Morrison & Foerster Expands Corporate Capabilities Adding New Corporate Co-Chair Mitchell Presser

NEW YORK (April 17, 2020) – Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, today announced the continued expansion of its New York office and global Corporate Department capabilities with the arrival of corporate partner Mitchell Presser. Mr. Presser joins the firm as a partner in its Mergers + Acquisitions and Private Equity Investments + Buyouts practices. Mr. Presser will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Global Corporate Department with current co-chairs Eric McCrath and Jackie Liu. His joining Morrison & Foerster strengthens the firm’s already robust M&A and private equity global footprint and highlights the continued commitment to growth of the firm’s capabilities and growth in New York.

Mr. Presser brings to the firm 30 years of experience in private equity and M&A transactions. His joining Morrison & Foerster underscores the significant growth of the firm’s global corporate capabilities, following the addition of nine private equity partners, in recent years. Additionally, further expanding the firm’s global practice in 2019, it added eight other partners across various practices in New York and a highly regarded group of nine corporate lawyers in Miami, representing multinational companies in cross-border M&A transactions, joint ventures, and financial transactions as part of the firm’s growing multi-practice Latin America Desk.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mitchell to our firm,” said Larren Nashelsky, chair of Morrison & Foerster. “Mitchell’s proven leadership and his extensive experience in high-profile private equity deals and M&A, including his three decades of experience in public and private M&A, as both a lawyer and a principal, will greatly benefit our clients and make him an exceptional addition to our firm and to our New York office.”

Mr. Presser’s practice focuses on representing private equity funds and corporations in high-profile M&A transactions. He has wide-ranging experience acting as both an adviser and principal across a broad range of industries, including agriculture, sports and entertainment, industrial, asset management, and professional services, among others.

Eric McCrath, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Corporate Department, added: “Mitchell is one of the leading private equity lawyers with a demonstrated brand and global track record. Mitchell’s reputation in agriculture, sustainability and life sciences sectors is unparalleled. Our firm has been a pioneer in these areas and increasingly people and companies around the world are focusing on them. With Mitchell’s arrival we are poised to be the leading corporate advisor in these sectors for the next decade.”  

Mr. Presser’s representative transactions include advising Paine Schwartz Partners on its acquisition of Wawona Packing Company and on Wawona’s subsequent acquisitions of Gerawan Farming and Burchell Nursery to create the largest stone fruit business in the United States; advising Burford Capital on its acquisition of GKC Holdings, the parent company of Chicago-based litigation finance and asset management firm Gerchen Keller Capital, combining the two largest litigation finance players in the world; advising Paine Schwartz Partners on its sale of Icicle Seafoods to Cooke Seafood, its acquisition of FoodChain ID (formerly Global ID Corporation), and its international acquisitions of Suba Seeds and Spearhead International; advising MSD Capital on its significant investment in the $4 billion buyout of UFC, joining WME-IMG, KKR, and Silver Lake, and on its investment in the WIRB-Copernicus Group; acting for the buyout group led by Goldman Sachs in Kinder Morgan’s $22 billion leveraged buyout; and representing Pivotal Acquisition Corp. on its merger with KLDiscovery.

“Morrison & Foerster’s exceptional culture and collegiality were a large draw for me. The opportunity to help lead a global network of 400 lawyers in the firm’s Corporate Department across 17 offices, an M&A group that has advised on transactions with a total value of roughly US$117 billion in 2019 alone, and a robust and growing private equity footprint, is very exciting,” said Mr. Presser. “It was clear that MoFo provided a unique opportunity for me to add value to a premier platform that had leading practices in forward-looking sectors, such as agriculture, life sciences and technology, where I have deep experience, and that my practice could be a catalyst to accelerate growth and leadership in these areas.”

Mr. Presser joins Morrison & Foerster from a leading international law firm, where he was a senior corporate partner advising on global corporate transactions, including M&A and leveraged buyouts, for international corporations and financial sponsors. Prior to that, he was a founding partner of a leading U.S. private equity firm, managing a $1.2 billion fund focused on investing in food and agribusiness.

Mr. Presser earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.S. from New York University.