Mary Jo Shartsis, a founder of Shartsis Friese in San Francisco, died Jan. 2 at age 78 of Alzheimer’s disease.

In 1975, Shartis, her husband Arthur Shartis and Charles Friese founded Shartsis Friese, a prominent California midsize firm that has grown to 67 lawyers. During her more than 40 years at the firm, Mary Jo Shartis handled large-scale complex litigation. Prior to Shartsis Friese, Shartsis was the second woman to practice at San Francisco firm McCutchen, where she handled antitrust litigation.