Morrison Foerster

Overview

Morrison Foerster (MoFo) is a large, global US-headquartered law firm with a particularly strong reputation in technology, life sciences, financial services and cross-border transactional work. The firm emphasises collaborative, multi-jurisdictional teams that serve Fortune 100 companies, major financial institutions, venture-backed technology companies and funds. MoFo is regularly highlighted for innovation, technology and ESG work, and combines wide-ranging transactional capabilities (M&A, private equity, funds, capital markets) with high‑end litigation, investigations and regulatory practices.

• Headquarters: San Francisco, 425 Market Street
• Lawyers: 2,200+ legal and business professionals
• Trainees: 4
• Offices: 19

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Technology & Digital
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Investment Funds
• ESG & Sustainability
• Data Protection & Privacy
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Intellectual Property
• Corporate & M&A
• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Employment
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Real Estate
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Competition & Antitrust
• Tax
• Fraud & Investigations
• White Collar Crime
• Media & Entertainment
• Agriculture & Rural

Geographic Focus: MoFo operates globally with a strong US base and strategically located offices in Europe and Asia to support cross-border work (San Francisco, New York, Palo Alto, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo). The firm targets complex cross-border transactions, technology and life sciences clients, financial institutions and private equity/funds across the US, Europe and APAC and emphasises coordinated global teams to handle multi-jurisdictional M&A, funds, tech/AI

Training Contract

London trainees follow a two‑year training contract model with rotational seats across practice groups. Trainees are recruited via the firm's vacation schemes; the Graduate & Trainee Committee provides a named layer of senior lawyer support throughout recruitment and training. The firm emphasises early substantive responsibility, cross‑border work and structured development through the MoFo Academy and formal mentoring (MoFo Navigate). Seat allocation is managed by the firm’s recruitment and development teams in coordination with practice groups, and trainees meet committee members during interview and vacation scheme stages.

• Starting Salary: £60,000
• NQ Salary: £167,000
• Trainee Intake: 4
• Academic Requirements: Minimum: 2:1 degree (or equivalent) and AAB at A‑level; the firm uses RARE’s Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) and accepts mitigating circumstances information.
• Application Deadline: 2027-01-04

Sponsorship

PgDL maintenance grant: £20,000. SQE maintenance grant: £20,000. The firm will pay full course and exam fees for SQE/PgDL study at the University of Law and will reimburse study fees for relevant postgraduate legal education from UK providers. The firm no longer sponsors the LPC route but may reimburse fees already incurred.

SQE Support

The firm pays full course and exam fees for study at the University of Law and offers study support described on the careers pages. (Firm literature confirms direct payment of course and exam fees plus maintenance grants for vocational study.)

Client Secondments

Approximately 29% of trainees undertake client secondments; secondments are with corporate clients such as technology companies, financial institutions and funds.

Mentorship

Graduate & Trainee Committee oversight plus MoFo Navigate mentoring programme, local trainee and graduate committees, buddy systems and structured partner/senior lawyer mentors; trainees meet committee members during interviews and vacation schemes.

Apply on the Morrison Foerster website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Morrison Foerster Looks For

Key Competencies

• Collaboration and teamwork
• Commercial awareness
• Academic excellence (minimum 2:1/2(i) and AAB at A‑level for London recruitment)
• Interest in technology and innovation
• Communication skills
• Resilience and adaptability
• Commitment to pro bono and community engagement
• Global / cross‑border mindset

Evidence Signals

• Vacation scheme performance and assessed work products
• Commercial work experience or internships (especially in tech or finance)
• Pro bono or community engagement
• Demonstrable commercial awareness and interest in technology/AI
• International experience or language skills

Benefits & Wellbeing

• First‑year trainee salary: £60,000
• Second‑year trainee salary: £65,000
• Newly qualified salary: £167,000
• PgDL maintenance grant: £20,000
• SQE maintenance grant: £20,000
• Vacation scheme pay: £600 per week
• Reimbursement / payment of University of Law course and exam fees for PgDL/SQE study
• MoFo Academy (training and development)
• Mentoring programmes (MoFo Navigate)
• Virtual job simulations and practical training resources
• Access to firm‑wide affinity networks and inclusion programmes
• Pro bono opportunities and support
• Employee wellbeing initiatives (e.g., Healthy MoFo programmes)

Wellbeing

Firm‑wide wellbeing and healthy‑work programmes (e.g., Healthy MoFo), access to learning and development, internal mentoring and career coaching via MoFo Next; active pro bono and inclusion networks support engagement and wellbeing.

Awards & Recognition

• Top 15 firm on The American Lawyer A-List (2025)
• Band 1 in Chambers USA Technology (Nationwide & California) (2026)
• Financial Times Most Innovative Lawyers in Science and Technology — Practice of Law Award (2025)
• Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards: Environment & Sustainability Innovation Award (North America) (2022)
• Law.com Asia Legal Awards: Investment Funds Firm of the Year (2026)
• BTI Client Service A‑Team recognition (top 3% of firms) (2026)
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index: 100% rating (2026)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Longstanding firm commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion; established D+I team and formal programmes (Affinity Networks, Allies Network, Wetmore Fellowship). The firm also partners with external organisations to advance diversity in practice areas such as IP and tech.

• Wetmore Fellowship
• MoFo Allies Network
• Affinity Program (eight firmwide Affinity Networks)
• Women Spotlight series (including Leaders of Influence: A Spotlight on MoFo Women of Color)
• Independent Diversity & Inclusion Department
• Gender Inclusive Employment Policy
• Diversity Strategy Committee
• MoFo Foundation pro bono partnerships and scholarships

Pro Bono

MoFo maintains an extensive pro bono programme, working with organisations such as The Nature Conservancy and Ceres. The firm committed to providing $2 million in pro bono legal services for climate change projects (Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy initiative) and reported contributing $4.3 million in pro bono services to those matters in 2021. Pro bono is integrated with the firm’s sustainability and community engagement efforts.

Innovation

MoFo actively invests in technology and innovation initiatives, positioning itself as a leader in technology law and AI. The firm publishes dedicated tech resources (MoFo Tech Blog, AI Resource Center), runs a Tech Law Summit, and operates client‑facing innovation programmes for scaleups and technology companies. Trainees and lawyers are exposed to tech‑driven matters and the firm prioritises legal tech and knowledge management to support cross‑border, multi‑disciplinary teams.

• MoFo Tech Blog (MoFoTech)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Resource Center
• MoFo Tech Law Summit
• MoFo ScaleUp programme
• MoFo Academy and internal innovation training
• Technology Transactions practice innovation work
• Participation in AI, data and tech policy dialogue and publications

Quick Application Angles

• Lead with technology and AI: the firm is market‑leading in Technology & AI—use examples of relevant tech projects or coursework and explain commercial impact rather than purely technical detail.
• Show cross‑border experience or readiness: emphasise international teamwork, language skills or study/work experience that demonstrates you can operate in multi‑jurisdictional matters.
• Reference MoFo’s ESG and pro bono credentials: applicants with sustainability, impact investing or climate‑related experience should highlight practical contributions (projects, pro bono work) that map to the firm’s ESG work.
• Demonstrate commercial awareness and practical outcomes: when discussing deals or scenarios, focus on business outcomes, risk allocation and client impact – MoFo positions itself as commercially‑minded advisers.
• Highlight legal tech / practical problem solving: the firm scores highly for legal tech—mention experience with legal‑tech tools, data projects, automation or AI and how you used them to deliver results.