Sheppard Mullin Attracts 21-Lawyer Patent Team from Ropes & Gray

The team spans New York, Silicon Valley, Seoul and Washington, D.C., and is led by Steven Pepe, formerly chair of Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property group. Alongside Pepe, partners David Chun, Jim Davis, Kevin Post and Matthew Shapiro are among those making the move. Pepe told Reuters the practice has long represented high-tech clients, especially in the telecommunications industry, and will expand to nearly 30 people including staff once fully integrated into Sheppard Mullin. His roster of clients has included Samsung, eGenera and Collision Communications, court filings show.

Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard Mullin, emphasized the firm’s focus on protecting innovation. “Given the changing competitive landscape in the current and future global environment, we believe that protecting intellectual property assets is the core value of business in the future,” Salvi said in a statement. Reuters noted that the Los Angeles-based firm, which employs about 1,200 lawyers, has been steadily building out its intellectual property practice. In June, it recruited a three-partner life sciences IP group from Perkins Coie.

Group hiring of this scale is still uncommon in the legal industry. Reuters highlighted that earlier this year, Crowell & Moring brought in over 40 healthcare litigators from Reed Smith, while Reed Smith itself had previously hired 37 lawyers from Morris, Manning & Martin. Morris, Manning & Martin has since announced plans to merge with Taft, Stettinius & Hollister by year’s end.

A spokesperson for Ropes & Gray said the firm remains dedicated to expanding its intellectual property transactions practice and expressed gratitude to the departing lawyers for their service.

Source: Reuters