Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP is pleased to announce that leading intellectual property litigator Steven C. Carlson has joined the firm as Managing Partner of its Silicon Valley office. Mr. Carlson litigates patent and trade secret cases through trial in fields across the technology spectrum, representing high-tech, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies before district courts, appellate courts and the International Trade Commission. His clients have included tech company SRI, molecular diagnostics company Cepheid and pharmaceutical firm Allergan Inc.

Describing Mr. Carlson as the right lawyer to lead the office, Kasowitz partner Aaron Marks said, “Steve has a terrific background, and he is a real team player. He is a natural fit for us.”

Mr. Carlson, who intends to help the firm expand its intellectual property practice in Silicon Valley and across the nation, said, “Kasowitz has done a great job of establishing an IP practice. There’s a solid platform for growth.”

Mr. Carlson was formerly a partner at Fish & Richardson. He is a co-author of the book Patents in Germany and Europe: Procurement, Enforcement, and Defense, and a co-author of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, which is published by the Federal Judicial Center and provided to all federal judges as a best practices guide for handling patent cases. Mr. Carlson began his legal career serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Roderick R. McKelvie in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (1999-2000) and to the Honorable Paul R. Michel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2000-2001). He holds a J.D. degree from Yale University and a BA in Chemistry from Reed College. He was named a “Rising Star” for intellectual property litigation by Super Lawyers from 2009-2011.

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