Joins nation’s 20 top-rated firms as measured by pro bono commitment, associate satisfaction, and diversity, as well as revenues per lawyer; list created to “change conversation” about assessing law firm greatness

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (July 1, 2008) – American Lawyer magazine has just issued its annual roster of the nation’s top 20 “A-List” law firms, and once again, Morrison & Foerster is among the firms selected.

AmLaw’s A-List, started in 2003, looks beyond the magazine’s traditional financial metrics to examine how the country’s 200 largest law firms perform on several other key criteria – pro bono commitment, associate satisfaction, and diversity, along with revenues per lawyer.  All areas are tracked closely by the magazine’s editorial staff.

As AmLaw editor Aric Press noted in presenting this year’s Top 20, “Great law firms are about more than money and earnings and the A-List recognizes and rewards that.”  He added that the list was, in fact, originally created to “change the conversation about law firms” and how the best are measured.

The firm did especially well on AmLaw’s diversity scorecard – its 192 points was the third highest of all 200 firms reviewed.  Earlier this spring, Morrison & Foerster hired its first national diversity manager, Nadia Jones, creating a permanent position to enhance professional development and recruitment for minority attorneys and staff.

Morrison & Foerster has also had a particularly strong year on the pro bono front.  Its attorneys collectively turned in 76,000 hours of volunteer work in 2007, handling a wide range of cases and initiatives in various areas of the law and community service. 

The firm has been representing several veterans’ groups in an unprecedented class action, charging the Veterans Administration and other government agencies with inadequate treatment and benefits for veterans suffering from post- traumatic stress syndrome and other disorders stemming from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Educational advocacy is another area drawing substantial pro bono hours.  The firm has represented parents and family groups in advancing educational inclusion and treatment for the disabled, taken on cases challenging discriminatory practices against foster children, and helped New York City high school students end warehousing and other practices denying them access to school instruction.  The firm recently gained an historic settlement in a California case resulting in legislation providing remedial help and instruction for high school students who have failed the state’s longstanding exit exam requirements for graduating seniors. 

In other areas, Morrison & Foerster submitted numerous amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in pro bono matters in the past year.  And the firm issued another in its ongoing series of Helping Handbooks, intended to assist residents of San Diego and other parts of Southern California affected by last fall’s devastating wildfires.

“We are honored to once again be included in American Lawyer’s A-List, knowing that it represents a much more qualitative assessment of the legal profession than other rankings, by assessing, in addition to financial performance, how well law firms stand up as satisfying places to work, as supporters of diversity, and as advocates for the underprivileged,” said Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith Wetmore.

“We are proud of our accomplishments in these areas and applaud American Lawyer for continuing to read past the hard numbers in trying to take a fuller measure of law firm excellence,” Mr. Wetmore added.  “At the same time, we recognize that in some ways, the A-List stands for “Aspirational,” since no matter how well you come out in these rankings it’s certain that there are areas for improvement in one calculus or another.  We look to work even harder in maintaining our place on the list in the years ahead.”