Joanna Rosen Forster has joined Crowell & Moring’s San Francisco office as a partner in the Litigation Group, bringing nearly two decades of experience ranging from first-chairing government litigation to serving as a trusted advisor to boards of directors.
Forster’s practice will focus on domestic and cross-border complex commercial litigation matters, as well as advising technology and e-commerce companies on matters related to internet platforms, product launches, market campaigns, new vertical lines of business, and foreign and domestic laws that regulate online content.
Most recently, Forster served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for ContextLogic Inc. after serving in the same role for its subsidiary Wish, an e-commerce platform that connects buyers with sellers offering products at discounted prices. In addition to her practice at Crowell, she will continue as outside counsel to ContextLogic. While in-house, she guided the company through its sale to Qoo10 for $173 million.
“Joanna’s experience as a GC and CCO of a major publicly-traded international e-commerce platform has given her both a high profile in the tech community and an understanding of strategic dispute resolution, investigations, and compliance,” said Kent Goss, co-chair of Crowell’s Litigation Group. “She understands what clients are looking for in their outside counsel, because she has served in that role.”
Prior to joining Wish, Forster was a deputy attorney general for the corporate fraud section at the California Department of Justice, where she spent five years leading major investigations and litigation. Before joining the California Attorney General’s office, Forster spent nearly a decade in private practice, where she focused on antitrust and commercial litigation.
“Joanna’s addition to our San Francisco office buttresses our tech sector credentials, while serving as the perfect bridge between our litigation and corporate & transactional groups,” said Warrington Parker, managing partner of Crowell’s San Francisco office. “There is a good reason she has been called a Swiss Army knife style of lawyer: She can do it all and we are thrilled to welcome her.”
Forster received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She was previously a law clerk for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall in the Central District Court of California.
“Having been a firm client, I know firsthand that Crowell & Moring offers the highest level of client service, but my passion for this firm goes back even further,” said Forster. “I still recall the first time I encountered Crowell as a young associate in a large joint defense group. The firm’s professionalism, skill, and attitude has stuck with me, and as I approached the next stage of my legal career and the opportunity to build a practice drawing on the significant experience I have gained while serving in the government and in-house, I knew Crowell was the place for me.”
About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and corporate and transactional issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service as well as its programs and initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
