February 4, 2014

LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL

By Joshua Sebold

PALO ALTO – Morrison & Foerster LLP snagged the former co-chair of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s technology transactions and sourcing practice Thursday.

Stephanie L. Sharron joins MoFo’s Palo Alto office as a partner. The technology transactions specialist, who also focuses on intellectual property and privacy aspects of mergers and acquisitions, said she’s excited to join a firm with strengths that mirror her own.

“There’s just no firm that brings the experience both on the mature company side as well as on the emerging company side across data privacy and technology like MoFo does,” she said.

Tessa J. Schwartz, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s technology transactions group, said the firm prized Sharron’s strong presence in Silicon Valley and her versatility, noting that Sharron can handle technology transactions on her own, advise emerging companies, or work with a team on major deals involving large, repeat clients of the firm, such as Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

It’s difficult to grab high-level talent from other firms in the valley, Schwartz added, which makes the hire of Sharron a major feather in the firm’s cap.

In addition to her leadership role in technology transactions, Sharron helped coordinate Orrick’s privacy practice group during the intense period following Edward Snowden’s leaks about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. Sharron called that period of time exhilarating.

Sharron said she has developed a particular interest in privacy questions raised by connecting household devices to the Internet, a movement known as “the Internet of things.”

Privacy has become a bedrock issue in the valley that all companies have to address, she said. “Just about every transaction that we touch these days has a data privacy element to it.”

Alan Cope Johnston, managing partner of MoFo’s Palo Alto office, said Sharron fits well into the firm’s plans to continue growing its corporate practice, especially on the local level.
“We are very interested in deepening our corporate group across the firm, but particularly in Silicon Valley,” he said.

MoFo had been targeting this type of move for some time, said Solana Beach legal recruiter Larry Watanabe, who confirmed that he brokered the deal.

“They have been looking for a senior tech transactions partner in the Palo Alto area for years. It’s a very important practice area for Morrison,” he said. “There’s a lot of demand for tech-trans lawyers.”

Sharron joined Orrick in 2008 after spending 15 years at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC. An Orrick representative thanked Sharron for her contributions to the firm and wished her the best.