MoFo Wins Four at the Inaugural Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards 2024
MoFo partner David Cross recognized for his individual achievements
MoFo partner David Cross recognized for his individual achievements
Morrison Foerster has received four awards at the inaugural Legal Benchmarking Group (“LBG”) Social Impact Awards 2024. The LBG Social Impact Awards highlight law firms that are working to bring positive change to their workplace environments, supporting the communities in which they work, and breaking barriers for the next generation of lawyers. MoFo received more awards than any other firm, with LBG highlighting MoFo’s “exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as their impactful legal work” and praising the firm for “setting a new standard of excellence in the legal profession.”
MoFo was recognized in the following categories:
Diverse Recruitment Firm of the Year
According to LBG, Morrison Foerster is recognized for its “unwavering commitment to enhancing the diversity pipeline through targeted on‑campus efforts and lateral hiring.” The publication specifically highlighted MoFo’s Keith Wetmore Fellowship for Excellence, Diversity, and Inclusion program and its support for pre-law interns through the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity program.
Recruitment Program of the Year
LBG highlighted MoFo’s Keith Wetmore Fellowship for Excellence, Diversity, and Inclusion initiative. Since 2012, the program has recognized and provided exceptional first and second-year law students with a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, with the training, mentorship, and exposure necessary for their professional development and engagement. To date, MoFo has awarded 155 fellowships.
Social Impact Case of the Year
According to LBG, Morrison Foerster achieved a “historic settlement” in Cayla J. v. State of California that “addresses the educational disparities faced by low-income students in Black and Latinx communities due to inadequate remote education access and subsequent support.” In this case, the firm secured at least $2 billion in funding to help students who fell behind during the COVID-19 pandemic—one of the largest education-related settlements in U.S. history.
Disability Advocate of the Year
In addition to the firm’s unprecedented success, David Cross was named as the Disability Advocate of the Year. David, chair of the Antitrust Litigation practice in the firm’s global Antitrust Law Group, is an accomplished first-chair trial lawyer with extensive experience in high-stakes antitrust and commercial litigation involving cutting-edge and complex industries. David has shared his experience about living and practicing with a disability and has spoken publicly to bring much-needed attention to the struggles and social stigma associated with individuals with disabilities in the high-pressure world of Big Law. He also created MoFo’s Disability Affinity Network and has worked extensively to make it easier for people at the firm to identify as disabled and to foster a deeper sense of inclusion. In his pro bono practice, David obtained a 2019 injunction that shuttered Georgia’s antiquated all‑electronic election system and enabled the critical hand recount of paper ballots in the 2020 presidential election. After successfully defeating summary judgment, David recently led a team representing non-partisan voters, alongside The Coalition for Good Governance, in a bench trial seeking better security for future elections for Georgia’s current electronic voting system. That trial has spurred important legislative efforts in Georgia to shore up the security, transparency, and reliability of the state’s voting system.
To learn more, see the full list of winners.
Practices