MoFo Perspectives Podcast

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Michael Santos, a social enterprise and impact investing associate in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office, interviews Bulbul Gupta, the president and CEO of Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) fund based in Oakland, California.

In this episode Mike Ward, head of the firm’s Life Sciences group, discusses the unique aspects of the health crisis on the science, with Jim Mullen; the regulatory framework, with Bethany Hills; the commercial transactions, with Matt Karlyn; and the privacy and data security considerations with Kristen Mathews.

In this episode of Diversity in Practice, Natalie Kernisant, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, sits down with MoFo partner and Women’s Strategy Committee co-chair, Stacey Sprenkel and the founder of Krishtel Coaching, Rudhir Krishtel to discuss mental health and the importance of self-care and well-being in the legal profession. Rudhir, a trained yoga and mindfulness instructor, discusses how the practice of mindfulness impacted his journey from law firm partner to in house counsel to leadership consultant and provides helpful tips on how to silence our inner saboteur. Then Stacey opens up about the pressure women and diverse attorneys often feel to over-perform as young associates, how that pressure can lead to attrition, and how motherhood helped her find a greater sense of balance. She also discusses her involvement in the firm’s efforts to support women, working parents, and well-being more broadly.

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Susan Mac Cormac, the chair of MoFo’s Energy and Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practices, interviews Andrew Macintosh, the COO and CFO of the March Fund—a tech fund focused on the development of food and health solutions that support the sustainable food supply chain and optimize health outcomes.

Andrew speaks to Susan about the March Fund’s identification and measurement of key variables that can drive impact and returns, the role intellectual property plays when the March Fund is choosing companies to invest in, and the advice he has for companies that really want to make an impact in the food space.

In this MoFo Perspectives podcast, litigation partner Alexis Amezcua speaks with trial titan Arturo González about his extensive experience handling civil rights cases involving police misconduct, the policy reforms that have resulted from those cases, and what he thinks needs to happen to establish true equality in the eyes of the law.

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Shai Kalansky, a San Diego-based associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, interviews Scott Jacobs, the CEO and co-founder of Generate Capital, a leading sustainable infrastructure platform, delivering affordable, reliable resource solutions to companies, communities, and cities.

Shai and Scott discuss, among other things, why Scott is focused on infrastructure as opposed to individual inventions as a means of changing the productivity equation, and how the elements necessary to create value in sustainability differ from the elements necessary to create value in tech.

In part one of this special Wetmore Fellow subseries, Fellow Adam Smith hosts a discussion with MoFo Partner David Newman and Attorney Recruiting Director Nicole Wanzer about how the firm navigated a virtual work environment while continuing to serve and support our clients and summers. Fellows Kacyn Fujii, Erica Pena, and SEO Fellow, Oliver Green, later join the conversation to discuss their experience as summer associates.

The 5-part subseries on “Navigating Pandemic & Protest,” is designed to look at the ways in which the firm responded to the pandemic and social justice movement, while navigating our new virtual environment. Each episode is hosted by a current Fellow or Fellowship Program Alumni.

In part two of this Diversity in Practice podcast series on speaking to kids about race, we continue our conversation with the founders of Raising Compassionate Leaders, Denica Gordon-Mandel and Christina Johnson. In this session, the speakers discuss the unnerving situation of having to have “The Talk” with young children of color about the possibility of being singled out, simply because of the color of their skin.

In part one of this Diversity in Practice podcast discussion on speaking to your kids about race, MoFo’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion Natalie Kernisant and Director of Attorney Development and Women’s Initiatives Janet Stone Herman are joined by the founders of Raising Compassionate Leaders, Denica Gordon-Mandel and Christina Johnson. The participants address the importance of supporting working parents during such an unprecedented time, and how they can address the issues of race in a way that children can understand.

In part two of our Diverse in Practice podcast discussion on allyship, MoFo partner and ally Dario de Martino discusses how his cultural identity and background have contributed to his practice, and why he feels that it is more important than ever to become an active participant in advocating for marginalized groups.