MoFo Perspectives Podcast

In this special pro bono episode of MoFo Perspectives, MoFo associates Spencer McManus and Karen Leung speak with partner Derek Foran and National Abortion Federation (NAF) Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler about their long, hard-fought legal battle to prevent the release of a smear campaign against abortion providers by anti-abortion extremists.

James Koukios speaks with Gareth Rees QC and Hayley Ichilcik about what to expect in UK enforcement under the Biden administration.

In this special pro bono episode of MoFo Perspectives, we take a deep dive into two important cases MoFo is involved with regarding Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs or activities. Associate Caitlin Crujido, moderates this discussion, speaking with partner Natalie Fleming Nolen about her case challenging newer regulations set in place by the previous administration that rolled back certain protections under the law, and changed how schools respond to sexual harassment and sexual assault. Partner Christine Wong speaks about the amicus brief her team filed in support of a woman athlete who was unfairly punished by her school because of a rude gesture she made while celebrating a team victory. Senior counsel at Equal Rights Advocates, Brenda Adams, also joins this discussion to talk about how her organization is making strides when it comes to ensuring gender equity and protecting individuals from sexual harassment and violence in the workplace and in our schools.

As part of MoFo’s effort to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, our Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Natalie Kernisant welcomes California Assemblyman David Chiu and MoFo Litigation Partner Bonnie Lau to the podcast to take a hard look at the recent rise in anti-Asian discrimination and how misinformation, fear, and racist political rhetoric tied to COVID-19’s origins in China have fueled hate and violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the country. They also explore America’s long history of anti-Asian hate and discrimination, the relationship between the AAPI community and other marginalized communities in this country, the need for broad based, community-led public safety initiatives, and how these issues affect members of the AAPI community in the professional space.

James Koukios speaks with Patrick Späth about what to expect in European regulation under the Biden Administration.

In this episode of MoFo Perspectives, MoFo corporate partner and blockchain co-chair Dario de Martino speaks with MoFo IP partner Joyce Liou and Stanford Law School professor and MoFo of counsel Paul Goldstein about the emerging popularity of NFTs and the IP issues raised by them.

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Kaela Colwell, a San Francisco-based associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, interviews Malcolm Robinson, the founder and executive director of the Black Venture Capital Consortium, or BVCC, which has launched an on-campus, four-track curriculum program in venture capital, entrepreneurship, user-experience design, and software engineering at historically black colleges and universities across the country, among other projects.

In this episode of the Above Board podcast, Morrison & Foerster partner and host Dave Lynn speaks with Alfredo (“Fredo”) Silva, San Francisco partner and co-chair of the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, on the SEC’s possible future implementation of a global framework for climate disclosures and the potential ESG disclosure implications for public companies. Fredo and Dave touch on why the SEC has recently sought input on implementing a framework for climate change disclosures and formed a Climate and ESG Task Force, the guidance and rules already in effect, and what public companies and their boards of directors should be thinking about with respect to climate and ESG disclosure.

With a continued emphasis on creating diverse teams, law firms and corporations are not only asking how they can promote inclusivity, but also how they can attract and retain diverse team members. MoFo’s Privacy + Data Security Group is a successful case study of what such a commitment to diversity and inclusion can achieve, with 61% women and 25% of its lawyers identifying as diverse or LGBTQ+. In this episode of Diversity in Practice, Of Counsel Melissa Crespo speaks with her mentor and co-chair of MoFo’s Global Privacy + Data Security Group Miriam Wugmeister about why diversity in practice is important to them and to the group, why they have stayed in big law, and what concrete steps others can take to achieve a more diverse team.

James Koukios speaks with Dave Lynn about what to expect in SEC regulation under the Biden Administration.