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Attorney

Joi L. Morris, Senior Counsel

310.255.6182 |   310.255.6282 |   Joi.Morris@ffslaw.com
Download vCard | Office: Century City

Joi L. Morris

Joi L. Morris is a member of both the Litigation and Trust and Estate Litigation departments. Her practice focuses on trust and estate litigation, representing a wide range of clients, including trustees, estates, individuals, and businesses of all sizes. Her expertise includes claims against fiduciaries, estates, or trusts, including issues related to capacity and undue influence. She has extensive experience in civil and other lawsuits brought against or on behalf of trusts or decedents in state and federal courts.

In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Morris advises nonprofit organizations on governance, grant-making, and tax matters unique to the nonprofit sector. She has represented a variety of nonprofits, including private foundations and public charities involved in medical research. Her commitment to pro bono work and nonprofit service is reflected in her previous role as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Cancer Prevention Initiative (formerly HeritX), a nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2015. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Prevention Initiative and is a frequent speaker on nonprofit governance and research advocacy.

Ms. Morris has been recognized as one of the most influential women legal professionals in the Los Angeles area in the 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s special supplement, Women of Influence: Attorneys.

Attorney Education

EDUCATION

J.D., Vanderbilt University School of Law

B.S., University of Missouri – Columbia

Attorney Admited to Practice

California
Missouri (inactive)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Courts for the Central District of California, the Eastern District of California, and the Southern District of California

Representative Clients and Matters

Successful representation of trustee to recover money removed from trust due to undue influence.

Represented successor trustee in a dispute between trust and beneficiaries regarding beneficiaries’ use of trust real property.

Successful judgement in a complex commercial investment fraud trial involving the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Formation of 501(c)(3) nonprofit and successful application for state and federal tax exempt status, development of governance and organizational structure, domestic and international research grant contracts, protection of intellectual property, state fundraising registration and compliance, audit, annual IRS tax compliance, and employment contracts.

Successful pro bono representation of low-income tenants in an action against a landlord for dangerous premises that included pursuing return of defendant’s fraudulently conveyed assets through bankruptcy court to enforce and collect a multimillion-dollar judgement.

Formation of HeritX, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Representative activities have included applications for state and federal tax exempt status, governance and organizational structure, domestic and international research grant contracts, protection of intellectual property, state fundraising registration and compliance, audit, preparation of annual IRS Form 990 and maintenance of tax exempt status, state corporate and tax filings and compliance, and employment contracts.

Professional & Community Involvement

Cancer Prevention Initiative | Board of Trustees

HeritX, Co-Founder | Board of Trustees | 2015-present | Senior Vice President & General Counsel | 2015-2019

Susan G. Komen for the Cure | Advocate in Science | 2009-2019

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute | PCORNet Data Privacy Task Force | 2014

Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered – FORCE | Los Angeles Outreach Coordinator | 2007-2013

Leo Baeck Temple | Board of Trustees | 2000-2003, 2011-2013

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Books

“Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You’re at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer” with Ora Karp Gordon, MD | Prometheus Books, New York, New York
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