Morrison & Foerster Moves In to SF’s 101 California

International law firm Morrison & Foerster is moving out of its longtime San Francisco Financial District headquarters and into 112,000 square feet in Hines’ newly renovated 101 California Street.

The company inked a deal last week at the 48-floor FiDi tower, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

It marks the end of an era for MoFo, which has been at FiDi’s 425 Market Street for decades, per the Business Times. In 2010, the firm signed a 17-year lease for 220,000 square feet across eight floors of the 38-story building. That deal downsized the company’s offices from 10 floors to eight, though it remains the high-rise’s largest tenant.

MoFo reportedly doesn’t occupy its entire footprint at 425 Market, so another downsizing — this time slashing its leased space nearly in half — was almost inevitable.

The company saw the early 2027 lease expiration as an opportunity to move on, a spokesperson for MoFo told the Business Times. “[We] made the determination that a different office space, located at 101 California Street, is better suited to fit our San Francisco office’s current and future business needs,” the representative said.

An exact move-in date is yet to be determined.

In 2023, Hines completed a $75 million overhaul of the building’s ground floor and outdoor plaza, adding concierge stations; new seating areas; a cafe and lounge; and work and meeting spaces for tenants overlooking the seven-story main lobby atrium.

“The reimagining of 101 California’s plaza and lobbies through visionary design and introduction of new onsite amenities creates a workplace experience that draws our tenants’ employees to the office,” George Clever, senior managing director and head of Hines’ San Francisco office, said.

MoFo’s new lease is Hines’ biggest at the 1.1-million-square-foot skyscraper in recent years after fintech company Chime leased the building’s 200,000-square-foot podium in 2021.

— Chris Malone Méndez