Beach joins Morrison Foerster as a partner for its PE and M&A groups

• Most recently, Beach was a partner at Massumi + Consoli
• Before that, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis
• Beach has a particular focus on the tech sector

Law firm Morrison Foerster has hired James Beach as a partner for the firm’s private equity and M&A groups in San Francisco.

Beach’s practice focuses on representing private equity funds and their portfolio companies in complex U.S. and cross‑border transactions, including leveraged buyouts of private and public targets, divestitures, and growth equity investments. He also advises private equity-owned and public companies in all stages of their life cycle. He has a particular focus on the tech sector.

“James is a high-caliber attorney who knows private equity inside and out. We are thrilled to welcome him to MoFo. Having worked closely with him in the past, I am confident he will be a great fit for MoFo and leverage his sophisticated legal skills, business acumen, and collaborative spirit to continue to grow our private equity offering on the West Coast,” said Patrick Huard, global co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s private equity practice, in a statement. “His arrival also underscores the firm’s continued investment in its Private Equity M&A capabilities to meet growing client needs in key geographic locations.”

Most recently, Beach was a partner in the San Francisco office of private equity and M&A-focused boutique law firm, Massumi + Consoli. Before that, he was a partner in the private equity and M&A group at Kirkland & Ellis, in the Bay Area, where he spent the first 10 years of his career.