Morrison Foerster - The Inside View

There’s plenty of people that fancy themselves as the baddest mofo out there. Fortunately, in the legal world, there’s quite literally only one. Prospective juniors are right to get their hopes up too. After all, it doesn’t get much cooler than high-profile tech work in a relaxed, modern, California environment: “We work with some of the most sophisticated clients out there, and they are just great. We are at the forefront of technology and the law,” one told us. The interview process at the firm was one of the first things that current associates highlighted, with each having met “knowledgeable, easy to talk to” partners at the interview stage, and everyone was keen from the off to shine a light on their colleagues: “Collegiality was strong, it seemed like a solid place to work.”

“…at the forefront of technology and the law.”

One area where MoFo certainly isn’t lacking is in rankings in Chambers USA. The firm bags top-tier nationwide recognition in government contracts, intellectual property (appellate), privacy and data security, projects (agency financing), and technology. That’s alongside top tech transactions, patent litigation, patent prosecution, trademark, copyright and trade secrets, and corporate M&A (deals in Asia) rankings in its home State of California. MoFo has ten offices across the States, with the largest groups of juniors based in San Francisco, DCand New York. Internationally, MoFo is spread out across four offices in Asia and four in Europe.

Strategy & Future

As Jennifer Marines, vice-chair at MoFo puts it, the firm’s “primary goal is to build ourselves as a destination firm for talented and ambitious attorneys who really embrace our values of collaboration, teamwork and commitment to excellence.” The latter in particular is part of what has shaped a reputation that the folks at MoFo want to hang onto: “We want to maintain our standing as our clients’ first choice of law firm for their most challenging legal disputes and most significant transactions.”

Part of the firm’s recent development is ‘MoFo Next,’ “our Center for Career Advancement, a program to support attorneys and alumni in achieving their career and life goals, regardless of where they are in their journey or where they want to end up.” As Marines explains, “The impetus to this was we recognize that not every attorney aspires to be a partner in BigLaw. A lot do, but a lot don’t – and that is okay.” The program lets attorneys access confidential career counselling and resources to help them to realize and actualize their goals.

The Work

The firm’s groups are split between the litigation department – which includes practices like IP and general litigation – and transactional department – under which M&A and finance are housed. When it comes to work allocation, we heard MoFo’s most junior attorneys are supported by work coordinators as necessary. Associates fill in availability reports to support this process, though rookies did tell us that most work was allocated organically, and through the relationships that juniors form with partners. Explaining how this works practically, a source told us, “partners will reach out to you directly with a case that fits your background, or more organically you will talk to different partners, meet them in the office and mention you have free time, and then you’re brought in on the case.”

Aspiring litigators can join the firm’s general litigation, complex litigation or IP litigation groups. Those in IP litigation shared that they worked on a range of patent, copyright and trademark litigation, working predominantly across pharma, life sciences and tech clients. Responsibilities varied depending on the size of each matter, but one junior told us that they“had been the sole associate working on a case directly with a partner, and most of my teams have been really small. So as far as that goes, I’ve got a significant amount of work I wouldn’t necessarily have expected to get as a first year.”

Those in general litigationtold us about getting to work on privacy, employment and antitrust matters, alongside general breach of contract cases. When it comes to assignments, those in the group told us that “as a first year your typical responsibility is to own the deadlines. You have to be responsible for general legal research and help to put together timelines of key events – organizing the facts, the witnesses and being responsible for drafting briefs.” Further to that, rookies had experience drafting sections of motions, preparing outlines for hearings and working on talking points too.

Litigation clients: Warner Music, Mars, SoftBank. Represented Bumble in six separate privacy class actions facing two of its popular dating apps, Bumble and Badoo.

Those working in MoFo’s M&A practice were quick to point out that the variety was something they were particularly excited about. Those we spoke to had been able to get involved in debt finance work, ECVC work, private equity M&A and work with public companies, and a lot of work at the firm is cross-border too. For junior associates, the main focus when it comes to transactional M&A work is due diligence, but we heard responsibility steadily increases: “In the first year, I’d be the one directly reviewing and going through the data room, organizing that and coordinating with specialists within MoFo to help review and put together the diligence report or ancillary documents. As a third year, I still do due diligence review, but that has evolved to more of a managerial function; managing the process, working with junior associates and coordinating with specialists within the team.”

