Morrison Foerster Adds Former SEC Office of Chief Counsel Attorney Ryan Adams as a Partner in Washington, D.C.

(June 18, 2024) – Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Ryan Adams as a partner in the firm’s Public Company Advisory & Governance Group in the Transactions Department, based in the Washington, D.C. office. Adams brings more than 10 years of public and private sector experience in securities regulation, SEC reporting and compliance, corporate transactions, and corporate governance matters to Morrison Foerster.

Adams joins Morrison Foerster from another leading global firm, where he focused his practice primarily on representing clients before the SEC in connection with their ongoing reporting obligations and the U.S. federal securities laws. Prior to that, Adams spent five years as an attorney in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, serving in the division’s Office of Chief Counsel and in Disclosure Operations.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ryan to the firm and to the Public Company Advisory & Governance Group,” said Scott Lesmes, Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Public Company Advisory & Governance Group. “Having worked both at the SEC and in private practice, Ryan brings deep experience counseling a wide variety of clients on issues relating to the federal securities laws, as well as an ability to anticipate any regulatory shifts that might affect the nature of their business, which will be invaluable to our clients seeking guidance in these areas, while extending these in-demand capabilities to our premier M&A, securities enforcement, litigation, and employment practices.”

“I am incredibly excited to be joining Morrison Foerster. I have long admired the firm for its award-winning Capital Markets Group and transactional practices, and am looking forward to continuing the growth of Morrison Foerster’s outstanding Public Company Advisory & Governance practice, both on the ground in Washington, D.C. and across the firm’s offices and practices,” said Adams. “I can’t wait to start working with my new colleagues to leverage my extensive SEC and private practice experience to help our clients tackle novel and complex securities and governance matters.”

Adams is a noted authority on corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder issues, federal proxy rules, and corporate governance matters. In addition, Adams brings significant experience with shareholder proposals, previously serving as a co-manager of the SEC’s shareholder proposal taskforce and the co-head of the proposal practice at his prior firm. In addition to his client work, Adams is a recognized thought leader on securities law matters, recently being named one of Best Lawyers’ 2024 Ones to Watch in America.

Adams earned his B.A. cum laude from Loyola College and his J.D. cum laude from St. John’s University School of Law, where he also served as Senior Articles Editor of St. John’s Law Review. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, New York, and Maryland.