San Francisco-founded Morrison & Foerster announced Monday that it is opening its first Texas office in Austin.
Known in legal circles as MoFo, the corporate law firm announced that it has hired two intellectual property litigation partners – one from Pillsbury and one from DLA Piper – and a corporate M&A partner from Pillsbury, and that “further additions to the Austin office are anticipated in the weeks and months ahead.”
Morrison & Foerster, which has about 1,000 lawyers in its 17 global offices, follows a handful of law firms to open in the Texas capital in the past year. Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and O’Melveny & Myers are among the other national firms to start outposts in Austin.
The American Lawyer reported that MoFo’s revenues were $1.16 billion in 2020. The firm reported $1.14 revenues per lawyer and profits per partner of $2.24 million.
In a written statement, Morrison & Foerster said it has hired IP lawyer Brian C. Nash, who led Pillsbury’s Texas IP practice; IP litigator Aaron Fountain from DLA Piper; and Steve Tyndall, a corporate partner from Pillsbury.
“Austin is compelling to Morrison & Foerster’s strategy,” Morrison & Foerster Chair Larren Nashelsky said in the statement. “It is a natural extension and synergy for the firm to open an office in Austin — a hub for innovation, technology, life sciences and emerging companies. Many of our key clients have been growing rapidly in Texas in recent years and we anticipate this trend will accelerate.”