M&A clients: Fujitsu, eBay, Nikon. Advised SoftBank on its $375 million acquisition of Berkshire Grey, a robotic automation company that went public via a SPAC merger in 2021.

“I’ve had a sizable leash for being able to take charge and keep things moving. There’s a high level of trust and the freedom to take on large assignments as a junior.”

Juniors in MoFo’s finance group can expect to work across a number of different finance subgroups – including but not limited to private equity, capital markets, EC/VC, and technology transactions – before specializing in their preferred area. Work involved mostly fund finance and venture debt, as well as working with private equity funds. Juniors had the opportunity to “draft securities agreements, keep check of the checklist, update comments, and I got lots of client interaction from pretty early on.” Some put this down to the structure of the teams: “On a lot of transactions, there’s a partner, a senior associate, and a junior associate – sometimes just a partner and a junior – so the partner makes sure everything’s going okay. But I’ve had a sizeable leash for being able to take charge and keep things moving. There’s a high level of trust and the freedom to take on large assignments as a junior.” Whilst complexity increased as juniors gained experience at the firm, we heard that the tasks themselves didn’t vary too significantly: “There’s nothing that the juniors in the group can’t do or haven’t done. Things are more divided based on the overall complexity of the deal – everyone does all of the work that’s available in the group.”

Finance clients: Neuronetics, Hercules Capital, U.S. Silica. Represented Alpine Investors, a Certified B Corp private equity firm, and its portfolio company Apex Service Partners in the refinancing of Apex’s existing credit facilities.

Career Development

When it came to career development, the general consensus was that the feedback loop at the firm definitely went both ways: “We’re assessed, but we can also provide feedback on the more senior team members we work with, which has been helpful.” According to associates, it’s an environment where asking for feedback is easy: “I don’t have to be afraid of asking what I can do better or what I did well. The people I’ve worked with have been very receptive and helpful, and I feel like they’re invested in my success.” Those at the junior end were also keen to heap praise on ‘MoFo Next’ and the opportunity this gives them to explore their future career options. “I sent a brief to a partner the other day and they came into my office and said there were a lot of edits (as expected). He sat down and was like ‘hey, I want to edit this in front of you and show you how I’d go about thinking this through.’ So, he talked it through with me.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

While associates have a billable hours target of 1,950, 1,800 of these must be made up of client billable hours, and past that, you can count an unlimited number of hours for pro bono work, diversity initiatives, client development work, and other things of that nature. As we often hear in this line of work, working hours can be variable depending on what associates have on their plates. One source told us that “it really varies, but hours-wise in a regular week, you’re looking at forty billable hours at basic.” At it’s busiest, “that could be sixty billable hours, and that’s a lot because that means you’re probably working seventy to eighty hours a week.” The good news is that weekend work isn’t common, and as one junior explained, “when push comes to shove and there’s anything big, you have to step up to meet the demands of your cases. My schedule is really busy during the week, but then the weekends are my personal time.”

Culture

“It’s definitely got that California vibe to it. We dress like our clients…”

“It’s definitely got that California vibe to it,” one New Yorker told us, “we dress like our clients.” For those who aren’t in the know, “It’s more tech-focused than a lot of other firms, and tech people are a little more casual.” This was very much the consensus too: “You don’t see associates wearing suits and ties every day. Some of the most renowned partners at the firm are wearing jeans, and that’s okay! They’re the leaders and they’re wearing jeans, and the firm’s really great about that!” The culture was also described as collaborative, and while that word’s not unique to the firm, sources shared that they were “excited to work with coworkers and to catch up on deals. Everyone’s happy to see each other and to chat! If I’m overwhelmed or busy, someone will help pick up the slack which is nice; it’s pretty holistic.” There are plenty of opportunities to socialize too, with associates free to participate in the firm’s sports teams or trivia nights. Newbies were particularly happy to tell us that “people seem to know each other pretty well and they’re very welcoming. I met tons of people, and everyone was excited to meet the new joiner, which I think is really nice, all the way up to the partners.”

