Ropes & Gray LLP announced today that Andrew N. Thomases has joined the firm as a partner in the intellectual property (IP) litigation group, adding another premier litigator to one of the strongest patent litigation teams in the country. He will be based in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. Mr. Thomases’ 20 years of experience as a successful trial attorney will benefit Ropes & Gray’s clients facing patent and trade secret disputes, particularly those in the technology sector.
Mr. Thomases has litigated complex cases in courtrooms across the country on bet-the-company matters with millions of dollars and valuable patent portfolios at stake. His cases have taken him to key federal district courts throughout the country, as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the International Trade Commission (ITC). He has successfully represented companies across a wide range of technologies including semiconductors, computers, analog circuits, wireless products, and medical devices.
Mr. Thomases’ first-chair trial experience includes a successful ITC case for a major semiconductor device company, and two appeals before the Federal Circuit. He was a key member of the team that obtained a $50 million-plus jury verdict on behalf of a leading medical device maker, which was one of the largest plaintiff verdicts in California in 2009. He has extensive experience in the Eastern District of Texas, the Districts of California and the District of Delaware. He is currently representing one of the largest manufacturers of flash memory chips in the United States before the ITC in In re: Certain Flash Memory Chips and Products Containing the Same.
Mr. Thomases has been recognized as a “leading lawyer” in patent litigation by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and has been named a top IP Litigator in California by the Daily Journal. He also has been recognized by The Legal 500 (U.S.) for his record of successfully representing clients before the ITC. Mr. Thomases was previously a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
“To provide clients first class IP litigation representation, we continue to build on and expand our robust IP litigation practice on the West Coast and globally,” said James Batchelder, managing partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office and a co-chair of the firm’s technology, media & communications group. “Andrew’s first-rate track record and experience will benefit clients in our Silicon Valley office and beyond. I very much look forward to working shoulder-to-shoulder with Andrew, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to Ropes & Gray.”
Mr. Thomases writes and speaks frequently on patent litigation issues, including ITC practice.
He also is active in the local Silicon Valley community, serving as co-chair of the board of directors of Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, a nonprofit, pro bono services agency that provides legal assistance to low-income families.
Mr. Thomases holds a J.D. (with honors) from University of Chicago School of Law and a B.A. in physics, magna cum laude, from Amherst College. He was a law clerk for the Hon. Raymond C. Clevenger III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
“Ropes & Gray has a deep bench of great patent litigators, and a team of lawyers across multiple practices and around the world who collaborate to advise clients on virtually every kind of major legal issue they face,” said Mr. Thomases. “I think it’s the best platform in the country for servicing technology clients.”
