Morrison Foerster is an international law firm with lawyers practicing throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Click to discover more.

mofo_share_image.jpg

Morrison Foerster

common-default.jpeg

Terms / Notices

Cookies

Privacy Policy

Reporting Hotline

Attorney Advertising

Alumni

  Linkedin

MoFo LinkedIN

  Facebook

MoFo Facebook

YouTube

MoFo Youtube

Morrison Foerster - Footer

Morrison Foerster Ranked #1 US Overall Leader in Lamp House’s Global Review of Law Firms’ Responsible Business Activity

You have not solved the recaptcha challenge yet or session expired, try again.

Email Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/about/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a>, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.

Feedback

mofo-logo-2022.svg

People

Capabilities

Resources

About

Culture

Offices

Careers

Stay Connected

Morrison Foerster has been highlighted as a leader in responsible business activity in Lamp House’s second annual report.

About Morrison Foerster

people-default-header-desktop.jpg

people-default-header-mobile.jpg

Default Meta Data

Morrison Foerster has been highlighted as a leader in responsible business activity in Lamp House’s second annual report. The research team at Lamp House have once again reviewed the top law firms’ strategies in this area and for the first time, they take a deep dive into the US law firm market. They define responsible business, in a law firm context, to mean genuine focus on creating sustainable, more positive impacts for all stakeholders, including clients, people who work at the firm, the communities it works in, the industry sectors it serves and its physical environment.MoFo made huge strides and improved to a #1 ranking in the Planet category and one of the top five leading US firms overall. The Plant category looked at how law firms measure scope 1, 2, 3 emissions, set carbon reduction targets, designed energy and waste reduction strategies, report and enforced the strategies, managed carbon offsetting and executed strategies related to internal engagement.The report noted MoFo’s rapid rise this year:In 2023, MoFo only received 2% of the available points in the Planet section of our framework. This year, it has amassed over three quarters of the available points.This dramatic progress has been driven by the firm’s Environmental Sustainability Committee. Its most recent annual report demonstrates the steps the firm has taken to measure emissions across all three scopes and it is one of only five US firms to declare a Net Zero target.Critically, MoFo recorded the joint highest score in the US for the level of practical action it outlined to demonstrate how it will deliver on its strategy. This includes energy and waste reduction programmes, internal engagement through climate change training and the #TinyClimateActs campaign which sponsored tree planting, as well as supporting a variety of pro bono causes dedicated to wildlife protection and land conservation.Lamp House Strategy is now part of Chambers and Partners and this report aims to shine a light on responsible business within law firms and the work of the teams leading the way. The analysis of the responsible business activity includes 215 leading law firms as reported on their websites, including specific responsible business reports, during July and August 2024. This includes the top 100 UK firms, the top 100 Am Law firms and 15 leading Canadian firms.For more details on Morrison Foerster’s 2024 rankings, please visit <a href="https://www.lamphouse.com/annual-report/" target="_blank">Lamp House’s website</a>.

Morrison Foerster Ranked #1 US Overall Leader in Lamp House’s Global Review of Law Firms’ Responsible Business Activity

