Brandon C. Parris

Parris was recently at the forefront of one of the most significant mergers in the telecom industry. He was lead counsel to Sprint Corp. and its controlling shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp., in the $59 billion merger of wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile US Inc. The combined company is called the New T-Mobile.

"I think it will be a pretty significant benchmark for future deals because of all the regulatory hurdles we had to clear," Parris said.

The merger was announced in 2018 and closed this April. Parris guided the transaction through months of corporate negotiations, a states-led effort to block the deal, and regulatory work such as securing clearance from the Department of Justice and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

In connection with the merger, Parris also guided Sprint's divestiture of portfolio assets, including 800-megahertz prepaid businesses to DISH Network Corp., representing 9.3 million accounts across Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint-branded prepaid customers. Total consideration for the divestitures was about $5 billion.

Parris, who has been with Morrison & Foerster for about two decades, formerly was co-chair of the firm's global corporate department of more than 400 attorneys. Mergers and acquisitions are his forte, though his recent securities work has included advising Southwest Gas Corp. in its $450 million public offering in June 2020.

"I think what I enjoy the most is working on big, complicated transactions," he said. "I'm honored that they trust me with something that is that significant for them."

He represents public and private companies, boards, committees, and management teams in industries as varied as biotechnology, financial services, consumer goods, media and gaming.

Beyond the office, Parris and his family routinely volunteer for the nonprofit Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano. "We're just trying to find a way with our kids to give back to the community," he said.

-- Jennifer McEntee