Global law firm White & Case has added two top-tier intellectual property litigators to its roster in Silicon Valley. Yar Chaikovsky and Philip Ou have left rival firm Paul Hastings and will join White & Case’s technology IP litigation group, with Chaikovsky serving as the head of the practice.
Paul Hastings is also bringing a partner onto its IP litigation practice from another firm. Doug Sawyer, who specializes in patent and trade secret litigation, has joined the firm from Perkins Coie. Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sawyer’s departure.
The addition of Chaikovsky and Ou follows last week’s move by White & Case to bring in Kimberly Petillo-Decossard and Ross Sturman from Cahill Gordon & Reindel for their M&A practice. This continues White & Case’s ambition to establish a high-impact presence in Silicon Valley, where Chaikovsky and Ou have plenty of experience.
Chaikovsky spent seven years as the global co-chair of Paul Hastings’ IP litigation practice, representing clients such as Rovi Corp (now TiVo Corp), Adobe Inc., Broadcom Inc., Sony Corp., and Target Corp. His career began with Yahoo Inc., where he served as head patent counsel. Ou has also worked with HTC and AT&T, joining Paul Hastings alongside Chaikovsky from McDermott Will & Emery.
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Paul Hastings representative spoke positively about their departure, wishing them well. However, the firm also lost dealmaker Neil Torpey, last week, who was chair of its Hong Kong office; he has gone to Baker Botts in New York and Austin. Despite this recent loss, Paul Hastings has made several other partner hires in New York and London. In particular, capital markets lawyer Grissel Mercado joined the firm on Monday from Shearman & Sterling.
White & Case’s executive committee member Heather McDevitt released a statement expressing her enthusiasm for the move, claiming it will further the firm’s presence in Silicon Valley. With two renowned IP litigators now on board, White & Case is well-positioned to handle any technology-related legal matters that its clients may require. The addition of Chaikovsky and Ou also adds to the collective experience of the firm’s global IP litigation practice, which has offices located in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The future looks promising for White & Case’s Silicon Valley branch. With its new additions in tow, the firm is prepared to go toe-to-toe with any of its major rivals in the area.