Sign Up

Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her practice focuses on late-stage financings, secondaries, and other corporate transactions for investors, such as SoftBank and Temasek, and on investments for some of the top investors dedicated to impact, from “impact first” foundations to family offices to private equity funds. She co-led the drafting group for the first of the new corporate forms (the Social Purpose Corporation in California), has created hybrid/tandem corporate structures and crafted debt and equity instruments that blend impact with traditional financial terms, and has used corporate law to develop creative capital market solutions to pressing environmental problems. She also advises the boards of public and private companies on corporate governance and fiduciary duties as applied to sustainability and climate change.She was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) in 2012 and 2016 by Daily Journal and the Most Innovative Lawyer in North America in 2015 by the Financial Times.Leading Business AdvisorA powerhouse negotiator, clients note that “you cannot get a better corporate counsel” and that Suz “understands the big picture, could not be more responsive, and understands the business” (The Legal 500 US). She has extensive experience providing corporate and finance advice to companies and investors in connection with growth equity financings and secondaries, with particular experience in late-stage investments that have come to rival traditional strategic acquisitions in size and significance. Her experience includes leading some of the highest-profile late-stage investments over the past few years, including notable transactions for SoftBank Group (in the two largest private tender offers in history) in its $7.7 billion investment in Uber, $4.4 billion investment in WeWork, further $10 billion investment in WeWork, $1 billion investment in SoFi, and $250 million investment in Kabbage. She has also advised Temasek on its $800 million investment in Verily Life Sciences, Intel on its equity investment in Cloudera, and each of Fortress, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, Generation Investment Management, and Pontifax AgTech in numerous mid- to late-stage investments in clean technology, sustainability, education, food, and agriculture technology.Social Enterprise and Impact InvestingSuz is the go-to legal resource for social enterprises (for-profit and non-profit companies focused on social or environmental purpose), impact investors (investors interested in social or environmental returns), and mainstream companies developing environmental, social, and corporate governance policies. With deep expertise in the impact investing model, institutional investors exploring the space turn to her for creative solutions and her ability to structure both investments and companies to emphasize impact and returns.She represents a wide range of investors who are focused on impact, from foundations like the Gates Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Rockefeller Foundation, to family offices like Armonia, Cornerstone Capital, Emerson Collective, New Island Capital, and Omidyar Network, to private equity funds like Goldman Sachs, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, and Generation Investment Management, in their equity investments in companies and projects that are focused on generating impact and returns for investors. She has deep experience and expertise ensuring energy, sustainability, and other investments have positive impact through the use of new corporate forms, hybrid or “tandem” structures with non-profits and for-profits, and alternative debt and equity instruments.Notable work in this space includes the establishment of a tandem structure, The Carbon Endowment, to retire coal assets at scale while securing a revenue stream for community reinvestment and job training in coal communities. Suz also advised on the structuring of Common Sense Growth as an extension of the non-profit Common Sense Media (to invest in companies that address issues related to children, education, and technology), the establishment of a fund for TPG Rise to provide debt financing to Echoing Green fellows, the spin-out of PRX from Public Radio International (to generate new revenue flows up to the non-profit), the establishment of a for-profit joint venture with non-profit Medicines360 (to allow the non-profit to distribute its healthcare products to women in the developing world), and the structuring of a for-profit evergreen fund that allows The Nature Conservancy to aggregate return-seeking and donor capital in order to invest in preserving our natural resources. She has also advised numerous clients on converting to a public benefit corporation or social purpose corporation model (which requires balancing traditional fiduciary duties against a social or environmental purpose), including This American Life, Revolution Foods, Rise Labs, and Beneficial State Bancorp.Suz also regularly advises boards of directors of private and public companies, special committees, and CEOs on corporate governance, particularly the intersection of fiduciary duties with sustainability, and focuses on environmental, social, and governance issues.Unmatched Cleantech and Renewable Energy ExperienceIn addition to founding and chairing the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, Suz serves as Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Energy Group and has extensive experience representing start-up to late stage private companies in the clean technology or sustainability space. She provides corporate and finance advice in connection with equity and debt financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, reorganizations, and joint ventures. She has experience working with renewable energy start-up companies and renewable energy developers in the solar, wind, and biofuels industries. Suz has assisted renewable energy start up companies with raising venture capital and has advised renewable energy developers on project acquisitions.Suz’s representative renewable energy, cleantech, sustainable, and social enterprise clients include Anaergia, Change.org, EDF Renewables, E.ON, Etsy, First Look, OneSun, Planet Labs, Rising Sun Energy, RSF Social Finance, SustainBio, Trelys, Inc., Wikipedia, and Xpansiv.Board Activity and Thought LeadershipMs. Mac Cormac was a founding board member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), is a member of the board of directors of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the Ceres President’s Council, and the Earth Genome Project, and is an advising board member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy’s Strategic Investor Initiative.She has joined the faculty (teaching on the intersection of sustainability and fiduciary duties) at both the Stanford Director’s College and the Northwestern Corporate Counsel Institute and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, teaching a course on Social Enterprise.

