Troutman Sanders LLP announced today that Justin M. Barnes and Lara S. Garner have joined the firm as partners in the Intellectual Property practice in the San Diego office. Both lawyers join the firm from Fish & Richardson.

“Justin and Lara are highly respected intellectual property lawyers,” said Mike Whitton, managing partner of the firm’s San Diego office. “Their experience handling complex patent litigation on behalf of major technology companies will enhance our national practice, as well as provide added depth to our expanding IP practice on the West Coast.”

Barnes is a trial and appellate lawyer who focuses his practice on high-stakes patent litigation. His experience spans a wide range of technologies, including MPEG audio and video compression standards, digital and analog circuitry, digital signal processing, e-commerce, enterprise software, marine geophysical surveys and other complex technologies. He also is considered one of the country’s leading patent damages lawyers, having extensive success both in pre-trial Daubert motions and also post-trial motions and appeals overturning substantial jury verdicts. He was recently selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for the second consecutive year, and also named as a Top Attorney in Intellectual Property Litigation by the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Garner is also an IP litigator focusing her practice on client counseling and high-stakes patent litigation. She is experienced in all phases of trial and appeal. Most of her work has involved big-ticket litigation on behalf of major clients in the software and electronics industries involving diverse technological innovations, including audio and video compression, graphics, search, database, encryption, and e-commerce technologies, among others, as well as medical and mechanical devices and transformers. Before entering private practice, Garner was a mechanical designer with Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.

“Justin and Lara have outstanding credentials and an impressive track record in high stakes patent disputes,” said Bill Withrow, a Chair of the firm’s Litigation department. “Their extensive trial and appellate experience and deep knowledge of diverse technologies will be of great benefit to clients seeking to protect and leverage their IP assets in this very competitive business environment.”

In the spring, partner David Devernoe and associate Christopher Franich joined the firm’s Intellectual Property practice in San Diego, and Dean Morehous and Marcus Hall joined the practice as partners in the San Francisco office.

“We are very excited to be joining Troutman Sanders and to contribute to the strategic growth of the firm’s IP practice. The firm provides a great platform to continue expanding our practice and to help meet the needs of our sophisticated client base,” said Barnes. “Because of the firm’s outstanding reputation in IP, as well as its industry and market strengths, Troutman Sanders is a perfect fit for our practice. We look forward to working with our new colleagues,” added Garner.

Barnes received his B.S. in engineering, with honors, from Harvey Mudd College, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Garner received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

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