Pro Bono

There’s no getting past it, pro bono is a pretty big deal at MoFo. Associates can use unlimited pro bono hours to count towards their billable target. Sources told us that, “there’s a real, genuine focus on doing it, not just at an associate level. Many partners are also taking it very seriously and that’s been one of the most positive aspects of my experience so far.” Pro bono matters on offer have included the likes of wills and healthcare proxy documents, work with non-profit organizations and citizenship applications. One recent matter included the ‘Cayla J’ case in California, in which the firm secured a settlement of at least $2 billion to help students in the State who had fallen behind due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pro bono hours

• For all (US) attorneys: 54,841
• Average per (US) attorney: undisclosed

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

• OCI applicants interviewed: 461 2Ls for 2025 Summer Associate Program (U.S. Offices)
• Interviewees outside OCI: 145 2Ls for 2025 Summer Associate Program (U.S. Offices)

Partners typically conduct the interviews at OCIs, although senior associates may do so on occasion as well. As chief legal talent officer Diane Downs says, “we encourage interviewers to build a rapport with students, ask behavioural questions, and answer questions about the firm.” Downs says interviewers want to get “a memorable picture of who you are and how you will add value as a member of one of our work teams. To achieve this, we ask questions like ‘What are the top attributes that you consider most important in a job?’ ‘Share an example of a time when you collaborated with multiple departments or teams to successfully complete a project.’ And ‘Tell me about a situation where you identified a problem affecting others and took steps to resolve it. What was the outcome?’”

In 2024, MoFo launched its Advanced Consideration Track (ACT) to provide rising 2Ls the option to be considered for summer associate positions before the on-campus interview process. Ashley Grinchis, Associate Director of Campus Recruiting and Engagement, says “with MoFo ACT, law students are able to apply and interview at a time that is most convenient for them, allowing them to make more informed decisions as to where they want to begin their legal career.”

Top tips for this stage:

“A genuine interest in the firm you’re interviewing with goes a long way. Be sure to do your research and come prepared with questions about the Summer Associate Program and the firm in general.” – Chief legal talent officer Diane Downs

Callbacks  

• Applicants invited to second stage interview: 246 2Ls (116 from OCI, 130 from outside OCI) for 2025 Summer Associate Program (U.S. Offices)

Candidates meet with four to six attorneys during callbacks (some offices also include a lunch as part of the process). On arrival, candidates are met by a recruitment team member “who’ll walk them through the process for the day and be a contact between interviews to help interviewees feel comfortable.” Downs says that “students should conduct research on the firm, practice area strengths at the firm, and have an understanding of what the attorneys do.”

Virtual interviews, once an exception pre-pandemic, are now a cornerstone of the candidate experience. At the callback stage, candidates have the flexibility to choose between virtual or in-person interviews. As Nicole Wanzer, Director of Attorney Recruiting, states, “We have completely reimagined our entire interview process to ensure that students can truly connect with our attorneys, and vice versa, in a virtual setting.”

Top tips for this stage:

“It’s not just about selling your past accomplishments; it’s more about selling what you’ll do great here.” – a second-year junior associate

“Bring your energy and engage with our interviewers in a conversation that highlights what you bring to the table and avoid canned answers.” – Chief legal talent officer Diane Downs

Summer Associate Program (U.S. Offices)

• Offers: 1Ls: 36; 2Ls: 78; Returning 2Ls: 17
• Acceptances: 1Ls: 23; 2Ls: 37; Returning 2Ls: 14
• Total Summer 2025 Class: 74 (23 1Ls and 51 2Ls)

Some summer associates come into the firm with an assigned practice area and will return to that practice area as a junior associate. These are typically MoFo’s tech-focused practices, like Patent Prosecution, IP Litigation, and Technology Transactions. Other summer associates are hired into a department, either Litigation or Transactions, and are invited to explore practice areas with that department during their summer. They will then receive an offer to return to that department as a generalist upon graduation. In those cases, “practice areas are chosen in their third year as an associate based on mutual interest and practice needs,” according to Downs.

Summer associates get work from a central assignment system by a work coordinator (either a partner or senior associate). There isn’t a formal rotational system among practice areas, but Downs says the firm encourages students to explore different assignments “and remain curious throughout the summer.” Each office sets up orientation and training programs to integrate summer associates, as well as special activities “including sporting events and cultural events, and events that reflect each office’s unique geographic and cultural attributes.”

Associates said MoFo’s Summer Associate Program is “designed to help you develop lasting relationships, because once you start at the firm it’s hard to find time to really hang out and have fun with the people you’re working with.”

Top tips for this stage:

“Summer associates will have ample opportunity to solicit feedback and should feel comfortable seeking and implementing feedback.” – Chief legal talent officer Diane Downs

And finally….

Chief legal talent officer Diane Downs tells us the firm also likes “to incorporate pro bono opportunities and diversity events throughout the summer.”