Marking the beginning of its expansion into Northern California—the center of the nation’s high-technology industry and home to seven of the top 10 patent-producing cities—AmLaw100 firm Pepper Hamilton LLP today opened the doors of its new Silicon Valley office. The office will complement Pepper’s two existing California offices and give its top-notch Intellectual Property Department deeper roots on the West Coast.
Three partners—Gregory S. Bishop, Thomas F. Fitzpatrick and Andy H. Chan, all formerly with Goodwin Procter LLP—will launch the new office at 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City, California, joining Pepper’s 500-plus attorneys across the nation.
Bishop will join Pepper as partner in charge of the Silicon Valley office. He specializes in complex patent litigation and other technology-related disputes in a wide variety of technologies, including computers, electronics, semiconductors, networking and software. Bishop practices throughout the United States in federal district court and in the International Trade Commission, as well as in post-grant proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Fitzpatrick will join Pepper partners Paul J. Kennedy and Goutam Patnaik as a co-chair of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice nationally. Kennedy is based in Philadelphia, and Patnaik is based in Washington, D.C.
Fitzpatrick focuses his practice on all aspects of intellectual property, including litigating patent, trade secret, trademark, technology licensing and other related disputes. He has represented both patent owners and patent defendants in federal courts throughout the country. Most recently, Fitzpatrick has successfully represented internationally based and publicly traded companies in the computer database, telecommunications, semiconductor, internet and power supply industries.
Chan will also join the IP department as a partner. Chan focuses his practice on intellectual property matters with a particular concentration on patent litigation involving complex technology in the biotechnology, chemical and information technology fields.
Pepper Hamilton’s CEO Scott Green said, “Pepper Hamilton has built unique capability at the International Trade Commission, with few firms trying more cases in that venue than Pepper. While Pepper Hamilton has long had a presence in Southern California, the northern part of the state is strategically important as it is where many of our clients are based. We are especially pleased that three of the top IP litigators in the country will help us grow there.”
Pepper has offices in Orange County and Los Angeles. The firm opened its LA office in 2012 with the hiring of managing partner Gary Apfel and Mary Dickson, followed by the addition of Mark Kadzielski and his health care litigation team earlier this year.
Vincent V. Carissimi and William D. Belanger, co-chairs of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department, said that the number of patent lawsuits is on the rise. Pepper’s practice area will be strengthened by adding high quality attorneys with broad IP experience, the two said.
“Northern California is an extraordinarily important jurisdiction in patent litigation,” Carissimi said. “To have such well-known, high-quality lawyers make our presence known in Silicon Valley is tremendous for the firm and for our clients.”
Belanger added: “Greg, Tom and Andy are excellent practitioners and their addition will strengthen our full complement of IP expertise, including patent litigation, trade secret claims, trademark infringement, licensing, data security and privacy in industries such as technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.”
Pepper’s Executive Committee Chairman Louis J. Freeh noted: “The opening of a Silicon Valley office by Pepper Hamilton serves two strategic goals. Not only are we expanding our national intellectual property footprint, but we’re also underscoring our full range of offerings in California, which includes IP, health care and financial services.”
