Latham & Watkins LLP is pleased to announce that four noted intellectual property litigators have joined the firm as partners in the Litigation Department. The team of attorneys adds recognized patent trial experience to the firm, which has made a series of bold market moves in recent years in building a premier Intellectual Property Litigation Practice.

Three of the attorneys – Douglas E. Lumish, Jeffrey Homrig and Gabriel S. Gross – will be based in the firm’s Silicon Valley office, while Michael E. Eisenberg will be based in New York. They join from the firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, where each was a partner.

“This is a tightly knit group of collegial practitioners with a strong track record of trying and winning high-stakes patent cases for blue chip technology companies. The addition of these partners broadens our trial capabilities and confirms that Latham’s IP practice is a force to be reckoned with in patent litigation,” said Max Grant, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, noting that in the past three years the firm has systematically added 15 leading patent litigation partners to its Northern California, Washington D.C. and New York offices.

The new partners are:

• Douglas E. Lumish, who is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top patent litigators and led the IP practice group at his former firm. Lumish is a seasoned trial lawyer with broad experience trying complex patent cases involving diverse technologies, including the notable Eolas win in the Eastern District of Texas in 2012. He holds a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law, 1996.
• Jeffrey Homrig, who has extensive experience representing innovative technology companies in high-stakes patent litigation cases. He was recently named by Law360 as a leading IP attorney under the age of 40. He received his law degree in 2001 from the University of California Berkeley School of Law.
• Gabriel S. Gross, who has tried cases before juries involving patent and copyright infringement. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in biotechnology, and he often represents life sciences companies in patent disputes. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2001.
• Michael E. Eisenberg, who has represented clients in patent litigation across a wide range of industries including semiconductors and computer hardware and software. With advanced degrees in physics, he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 2001. He clerked for Judge Timothy Dyk of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Sean Berkowitz, chair of the firm’s global Litigation Department, noted: “The globalization of business, the consolidation of industries and the evolution of high-value capital from tangible to intangible assets have all propelled the growth of patent litigation in recent years, and we expect such trends to continue. This addition cements Latham’s position as one of the premier IP litigation practices in Northern California and our national IP group is stronger and busier than ever.”

“The high-end patent litigation capabilities of this attorney group also complements our strong corporate and emerging company practices in the Bay Area and nationally,” added Matthew Rawlinson, Office Managing Partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office. “In particular, our technology, life sciences and digital media clients now have more IP litigation firepower at their disposal.”

Doug Lumish said: “I know my colleagues agree that we are excited about the opportunity to join Latham & Watkins, a firm with the resources, global platform and culture that will enable us to take our practices to a higher level. We were particularly attracted by the commitment of the firm and its IP practice to build a premier trial team.”

The IP Litigation Practice at Latham & Watkins now consists of more than 100 attorneys, including 35 partners.

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