Most Highly Regarded Firms: California 2009 - Patents
In this chapter we identify 33 leading practitioners from 21 firms. A number are based in Silicon Valley and Irvine - areas well known for their links to high-tech industry. We have focused our research on patent litigators.
Keker & Van Nest LLP is a boutique located in San Francisco that was described to researchers as "a litigation powerhouse" with "real talent in its ranks". Three partners are featured in this chapter. Founding partner John Keker is a "legend of the IP Bar" and through his skills as a trial lawyer he also gains entry into the business crime and commercial litigation chapters of this publication. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been involved in some of the most significant patent cases in recent years. Daralyn Durie also came highly recommended, as did Mark Lemley who makes his first appearance in this chapter. Lemley is of counsel to the firm and as well as conselling and representing clients in court he lectures in patent law at Stanford Law School, where he is the William H Neukom Professor of Law.
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is also home to three listed professionals. James Geriak is considered to be a "very fine lawyer" who boasts the added experience of serving as a patent examiner while at law school. He was praised for his experience in the medical device and biotechnology spheres. William Anthony joins Geriak in this chapter and is also based in Silicon Valley. Anthony is on the Santa Clara University School of Law Dean's High Tech Advisory Council and has a practice dedicated to high stakes and high-technology patent litigation. Clients include Cisco, ABTOX and Microsoft. The "formidable" Robert Dickerson left Jones Day to join Orrick in July 2008 and his addition to the team is key to the firm's aspirations to grow the IP practice in Southern California. Eight IP lawyers joined the firm's Los Angeles and Orange County offices in the first half of the year.
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP is home to the research's most highly nominated practitioner: Don Martens. Martens is a former patent examiner at the US Patent Office and is a founding partner of the firm. He is well known and respected for his work as both mediator and arbitrator in patent infringement matters and is often called upon to act as special master. Partner Joseph Re is "a well-known name", and an experienced patent litigator. He also boasts an active appellate practice that has seen him argue appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in patent matters.
Robert Haslam and Robert Fram joined Covington & Burling LLP from dissolved firm Heller Ehrman LLP. Covington & Burling has significantly expanded its national intellectual property litigation practice and opened new offices in Silicon Valley and San Diego, where patent litigation is a core practice area. Haslam is spearheading the launch of the Silicon Valley office and brings with him a case history that includes work for clients such as Samsung, Atmel and Huawei. Fram is co-chair of the patent litigation practice and is based in San Francisco. Fram is an experienced trial lawyer, having served as a special assistant district attorney.
Irell & Manella LLP also boasts two listed practitioners in this chapter. Morgan Chu maintains an "impressive practice" that has seen huge verdicts in his favour for clients that include TiVo and Immersion Corporation. Chu is widley recognised as a "great trial lawyer" with experience acting for both the plaintiff and defence. Chu is joined by Jonathan Steinberg, who also possesses enviable trial experience. Steinberg has represented Lucas Digital on numerous occasions and has a reputation for being "right up there with the best of them".
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's Silicon Valley office also provides two practitioners for this edition. Matthew Powers is co-chair of the firm's 500-attorney litigation and regulatory department and boasts big name clients like Microsoft (for whom he was lead counsel in a patent infringement action involving software application technology). One source noted that his "track record in patent infringement cases is second to none". Edward Reines joins Powers on the following pages. Reines is a partner in the firm's technology litigation practice and is adept at dealing with complex high-technology cases. He was lead trial counsel for Applied Biosystems in a dispute over ownership of patent rights to fundamental DNA sequencing technology and represented Applera in six patent litigations involving Nobel prize-winning PCR technology.
Howrey LLP has an excellent international reputation for intellectual property with IP featuring as one of the firm's three principal areas of law. Henry Bunsow in San Francisco is the managing partner of the firm's northern California offices. Bunsow has represented the licensing interests of Harris Corporation for over 10 years, securing the company's semiconductor and cellular phone patents. Other clients that have looked to Bunsow on numerous occasions include O2 Micro and ACCO/Kensington. Bunsow has served as special master and has been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. William Rooklidge is a past president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Orange County Patent Law Association. Prior to joining the firm Rooklidge was a registered professional engineer and his client list is a tribute to his "fantastic reputation".
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is home to Robert Krupka, co-head of the firm's intellectual property group and an "extremely good lawyer". Krupka is adjunct professor of intellectual property and computer law at the John Marshall Law School and is well known for his work in proceedings before the International Trade Commission. He is joined here by one of the founding partners of the intellectual property trial group in the San Francisco office: Eric Lamison, who is well known.
Fenwick & West LLP represents technology and life sciences clients and counts intellectual property as one of four core practice group. Both Lynn Pasahow and David Hayes performed very well in the research. Pasahow's trial practice focuses on patent cases in the software, internet and biotech industries. Clients range from major companies like Abbott Laboratories and Amazon.com to Nobel laureates and independent inventors such as Alan Heeger and Kary Mullis. Hayes is well known for his representation of high-tech companies including Apple, Google and Cisco Systems.
At Morrison & Foerster LLP we list Michael Jacobs alongside the "fantastic" Harold McElhinny. McElhinny is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and co-chairs the firm's intellectual property group. He concentrates on the representation of plaintiffs and defendants in patent litigation and has a stellar reputation and a number of high-profile matters under his belt. Jacobs is also based in San Francisco and worked on the SCO v Novell case. He has a reputation for dealing effectivly with patent matters in the complex areas of information technology and life sciences.
Victor Savikas coordinates the IP practice in Jones Day's Los Angeles office. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and works exclusively on patent litigation. "A clear leader", Savikas is a keen speaker on patent jury trials. Mark Flagel is local chair of the litigation department and is based in the Los Angeles offices of Latham & Watkins LLP. Flagel is one of the most highly nominated practitioners in this chapter and was the lead trial attorney for Monolithic Power Systems in its successful defence against patent infringement claims brought by 02 Micro.
James Elacqua represents Dechert LLP in this chapter. Many noted his expertise in the life sciences area, where clients include Medtronic, Biogen IDEC, Illumina and Molecular Biosystems. McDermott Will & Emery LLP is home to the "terrific" Terrance McMahon. McMahon heads the firm's intellectual property, media and technology department and is based in the Silicon Valley office. He is well known as a "supreme trial lawyer" and counts major technology companies (such as Logitech and American Express) among his clients.
Frederick Lorig is the co-chair of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP's national trial practice and of the firm's intellectual property litigation group. He is "someone you want in your corner", according to one source. Representative clients include industry giants such as Northrop Grumman, IBM, Thomson, General Electric and Teledyne. National co-chairman of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's 125-lawyer intellectual property group Wayne Barsky is another "leader" in the field. Barsky was a principal trial lawyer representing Stac Electronics in its patent infringement suit against Microsoft relating to data compression technology. He is adept at dealing with patent issues in the biotechnology, computer and software industries.
Douglas Olson joined Duane Morris LLP from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP's San Diego office in February 2008. Olson has been lead counsel in patent cases ranging from e-commerce to semiconductors. Alan Macpherson practises in the San Jose and Orange County offices of MacPherson Kwok Chen & Heid LLP. The firm is an IP boutique that has a "great reputation". MacPherson focuses his practice on the litigation of patents and has moderated and lectured for the Advanced Patent Law Institute, University of Texas School of Law and the Practising Law Institute's intellectual property seminars.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP is another firm dedicated to the practice of IP. Michael Elmer is senior counsel to the firm and focuses his litigation work on the coordination of the firm's global IP litigation project. This includes a database of win-rate statistics on international patent litigation provided by a network of participating international firms from 30 countries.
New additions to this year's publication Gerald Dodson at Goodwin Procter LLP and Robert Goldman at Ropes & Gray LLP round off our list. Goldman focuses on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and information technologies with a client list that includes AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Hewlett-Packard/Compaq. 2007 saw Dodson win a summary judgment motion of non-infringement for Hemisphere GPS against Trimble Navigation involving GPS devices for contour farming.