Allen & Overy Grows West Coast Team

London-based Allen & Overy is making a big push into the US technology hub of Northern California, launching new offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco with eight partners from White & Case.

Shamita Etienne-Cummings, Bijal Vakil, David Tennant, Eric Lancaster, Adam Chernichaw, Daren Orzechowski, Alex Touma and Noah Brumfield have joined the Magic Circle firm as partners, with Vakil and Orzechowski serving as the global co-heads of Allen & Overy’s global technology practice, the firm announced Monday, August 23.

The firm stated the partners, who have practices ranging from patent litigation, intellectual property, antitrust and tech-focused transactions, will work out of their current locations in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, as well as New York and Washington DC.

“All businesses are technology businesses now,” senior partner Wim Dejonghe said in a statement. “Our clients have been asking us when we will have a presence in Silicon Valley and now we are adding an offering that we will grow to serve as the firm’s center of excellence in a range of technology areas.”

The Magic Circle firm’s expansion into Northern California comes five months after Allen & Overy opened its third U.S. office – and first West Coast location – in Los Angeles with a team of 19 lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Northern California is littered with out-of-state firms that have opened offices but never grew, or closed shop after years of failing to compete with local talent.

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