Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has onboarded former Morrison & Foerster tax partner David Strong as a member in the firm's Palo Alto office, the firm announced Monday. 

Prior to the move, Strong had been at Morrison & Foerster for close to a decade and was co-chair of the firm's tax department and federal tax practice. He joined Morrison & Foerster in 2011 after nine years at Holme Roberts & Owen (now part of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) in Denver. Prior to that, Strong was an investment banker at Deutsche Bank in New York. 

"I was at Morrison & Foerster for almost 10 years, and they were great," Strong said. "Wilson approached me before the pandemic, but even after it, both myself and Wilson looked at this as a strong, long-term play. They had a real need for a tax partner of my vintage," he said, referencing his over twenty years of experience. 

"From acquisitions and corporate restructurings to fund formation and technology transactions, our tax and tax equity team plays a vital role all of our firm's transactional work, and importantly, our team's U.S. and international tax planning experience is increasingly vital to companies seeking to manage finances in these extraordinary times," Doug Clark, managing partner at Wilson Sonsini, said in a statement. "Dave has an impressive expanse of transactional tax expertise that will benefit our firm's clients, and he's a proven leader who has taken on significant roles throughout his career. We're pleased to welcome Dave to the firm."

Strong specializes in tax issues related to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital investments, restructurings and distressed situations, according to his Morrison & Foerster biography. The bio also stated that he has crossed over into several industry verticals as well, including consumer, health care, media and entertainment, technology and telecommunications. 

He also has experience advising companies on the tax implications of convertible notes offerings and initial public offerings, the former of which has been a hot topic since M&A deals have taken a nosedive during the pandemic.  

Strong said that through his career he has enjoyed working with technology and life science companies, as well as early-stage companies, all of which fit into Wilson Sonsini's wheelhouse. 

"From my perspective, they are long on tech and life sciences and have seen a lot of client success," Strong said. "Morrison & Foerster is strong in many areas, including M&A, IPO work and securities, but for the latter two they are nowhere near the breadth and depth of Wilson."

Strong's skill set seems almost tailor-made for the current pandemic-infused environment. He has experience working with life sciences companies, which are some of the few organizations that have seen an increase in activity since COVID-19 started dominating the economic landscape. He also has expertise working with distressed companies, something many firms have been looking for over the past few months. He's also familiar with the nuances of the CARES Act. 

"It's a counterbalance in situations like this," Strong said of the current focus on distress work.

Strong said he did not anticipate any other tax partners from Morrison & Foerster joining him there in the short term. "There are situations where that happens," he said. "Where it is like a package deal. But I don't envision anyone else. This was a one-off strategic hire."

Strong believes many of his client will be moving with him, but was not at liberty to discuss specifics. 

"Working across from them [Wilson Sonsini] for years and seeing them in the market, I was impressed with the true commitment to the lifecycle of the clients they serve," Strong said.

A firm spokesperson for Morrison & Foerster said the firm thanks Strong for his contributions and wishes him well in his next endeavor.