Less than three months after opening an office in Boston, Morrison & Foerster announced that it has further strengthened its presence in the city. Todd Boudreau and Matt Karlyn join Morrison & Foerster as partners.
Boudreau joins Morrison & Foerster as co-head of its Global Private Equity Investments + Buyouts Group and as a partner in its Private Funds Group. Boudreau brings a practice centered on private equity-focused international M&A, institutional investments, and fund formation. He has represented clients across numerous industries, including technology and life sciences. MBoudreau’s coming to Morrison & Foerster also underscores the firm’s continued expansion of its private equity offerings, following the arrival of Peter Rooney in New York earlier this week.
Karlyn joins Morrison & Foerster as a partner in its Technology Transactions Group. His practice focuses on the structuring, drafting, and negotiating of commercial technology transactions. His clients span a variety of industries, with many operating in the life sciences space.
“Morrison & Foerster immediately established a strong presence in Boston when we opened our doors in February with over 30 lawyers. I’m delighted that we have now added Todd and Matt,” said David A. Ephraim, managing partner of the firm’s Boston office. “Growing our new office with the region’s finest talent continues to be a significant priority for us, to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of our clients both in Boston and in other markets.”
Eric McCrath, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Corporate Department, added: “Our two new partners, Todd Boudreau and Matt Karlyn, are outstanding lawyers with deep ties to Boston and its thriving business community. Todd has built an extensive private equity practice that includes noteworthy work on fund formations and M&A, while Matt brings significant experience leading life sciences and technology transactions, licensing, and outsourcing matters. Our clients across multiple industries, including technology and life sciences, will benefit from their counsel.”
With more than 20 years of experience, Boudreau brings to the firm a broad transactional practice, covering strategic and private equity transactions, fund investments, and fund formation. He represents clients in industries such as technology (including software and fintech), life sciences, health services, medical devices, consumer, and aerospace and defense. On the investment side, Boudreau regularly works with institutional investors, including large private and public pension plans and endowments, and assists emerging fund managers with formation and compliance. He is highly experienced in counseling private fund managers on all aspects of fund formation for discretionary and non-discretionary alternative investment transactions.
“I’m excited to join Morrison & Foerster and to help build its corporate practice and private equity capabilities in a new office at a global firm,” said Boudreau. “The firm has already significantly differentiated itself in multiple key markets and is well positioned to do the same in Boston, given its highly respected cross-border M&A and private funds platform, and its reputation for leading market-shaping technology work. I look forward to continuing to grow my practice at MoFo and to advising the firm’s clients on complex matters.”
Karlyn has more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer focused on commercial technology matters. He represents companies across the global economy in life sciences and technology transactions, including those at the forefront of the pharmaceutical, medical device, software, and other technology sectors. Karlyn advises clients, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to startups and pre-startups, on all matters involving the commercialization of intellectual property, licensing initiatives, outsourcing, subscription-based economics, and the procurement and use of technology in business. He regularly advises companies on strategic initiatives with respect to the deployment of technology in business, and advises on IP and technology matters related to M&A transactions.
“Morrison & Foerster has a premier life sciences practice and also excels in both technology transactions and outsourcing—all primary components of my practice,” said Mr. Karlyn. “These strengths, combined with the firm’s leading global platform, its inclusive culture, and its obvious commitment to Boston and the city’s core industries, all greatly impressed me. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with my new colleagues to build a destination practice in Boston.”
Morrison & Foerster opened its Boston office in February 2019 with the addition of a 23-person finance group headed by eight partners, including David Ephraim and Chuck Stavros, as well as a prominent ECVC attorney, Ori Solomon. The new office also houses Morrison & Foerster lawyers who practice in privacy, real estate, bankruptcy, and tax, as well as Mike Ward, the head of the firm’s patent practice, who is the foremost figure in the field of plant IP and agricultural biotechnology.
Morrison & Foerster’s move to Boston extended the firm’s market-leading technology and life sciences capabilities to the city and complemented its strong presence in other markets in the U.S., such as the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, the Washington, D.C. region, and Southern California. The Boston office also further enhanced Morrison & Foerster’s global platform, which includes five offices in Asia and three offices in Europe.