.
Dr. Carter’s move to Morrison & Foerster also further highlights the firm’s commitment to adding talented lawyers in the thriving San Francisco Bay Area market. Last month, Morrison & Foerster announced the arrival of a team of six highly regarded IP litigators, led by partners Stefani Shanberg and Jennifer Schmidt. Over the last year, the firm has also welcomed to its Bay Area offices four new corporate partners – Dario Avram, Patrick Huard, Alex Kaufman, and Sara Terheggen – and Joshua Hill, Jr., a partner in the Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Defense Group.
“I was drawn to Morrison & Foerster because of its highly impressive global life sciences platform, its destination technology transactions practice, and its outstanding reputation,” said Dr. Carter. “I’m thrilled to join Morrison & Foerster’s team, and look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in providing continued value to the firm’s life sciences clients.”
Dr. Carter is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Carter’s research at Caltech centered on non-natural nucleosides and the design, synthesis, and testing of DNA-binding molecules in the laboratory of Peter Dervan.
While at Caltech and throughout law school, Dr. Carter was also the assistant director of the Office of Technology Transfer at Caltech. In this role, he managed the Institute’s life sciences patent portfolio and negotiated and drafted license, research, and material transfer agreements, as well as advising Caltech entrepreneurs on new ventures.
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