Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the election of 10 lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2018. The class of 2018 includes six women and four men across multiple practice groups and nine different offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“I’m delighted to welcome this highly impressive and diverse group of attorneys to the partnership at Morrison & Foerster,” LarrenNashelsky, chair of Morrison & Foerster, said. “Our new partners have demonstrated a strong commitment to exceptional client service and legal excellence. I’m confident that each of these lawyers will contribute to the firm, its clients and the profession for many years to come.”
The following lawyers have been elected partners:

• Megan Jennings, a member of the Environment & Energy Group, is based in the San Francisco office. Her practice focuses on land use and environmental permitting, transactional matters, and compliance. Ms. Jennings counsels project developers throughout the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and land use entitlement process. She has particular experience advising on complex development issues for renewable energy projects, hospitals, corporate campuses, and multifamily/mixed-use facilities. In addition to land use matters, Ms. Jennings counsels clients on compliance with state and federal environmental regulations, including water quality, endangered species, and climate change-related laws, and on environmental and land use aspects of real estate, financing, and corporate transactions. Ms. Jennings received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Montana.

• Ryan Malloy, a member of the Intellectual Property Group, is based in the Los Angeles office.  He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in numerous high-profile IP cases.  He is experienced with litigation in dozens of U.S. district courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Federal Circuit, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and Japanese courts.  He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, his M.S. in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his B.S. from the University of Florida.

• Eric Pai, a member of the Intellectual Property Group, is based in the Palo Alto office. He represents clients in patent litigation involving a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, smartphones, GPS systems, wireless telecommunications, software, and semiconductors. Mr. Pai has also represented technology and life sciences companies in complex commercial litigation and licensing disputes. He has examined witnesses and presented closing arguments at trial and successfully argued Markman and summary judgment hearings. Mr. Pai received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.A. from Stanford University.

• Karen Potter Ph.D., a member of the Patent Group, is based in the San Diego office. Dr. Potter provides strategic patent portfolio management for clients in the life sciences industry, including services related to patent preparation, prosecution, freedom of operation, and other forms of IP assessment and due diligence review. Dr. Potter has experience in a variety of biotechnology-related areas, including in the fields of cell-based and protein immunotherapies, other antibody and protein therapeutics, and diagnostic assays.  Dr. Potter earned her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow at The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Potter received her J.D. from California Western School of Law and her B.S. from the University of California, San Diego.

• Sean Ruff, a member of the Financial Services Group and co-head of the FinTech Group, is based in the Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Ruff’s practice focuses on advising clients from the rapidly developing FinTech sector. He represents both emerging and established FinTech organizations, including non-bank and traditional banking institutions, with respect to complex regulatory and transactional matters. Mr. Ruff has particular experience with funds transmission and related compliance initiatives, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering regulation, alternative lending structures, traditional and non-traditional electronic payments and payment cards, and consumer financial services. In the money transmission area, Mr. Ruff has focused on the laws and regulations affecting non-bank money transmitters. In this regard, he represents funds transmitters, stored value issuers, Internet funds transmitters and others with regard to licensing and compliance matters, including Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money-Laundering Program compliance. In addition, Mr. Ruff handles matters relating to other financial services issues, including National Bank Act issues; consumer lending issues under the Truth in Lending Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; state lending and usury laws; the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; and stored value laws. Mr. Ruff received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and his B.A. from the College of Charleston.

• Wolfgang Schönig, a member of the Technology Transactions Group, is based in the Berlin office. His practice specialty is advising on intellectual property aspects relative to transactions in the fields of high tech, life sciences, and pharmaceuticals, as well as on disputes involving IP assets. Mr. Schönig is specialized in research and development collaborations, the drafting of licensing agreements, technology acquisitions, know-how protection, employee invention law, and patent infringement proceedings. His expertise also covers litigation in the areas of trademark law and competition law. Mr. Schönig received his M.B.A. from European University and his LL.M. from Fordham University School of Law.• Nicole Serfoss, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in the Denver office. She has more than a decade of experience representing clients in SEC and DOJ enforcement matters, corporate internal investigations, securities class actions, derivative suits, and mergers and acquisitions litigation. Ms. Serfoss represents companies, officers, directors, and auditors in a wide range of matters involving accounting and disclosure issues. Ms. Serfoss has also assisted clients in regulatory inquiries regarding cybersecurity, including SEC investigations following high-profile data security incidents. She received her J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
• Yuka Teraguchi, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in the Tokyo office. Ms. Teraguchi focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling, and she represents clients in complex technology matters in state and federal courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The technology at issue in these matters has covered areas such as computer hardware and software, communications networks, consumer electronics, semiconductor devices, and medical devices. Before joining the firm, she clerked for the Honorable Randall R. Rader, Chief Judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ms. Teraguchi received her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and her B.S. from Stanford University.
• Sarah Thomas, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in the Hong Kong office. Her practice focuses on international arbitration, internal investigations and commercial litigation throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and she has particular experience in matters relating to China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. She regularly advises clients on complex disputes and investigations across a wide range of industries, including technology, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare/pharmaceuticals, automotive, insurance and telecoms.  Ms. Thomas is qualified in New York, England & Wales and Hong Kong.  Ms. Thomas received her LL.B. from the London School of Economics and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.• Claudia Vetesi, a member of the Litigation Department, is based in the San Francisco office. Ms. Vetesi focuses her practice on the defense of consumer class actions and on complex commercial litigation, including unfair competition, false advertising, privacy issues, contract and licensing disputes, financial services litigation, and trade secrets misappropriation. She regularly counsels clients in the food, retail, financial, and technology industries. She also represents companies in false advertising disputes before the National Advertising Division  of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Ms. Vetesi is active in the firm’s pro bono efforts and has appeared in federal court numerous times on behalf of clients in various criminal matters. She is a member of the American Inns of Court and a recipient of the State Bar of California’s Wiley W. Manuel Award for public service. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.