Susan Mac Cormac

Partner

Craig Martin serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense and ESG + Sustainability practice groups.Craig has led dozens of internal investigations, often on behalf of audit and special committees. Though Craig most frequently assists with matters involving complex financial accounting and reporting issues, his investigations have covered a broad range of subjects, including corporate disclosures, commercial practices, scientific misconduct, commercial and foreign bribery, and misuse of company assets, among many others.In addition, Craig represents issuers involved in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations. Craig’s clients span various industries, including technology, healthcare and life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, real estate, and agriculture. Craig has obtained excellent results for clients, often in the wake of a serious financial accounting misstatements or disclosure failures.Craig also serves as personal counsel to executives and directors in government and internal investigations. Attuned to the scrutiny that corporate executives can face in the wake of a business setback, Craig has helped CEOs, CFOs, and general counsel successfully navigate parallel SEC, DOJ, and internal investigations.Clients have consistently praised Craig for his sound judgment, investigative experience, pragmatism, and credibility. Craig is regularly recognized by leading industry publications such as Legal 500 US in its Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense category and Chambers USA’s (California) Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations category, where a client described Craig as “experienced, poised and patient.” He has also been named to Securities Docket’s “Enforcement Elite,” which recognizes the best securities enforcement defense lawyers in the business. In addition to representing clients, Craig served for a decade as a Firmwide Managing Partner at Morrison Foerster (2012-2022).Craig was an enforcement attorney in the SEC’s San Francisco office from 1999 to 2002. During his tenure at the SEC, he worked closely with attorneys and investigators from DOJ on both financial accounting fraud and insider trading matters. Of particular note, Craig led one of the largest insider trading cases in SEC history, in which 15 individuals were charged with illegal trading.Craig is a leading commentator on internal investigation procedures, securities litigation and enforcement, corporate governance, and compliance, and has been quoted in publications such as the Daily Journal, The Recorder, and GC Magazine. He has also been invited to speak on those topics by prominent industry organizations including the Securities Enforcement Forum, the Practising Law Institute, the Institute for Corporate Counsel, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the National Society of Compliance Professionals, and the Association of Corporate Counsel, among others.Craig earned his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was an associate editor of The Stanford Law Review.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Engaged by corporate boards and management of major clients to lead investigations concerning allegations of accounting, disclosure, and commercial misconduct, including:</li><ul><li>Software company, investigating allegations of non-GAAP financial reporting misstatements.</li><li>Infrastructure construction company, investigating allegations of accounting fraud.</li><li>Software company, investigating alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act.</li><li>Pharmaceutical company, investigating allegations of scientific misconduct.</li><li>Data infrastructure company, investigating allegations of financial accounting fraud.</li><li>Medical device company, investigating allegations of improper disclosures concerning defective products.</li><li>Electronics manufacturer, investigating allegations that it misled customers and violated the financial terms of contracts.</li><li>Transport network company, investigating allegations of financial accounting misconduct and whistleblower retaliation.</li><li>Cloud-based communications company, investigating allegations of financial accounting fraud.</li><li>Venture capital firm, investigating allegations that the performance of portfolio companies had been misrepresented.</li><li>Healthcare technology company, investigating allegations of financial accounting fraud, false disclosures, and commercial bribery.</li><li>Retailer, concerning allegations that finance executives had engaged in accounting misconduct.</li><li>Software company, investigating allegations of financial accounting improprieties and misstated results.</li><li>Network infrastructure company, investigating allegations of accounting fraud.</li><li>Automobile parts manufacturer, investigating allegations of accounting fraud and diversion of company assets.</li><li>Physical security company, investigating allegations of executive misuse of company funds.</li><li>Medical device company, investigating allegations of improper sales practices.