Sidley Austin LLP announced today that Steven S. Baik has joined the firm as a partner in Palo Alto and will be a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation practice. Prior to joining Sidley, Mr. Baik was partner in a global law firm based in Palo Alto, where he was a trial lawyer focused on intellectual property litigation.

A highly experienced litigator, Mr. Baik has litigated cases that involved a wide range of technologies, including semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing, power electronics, software, wired and Wi-Fi networking devices, and semiconductor memory technologies. In addition, Mr. Baik has significant experience in intellectual property licensing and has negotiated patent and intellectual property licenses on behalf of several prominent international companies, including corporations based in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Europe. Mr. Baik also served as in-house counsel of a major semiconductor company earlier in his career.

“Steve has built his career litigating cases involving the patent issues faced by technology companies, whether headquartered in Silicon Valley or in the innovation hubs of Asia,” said Tom DeFilipps, managing partner of Sidley’s Palo Alto office. “His impressive knowledge of hardware and software technologies serves to strengthen the capabilities of our talented team of IP lawyers in Palo Alto.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Baik has represented numerous high-profile clients, including the largest chip company in Taiwan. He also represented a major global manufacturer of flash memory cards in a variety of matters that involved several types of technologies, including semiconductor memory devices and memory cards.

“Steve has a deep understanding of both technology and patent law,” said Patty Thayer, head of Sidley’s Northern California Intellectual Property Litigation practice. “His comprehensive knowledge of the tech industry and his trial experience will serve our clients well, and we look forward to working with Steve to develop creative and effective solutions for our clients.”

Before earning his law degree, Mr. Baik pursued a career as an engineer designing elements of digital recording formats for a company that supplied high-performance digital storage systems. Mr. Baik is a long-time member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers.