New York (April 3, 2008) -- Morrison & Foerster LLP announced that Susan Klein, a senior marketing executive with top-line experience at some of the world’s leading financial services companies, has joined the firm as chief marketing officer. 

Ms. Klein will oversee marketing and business development for the 1,000-attorney law firm, with 18 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  She is resident in Morrison & Foerster’s New York office. 

In a career that began in the early 1980s, Ms. Klein has held strategic marketing, branding and communications positions with a number of iconic names in financial services, including Bank of America, Charles Schwab, MasterCard International and Morgan Stanley.   Most recently (2006-07), she served as chief marketing officer of the Consumer Lending Group at Citibank, leading the development and execution of an ambitious customer  relationship management initiative. 

“It’s a great pleasure to welcome Susan Klein as our new head of firmwide marketing – she brings a formidable background and track record with the best names in financial services,” said Morrison & Foerster chair Keith Wetmore.  “Susan’s proven benchmark results for increasing market share in some of the most competitive business lines imaginable should be a huge asset for our own marketing efforts internationally.” 

Ms. Klein arrives as Morrison & Foerster draws recognition on numerous fronts for its marquee practices.  The firm drew an Honorable Mention American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year and was a finalist in the intellectual property category.  Chambers & Partners recently named Morrison & Foerster one of the top three IP law firms worldwide.  The firm was featured on the cover of the March issue of American Lawyer for winning a rare patent defense trial in the Eastern District of Texas.  And the firm has been honored recently for winning only the second defense win in a securities class action trial, on behalf of JDS Uniphase.   

On the international side, Morrison & Foerster is taking a major seat at the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics, continuing its role as counsel to the Beijing Olympic Committee.  The firm has advised the Committee on a broad range of matters related to the Games, from broadcast rights to merchandise licensing and construction of facilities for events and athletes.   

“Having spent what seems a lifetime in financial services, I was ready to apply my experience to a new area of professional services, and the prospect of working with a global law firm with a substantial corporate and institutional client base was especially exciting,” Ms. Klein said. 

“Morrison & Foerster has the equivalent brand power of any Fortune-sized company I’ve ever been associated with,” she added. “The firm is a best-in-breed legal service provider, working with premium clients in the U.S. and internationally, including key markets in China and Japan.  With a well-diversified business model and a large number of stand-out practices, the firm is a business development dream.  I am excited about making this move and look forward to helping Morrison & Foerster advance its prominence as a leading destination law firm for business and litigation needs.” 

Prior to Citibank (2004-06), Ms. Klein served as Executive Director of Marketing Communications for Morgan Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Group. Her mandate was to position Morgan Stanley as a premiere adviser to high- and ultra-high net worth investors. During her tenure, Morgan Stanley’s overall brand recognition grew by 25%, as tracked by industry research. 

Ms. Klein instituted a novel relationship strategy for Morgan Stanley clients, applying emerging electronic media to promote target-specific products and programs to the firm’s investors.  She launched numerous customized Web sites, interactive portfolio modeling tools, and direct marketing efforts to enhance client contact and decision-making. 

Ms. Klein spent four years (1999-2003) with MasterCard, including her last two years as Vice President of Brand Standards, overseeing marketing for MasterCard’s global payment brand.  She earlier served as Director of Strategic Consumer Marketing for Charles Schwab (1995-98).  She began her career as a marketing manager in the World Banking Division of Bank of America in the 1980s. 

Ms. Klein received her B.A. summa cum laude in 1976 from Carnegie-Mellon University.