SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 30, 2007) – Responding to strong private equity buyout activity and client demand, Morrison & Foerster LLP has added Eric McCrath, an experienced private equity attorney, as a corporate partner in its San Francisco office. Mr. McCrath joins Morrison & Foerster from the San Francisco office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Representing large- and middle-market private equity firms, Mr. McCrath’s experience focuses on the structuring and execution of leveraged acquisitions of domestic and international companies.

“The private equity market is thriving, and with our client base and prominence in the leading financial centers in Asia, the Pacific Rim, and Europe, Eric’s experience representing buyout firms will help us keep up with the surge in leveraged acquisitions in those regions,” stated Robert Townsend, Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Corporate Group.

“Eric’s international experience, including working in Tokyo and representing private equity firms investing in East and South Asia, will complement our strong practice in Asia,” Mr. Townsend said.

In the past several years, the firm has also built a thriving private equity fund formation group.  “We are replicating that success in the buyout area, and Eric’s arrival is one of many additions we plan to make to develop a strong private equity M&A presence,” Mr. Townsend added.

Mr. McCrath seconded that notion in explaining his move: “Morrison & Foerster has an extremely well-rounded corporate practice, with a strong international component and a track record of deal making in a number of cutting-edge industries and markets in addition to traditional segments,” he said. 

“I’d been aware of the firm’s recent build-up of fund formation work and was excited to learn that they are rapidly building their team on the transactional side of private equity.  Given the continued prominence of private equity firms in the M&A marketplace, Morrison & Foerster is poised to become an important player in the buyout business over the next several years,” he added. 

Mr. McCrath’s extensive representation of private equity firms includes negotiating purchase agreements, as well as shareholder and limited liability company agreements, and general corporate advice in connection with domestic and international acquisitions and sales.

Before joining Kirkland & Ellis in 2005, Mr. McCrath was a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, where he worked in a variety of transactional settings, including underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, syndicated lending, and private equity.  His clients included U.S., Canadian, Asian, and European public and private companies, investment banks, and private equity funds.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. McCrath was a corporate finance consultant based in Tokyo with former accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where he worked with both U.S. and Japanese companies on international transfer pricing and compliance work, giving him an early career perspective on cross-border deals.

Mr. McCrath received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar.