Editorial: Patents in California

01 August 2007

Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP is home to the most highly nominated practitioner. Don Martens was frequently mentioned in superlative terms for his litigation and appellate work. Before joining the firm, where he practises as of counsel, Martens was a patent examiner at the US Patent Office. Partner Joseph Re is “well thought of ”, and noted for his activities as an arbitrator. 

Irell & Manella LLP also boasts two of the research’s most prominent experts. The “incredible” Morgan Chu picked up nominations from clients and competitors. He was described variously as “an excellent patent litigator” and “very professional”. Chu was lead trial counsel in Stac Electronics v Microsoft, City of Hope v Genentech and cocounsel for the plaintiff in Texas Instruments v Samsung, which resulted in a settlement for the plaintiff of more than $1 billion. Chu is joined on the list by Elliot Brown, who also has a strong patent lititation practice and is regarded in the market “as a very strong contender”. Brown’s clients have included HP, Compaq, AT&T, Alta Vista, Google, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and NBC, to name but a few. 

Robert Krupka is co-head of Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s intellectual property practice and is among the most highly nominated practitioners in the research. Competitors noted his “enviable success rate at trial”. Founding partner for the intellectual property trial practice group of the firm’s San Francisco office Eric Lamison joins Krupka in this chapter. Lamison is well known for his involvement in the successful defence of Pioneer before the International Trade Commission in the cable television set-top box case. 

Howrey LLP has an excellent international reputation for intellectual property. Based in San Francisco, the managing partner of the firm’s northern California offices, Henry Bunsow, has a “tremendous record”. He has represented businesses in high-tech patent disputes, and has won numerous victories in state, federal and appellate courts. Bunsow has represented the licensing interests of Harris Corporation for 10 years, securing the company’s semiconductor and cellular phone patents. During this time Harris’s paid-up royalty revenues have exceeded $600 million. He also worked on the Broadcom v Qualcomm, ITC action involving half of the mobile phones imported into the US and is currently representing Apple Computer in i-Pod and i-Tunes litigation in the Eastern District of Texas as well as Abercrombie and Fitch in a patent infringement case involving their internet marketing services. Clients such as Verizon, Avery Dennison and Caterpillar call on the services of William Rooklidge in the firm’s Irvine office. Rooklidge also focuses on litigation and alternative dispute resolution, with extensive experience in appellate cases. Rooklidge was recently involved in the Ronald A Katz Technology Licensing LLP v Citibank patent infringement case. 

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP was formed in San Francisco in 1863 and now has 18 offices in seven countries (five of the offi- ces are in California). In the Orange County office James Geriak is considered a “leader in the field” for patent work. Geriak served as a patent examiner while attending law school and has acted as lead counsel on a number of notable cases. Clients include Quantum and Quickturn Design Systems. He also served as special master for US District Courts, as arbitrator, as mediator and as mini-trial judge in numerous patent actions. William Anthony joins Geriak in this chapter and is based in the firm’s Silicon Valley office in Menlo Park. It is no surprise therefore that his focus is on technology and high-stakes patent litigation. His “formidable ability” has brought him well-known clients that include Compal Electronics, Cisco Systems and Microsoft. 

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP also has “considerable talent” in the figures of Matthew Powers and Edward Reines, both of whom are based in Redwood Shores, Silicon Valley. Powers is co-chair of Weil Gotshal’s 500-attorney litigation and regulatory department and is “well known for his great success rate”. He has represented Intel and Microsoft on patent infringement actions and is editor-inchief of the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal. Reines is a partner in the firm’s technology litigation practice and has an emphasis on high-tech patent cases. In the eyes of one competitor, “his client list speaks volumes about his ability” and it features Cisco, General Electric, Genomics and Applied Biosystems, among others. 

Fenwick & West LLP services technology and life sciences clients and two individuals included from this firm are “first-rank” patent litigators in these fields. Lynn Pasahow is the chair of the litigation group and works mainly on patent cases within the software, internet and biotech industries. Pasahow led the team that established the validity of Cetus’s patents on its Nobel Prize-winning polymerase chain reaction invention. David Hayes, who focuses his practice on intellectual property counselling and litigation, joins him in this chapter. He has also represented well-known companies such as Apple, Google and Sun Microsystems. 

Keker & Van Nest LLP is a litigation firm located in San Francisco. Founding partner John Keker is a “a truly fantastic trial lawyer”. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and among other high-profile cases represented Genentech in a $300 million patent dispute with Chiron. Daralyn Durie was also involved in this case and successfully defended Comcast Cable Communications in the Eastern District of Texas against patent infringement claims brought by Caritas Technologies. 

Michael Elmer represents the dedicated IP firm of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP. Elmer is well known for his development of a global litigation database to assist clients in resolving international patent disputes and implementing global offensive and defensive strategic plans, a project that he has lectured on a great deal. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP’s Frederick Lorig possesses a “good reputation” and is the co-chair of their National Trial Practice. Lorig obtained a $1.2 billion patent verdict and is no stranger to “big clients and big wins”. 

Douglas Olson, from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP’s San Diego office, has “a fantastic reputation” arguing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as other federal and appellate courts. MacPherson Kwok Chen & Heid LLP is an IP law firm with offices in Silicon Valley and Orange County. At the firm, Alan Macpherson focuses on patent prosecution and litigation and is a “good choice” when seeking counsel. He has moderated and lectured for the Advanced Patent Law Institute, University of Texas School of Law and the Practicing Law Institute’s intellectual property seminars. 

Terrance McMahon draws the spotlight to McDermott Will & Emery LLP. He is head of the worldwide intellectual property, media and technology department, and boasts an impressive trial record and “great client roster”. Representative clients in the patent market include Creative Labs, Medtronic and Lucasfilm. McMahon is based in the Silicon Valley office. 

John Benassi from Heller Ehrman LLP has a “great reputation in the medical devices and biotechnology field”. Representative clients include generic drug manufacturer Gensia Sicor. He writes extensively in the field and he was praised by one source for his ability “to get straight to the centre of every issue”. Harold Mcelhinny is based in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in patent litigation and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. McElhinny represented Nikon in patent litigation in the Northern District of California, and coordinated the matters pending in the courts of Japan, Korea and Taiwan. 

Wayne Barsky is national co-chairman of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s intellectual property practice and a member of the executive committee of the USC Intellectual Property Law Institute. He focuses on patent litigation for clients in the biotechnology, computer and software industries, and has represented companies such as Serono International, Electronic Arts and General Electric Medical Systems. Barsky was described to researchers as “energetic and excellent”. 

Jones Day’s Robert Dickerson is “top rank”, according to a fellow nominee. He is coordinator for the IP practice in the firm’s Los Angeles office and has experience in a wide array of technologies, including stereolithography, electronic medical devices, veterinarian products and mechanical devices, among numerous others. Mark Flagel brings this chapter to a distinguished close. He is chair of the litigation department in the Los Angeles offices of Latham & Watkins LLP and is the former global co-chair of the firm’s intellectual property and technology practice group. Flagel was one of the trial attorneys for Stac Electronics in its successful prosecution of a patent infringement suit against Microsoft and other clients include Symantec, 3M, Broadcom, MPS and Genentech.

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