Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Paul Navarro as a partner in the firm’s Corporate Department and Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group (ECVC) based in Los Angeles. Mr. Navarro brings extensive experience representing start-ups, emerging growth companies, and investors in a variety of corporate and technology transactions covering all stages of the ECVC life cycle, in the United States and Latin America.
Mr. Navarro joins Morrison & Foerster from another leading law firm, where he was a member of the ECVC practice. He advises founders, directors, and investors on their most strategic, high-value transactions. As outside general counsel, Mr. Navarro has worked with a wide range of companies in the United States and Latin America, and has substantial experience in equity and debt financings, general corporate governance, corporate restructurings, recapitalizations, tender offers, and exit events. He has served as a trusted advisor to companies in a variety of industries, particularly those focused on fintech, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, blockchain, renewable energy, and entertainment.
Mr. Navarro’s arrival underscores the continued expansion of Morrison & Foerster’s market-leading ECVC capabilities, including the notable addition of a San Francisco-based team led by Michael Glaser and Mike LaPlante, who joined the firm last month, bringing one of the largest emerging companies practices in Northern California. With Mr. Navarro’s addition, Morrison & Foerster has added 11 ECVC partners around the globe in recent years, who were either promoted to partner or joined as lateral partners, to meet the needs of its clients across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The addition of Mr. Navarro also highlights the continued expansion of the firm’s corporate capabilities on the West Coast. He is the fourth California-based corporate partner to join the firm in the last year, following in the footsteps of Mr. Glaser and Mr. LaPlante in San Francisco, and Patent Strategy + Prosecution partner Hogene Choi in Palo Alto.
“Paul is a tremendous strategic addition to the firm. His arrival further expands the bench strength of both our West Coast ECVC practice and Corporate team on the ground in Los Angeles, an important market for our clients,” said Eric McCrath, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Corporate Department. “Paul’s practice complements our core capabilities in a number of other areas, including M&A, technology transactions, and litigation.”
Mr. Navarro is a native Spanish speaker whose cultural roots and time in Latin America led to a life-long passion for the region. He advises start-ups across Latin America on corporate structuring and capital raises, with a particular focus on Mexico and Colombia. Mr. Navarro also works with U.S. and Latin American investors focused on the ever-growing start-up ecosystem in Latin America.
Randy Bullard, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Latin America Desk, added: “Paul’s in-depth company-side experience representing start-up and emerging companies, coupled with his Spanish language skills and familiarity with local business cultures, will be an invaluable asset to our Latin America practice.”
“I am thrilled to be going back to Morrison & Foerster, the firm where I started my career and whose exceptional culture sets it apart,” said Mr. Navarro. “I look forward to working with my colleagues, old and new, across the firm and in the ECVC Group to grow my practice here in Los Angeles and leverage my deep knowledge of the Latin America market to complement the firm’s robust offerings in the region.”
In addition to his practice-focused work, Mr. Navarro is also committed to his pro bono practice and has helped establish and counsel several nonprofits, including organizations focused on addressing sexual harassment and creating allies in Silicon Valley, combating hate crimes, and counseling at-risk youth. He is the recipient of the prestigious State Bar of California Wiley W. Manuel Award for his commitment to pro bono work.
Mr. Navarro earned his B.A with highest honors and M.A. in History from Stanford University, and his J.D. from Boston College Law School. He is admitted to practice in California. Earlier in his career, Mr. Navarro worked as an associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Litigation Group. Prior to that, he served as a legal intern for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office Government Bureau and as a judicial extern for the Honorable Carlos T. Bea in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.