Intellectual Property Attorney Michael De Vries Joins the Los Angeles Office of Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Michael W. De Vries has joined the Firm's Los Angeles office as a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Mr. De Vries joins Kirkland from the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins, where he was a member of the firm's intellectual property litigation practice group.
Mr. De Vries has substantial experience representing clients in complex intellectual property disputes, with particular expertise representing technology companies in patent litigation. He has handled trials and a variety of other litigation matters involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, false advertising and unfair competition. He also advises clients on intellectual property-related licensing and strategic issues.
"We are very pleased that Mike, a rising star in IP litigation, has joined our Firm," said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee. "Mike's experience, talent and energy will be an excellent addition to our accomplished West Coast intellectual property practice."
Mr. De Vries has represented clients in industries including semiconductors, software, pharmaceutical, medical devices, investment banking, telecommunications, heavy machinery, media and internet. He has served as lead counsel in a variety of patent and other intellectual property-related matters, including serving as lead trial counsel in a five-week federal jury trial involving chemical technology and a variety of intellectual property claims. Mr. De Vries also served as lead trial counsel in a five-day arbitration hearing on behalf of an investment banking client.
Mr. De Vries was named one of the Daily Journal's "Top 75 IP Litigators in California" for 2010. He was also recognized for his trial skills in the Benchmark: Litigation 2008 guide, which characterized Mike's courtroom performance in a recent federal court jury trial as "spectacular."
He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of California, the Eastern District of Texas, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit. He is a member of the Orange County Bar, the Federal Bar Association and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.
Mr. De Vries holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall), and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology's Certificate in Law and Technology while at Boalt Hall for his extensive studies in the field of intellectual property law and technology.
Kirkland & Ellis is a 1,500-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex intellectual property and technology, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, corporate, restructuring and tax matters. The Firm has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington, D.C. Kirkland's West Coast Intellectual Property Practice Group includes more than 70 attorneys.
