Bolstering one of the most active IP litigation practices in the country, the new group led by Washington, D.C. trial lawyer Alexander J. Hadjis combines technical expertise with deep experience in key venues such as the Federal Circuit and ITC WASHINGTON and PALO ALTO, Calif., June 24
WASHINGTON and PALO ALTO, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- In a notable
expansion of its intellectual property practice, Morrison & Foerster LLP has
added three IP litigation partners Alexander J. Hadjis, Kristin L. Yohannan,
and Rudy Y. Kim, to its Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto offices. Each is a
former Federal Circuit Judicial Law Clerk.
Led by Mr. Hadjis, the group concentrates on patent and intellectual
property litigation before federal courts, the International Trade Commission,
and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, with special expertise
in semiconductors, computers, electronic systems, biotechnology, chemicals,
and pharmaceuticals. The notable scientific backgrounds in high technology
and life sciences of these partners and their colleagues are a prefect
complement to the firm's national IP practice.
The group's arrival also boosts the firm's ranks of the more than 100
USPTO-registered lawyers and rapidly increasing number of former Federal
Circuit Clerks. Morrison & Foerster took on more than 70 new patent cases in
2007, including five appeals before the Federal Circuit. The firm's ITC
practice was recently ranked as one of the most active in the country.
"Our practice continues to gain technical talent and trial prowess with
the addition of Alex, Kristin, and Rudy," said Steven Kaufmann, who chairs
Morrison & Foerster's 500-attorney global Litigation Department. "They
provide a complementary addition to our roster of lawyers distinguished for
their track record in handling patent litigation and major disputes in all
other areas of intellectual property. We are particularly excited to further
expand our presence in Washington, D.C.," Mr. Kaufmann added.
Mr. Hadjis, who serves as lead trial counsel before the federal district
courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission in complex patent cases,
frequently handles cases that involve the nexus of IP and antitrust law, along
with industry technology standards disputes. Among his noteworthy trial wins,
Mr. Hadjis applied an antitrust-based patent misuse defense against Philips in
a case before the ITC involving recordable and rewritable compact discs. With
a background in electrical engineering, Mr. Hadjis has successfully litigated
and tried cases involving semiconductor technology for companies such as
Intel, MediaTek, Spansion, Thomson, Broadcom, Genesis Microchip, Cypress
Semiconductor and Atmel.
Kristin Yohannan brings a strong mix of experience in patent, trademark,
copyright, and trade secret cases. Ms. Yohannan represents leading medical
device, pharmaceutical, computer, semiconductor, and biotech companies in
patent infringement and ANDA cases. Before the Federal Circuit, Ms. Yohannan
has been involved with 25 appeals, arguing 15 of them, and she wrote several
briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court as an Associate Solicitor at the USPTO.
She has authored sections of Section 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
which governs the USPTO. Ms. Yohannan also authored an international treaty
on industrial design patents and advised the director of the USPTO on various
matters.
Rudy Kim, who like Mr. Hadjis has a degree in electrical engineering and
is also a registered patent attorney, focuses on patent litigation and also
advises high-tech companies in the acquisition and licensing of their
intellectual property assets. He has represented clients on IP matters
involving a wide span of technologies, including computer hardware and
software, data storage, digital security, broadband communications,
semiconductors, medical devices, and biotech.
"We've long been aware of Morrison & Foerster's eminence and profile
across all areas of IP -- in litigation, patent prosecution, technology
transactions, and life sciences -- and we know the firm has an extremely deep
and talented bench, along with a number of the top patent trial attorneys in
practice today," said Alex Hadjis. "We felt that at this juncture, our
practice could benefit exponentially from being integrated into the broad,
global IP and patent litigation group that Morrison & Foerster offers."
The incoming group arrives as Morrison & Foerster continues to grow its
widely recognized intellectual property platform. The Washington office
recently added longtime patent litigator and IP transactional attorney Mark
Ungerman, who previously headed the Washington IP practice and firmwide
technology practice at Fulbright & Jaworski. Joining the Tokyo office earlier
this spring was Yukihiro Terazawa, one of Japan's leading technology
transaction lawyers and international IP litigators.
"IP and IP litigation are key practices for us in all of our markets,"
said Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith Wetmore. "Adding Alex and his team in
Washington, D.C., the home for the globally critical ITC practice, and Palo
Alto, the center of Silicon Valley and our historic home turf, underscores our
place on the very short list of firms able to handle the most important IP
litigation a client can face," added Mr. Wetmore.
Earlier this year, American Lawyer selected Morrison & Foerster as one of
the finalist firms in the IP category of its biannual selection of Litigation
Department of the Year. Also this year Chambers & Partners named Morrison &
Foerster one of three top global IP firms, while Chambers' 2008 USA Guide
placed the IP practice in its top Band 1 tier, noting the "consistently high
quality" of the firm's "highly sought-after" litigators. IP practice co-chair
Harold McElhinny was also named one of the country's top 10 patent lawyers by
Conde Nast Portfolio.
Alexander J. Hadjis
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (1993), Mr.
Hadjis also earned a Master of Laws degree from George Washington University
Law School (1996). He received his B.S.E.E. in electrical engineering from
The Ohio State University (1990). He served as a law clerk to the Honorable
Wilson Cowen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
from 1996 to 1997.
Kristin L. Yohannan
Ms. Yohannan received her J.D. from George Washington (1994) and her B.A.
in biology/chemistry from Lafayette College (1989). She also earned a Masters
degree in molecular genetics from the University of Connecticut (1991). She
served as a law clerk to the Honorable Pauline Newman of the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 1995 to 1997.
Rudy Y. Kim
Mr. Kim earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (1998) and a
B.S. in electrical engineering from UCLA. (1994). He served as a law clerk to
the Honorable Alan D. Laurie of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit from 1999 to 2001.
The lawyers all previously practiced together as partners at Sonnenschein
Nath & Rosenthal LLP, where Mr. Hadjis chaired the patent litigation group.
Mr. Hadjis and Ms. Yohannan will be resident in Morrison & Foerster's
Washington, D.C. office and Mr. Kim will be resident in the firm's Palo Alto
office.
About Morrison & Foerster
With more than 1,000 lawyers in key finance and technology centers
internationally, Morrison & Foerster offers clients comprehensive, global
legal services in business and litigation. The firm is distinguished by its
unsurpassed expertise in finance, life sciences, and technology, its legendary
litigation skills, and an unrivaled reach across the Pacific Rim, particularly
in Japan and China. For more information, visit www.mofo.com
Contact: Bryonie Byers 202-887-8730bbyers@mofo.com
Michael Zwerin415-268-7964mzwerin@mofo.com
SOURCE Morrison & Foerster LLP
