A 30-strong West Coast team of patent lawyers, led by Peter Yim, has joined DLA Piper from Dentons. 

Yim is joined by fellow partners Christopher Eide, Brian Ho, Randy Omid, Michael Swett and Parker Kuhl alongside 24 attorneys and six agents and technical advisors; they will be based primarily at DLA Piper's San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Seattle offices.

The team – many of whom including Yim, Eide and Ho joined Dentons as a group from Morrison Foerster in 2017 – is well known and highly regarded in the industry as thought leaders in patent strategy and procurement, managing the most important patent portfolios for some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in Silicon Valley and the world.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of former principal and senior managing counsel in the IP litigation group at Apple – Jessica Hannah – joining DLA Piper’s San Francisco office as a partner.

Hannah spent eight years at Apple where she managed the tech behemoth’s active docket of patent litigation that spanned the globe. Within that role she oversaw not only patent litigation but related proceedings at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s inter partes review proceedings, ex parte re-exams and arbitrations. She also contributed to the management of Apple’s active docket at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as Apple’s IP-related amicus filings.

The former Dentons team have extensive experience in patent litigation that spans the globe including actions in Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands and the UK. They also provide IP support and analysis for clients involved in public offerings, financings, M&A and other corporate transactions, in addition to regularly providing strategic IP counselling.

Larissa Bifano, chair of DLA Piper’s US patent prosecution practice, said: “This industry-leading group brings to the firm a vast understanding of the patent landscape in an increasingly competitive global market, and their geographical reach will be an asset to our clients wherever they do business.”

Sean Cunningham, DLA Piper’s global co-chair and US chair of the firm’s IP and technology practice group, added: “Our firm is dedicated to further developing and strengthening our IP & technology presence and bringing on this premier team of lawyers embodies the firm’s commitment to growing our capabilities in this sector. We have the deep resources to support the technical nature of the group’s work, and we’re excited to see their practice grow through our global platform.”

Speaking about Jessica Hannah’s appointment, Cunningham noted: "Jessica’s global patent litigation experience as a principal and senior managing counsel at Apple, along with her experience at the Federal Circuit, will be a major asset to both our patent litigation practice and in particular our appellate practice in IP cases."

He continued: “Between her extensive industry knowledge and her contacts across the technology industry, Jessica will strengthen key areas of our patent litigation practice and help us grow our world-class service offerings. We are lucky to have her.”