</li><li>Computer networking company, investigating allegations of financial accounting fraud.</li><li>Computer hardware, networking, semiconductor, and financial companies, investigating stock option granting practices.</li></ul><li>Represented issuers in SEC and DOJ investigations, including:</li><ul><li>Semiconductor company in SEC and DOJ investigations regarding allegations of financial accounting and disclosure misconduct. The DOJ closed its investigation without taking action against our client, and the SEC resolved the matter on favorable terms.</li><li>Alternative energy company in an SEC investigation regarding the company’s accounting and reporting practices. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Enterprise software company in an SEC investigation regarding alleged revenue accounting improprieties and violations of the company’s code of ethics. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Enterprise software company in an SEC investigation following a multi-year restatement. The SEC resolved the case on favorable terms.</li><li>Real estate company in an SEC investigation concerning allegations of misuse of company funds and workplace misconduct. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Alternative energy company in an SEC investigation following an accounting restatement. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Web services provider in SEC and DOJ investigations concerning disclosures following a cybersecurity incident. The DOJ closed its investigation without taking action against our client, and the SEC resolved the matter on favorable terms.</li><li>Technology services provider in connection with an SEC investigation concerning a cybersecurity disclosure. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Retailer in an SEC investigation following an accounting restatement. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Cloud computing company in an SEC investigation concerning disclosures following a cybersecurity incident. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Biopesticide company in an SEC investigation concerning financial accounting improprieties and a restatement. The SEC resolved the case on favorable terms.</li><li>Carrier in an investigation regarding alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery statutes in China, elsewhere in Asia, and Latin America. The SEC and DOJ took no action against our client.</li><li>Cybersecurity firm in an SEC investigation concerning disclosures regarding a cybersecurity incident. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Network infrastructure company in an SEC investigation regarding alleged accounting improprieties following a significant restatement. The SEC resolved the matter on favorable terms.</li><li>Retailer in an SEC investigation into alleged accounting irregularities following the company’s restatement. The SEC resolved the case on favorable terms.</li><li>Pharmaceutical distributor and its executives in connection with an SEC accounting investigation. The SEC took no action against our client.</li></ul><li>Represented executives in SEC, DOJ, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigations, including:</li><ul><li>Chief Financial Officer in connection with SEC investigation concerning IPO projections. The SEC did not charge our client.</li><li>Chief Financial Officer in connection with an SEC investigation following a technology company’s financial accounting restatement. The SEC did not charge our client.</li><li>Chief Accounting Officer in connection with an SEC investigation after a technology manufacturing company’s restatement. The SEC did not charge our client.</li><li>General Counsel and Acting CFO in connection with an SEC investigation following a software company’s restatement. The SEC did not charge our client.</li><li>General Counsel in connection with a SEC and DOJ investigations following employee benefit administration company’s restatement, disclosures, and representations to auditors. Neither the DOJ nor the SEC charged our client.</li><li>General Counsel in connection with an audit committee investigation concerning cybersecurity company’s accounting and disclosure practices. The SEC took no action against our client.</li><li>Chief Executive Officer in connection with an SEC investigation into alleged misuse of company funds. The SEC resolved the matter on favorable terms.</li><li>Multiple CEOs, CFOs, COOs, general counsel, and other executives in connection with various stock option investigations conducted by the SEC, DOJ, and boards of directors. No action was taken against our clients.</li><li>Executives in numerous insider trading investigations conducted by the SEC, DOJ, and/or FINRA.</li></ul><li>Represented bank, investment advisor, and broker-dealer clients in SEC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FINRA, Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, DOJ, and private litigation matters relating to the credit crisis and mortgage‑backed securities.</li></ul>

Craig Martin

ESG + Sustainability

Social Enterprise + Impact Investing