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21 IP attorneys at Ropes & Gray lured away to join West Coast firm
The Boston firm says its remains committed to expanding intellectual property transactions.
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton announced Thursday that it is adding a 21-attorney intellectual property litigation team that had previously worked for the Boston-based legal powerhouse Ropes & Gray.
The announcement said the team includes leading patent trial lawyers, including partner Steven Pepe, a former Ropes & Gray practice group leader of the IP litigation group. The move marks a significant expansion of Sheppard Mullin’s IP practice.
“Bringing our entire team to Sheppard Mullin was an easy choice,” said Pepe, in a statement. “In addition to the firm’s global reputation in IP litigation, Sheppard Mullin is committed to growing and investing in the practice throughout the United States and South Korea, where we have many clients.”
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The new team members will expand L.A.-based Sheppard Mullin’s offices in New York, Silicon Valley, Seoul, and Washington, D.C. The Intellectual Property practice at Sheppard Mullin now has more than 130 lawyers globally.
Ropes & Gray clarified that the departing attorneys did not work out of the Boston office and emphasized that their exit would not affect the firm’s growing intellectual transactions practice since they were part of the IP litigation team.
IP litigation involves existing disagreements in court, while transactions create new legal arrangements to transfer or utilize IP assets.
The demand for IP litigation and transactions has grown significantly, with LexisNexis reporting a 22% increase in U.S. patent case filings and a record-breaking $4.3 billion in damages awarded in 2024.
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The rise is due to technological advancements in tech sectors like AI and life sciences, as well as the increase in digital content creation and distribution.
“Ropes & Gray remains fully committed to the ongoing growth of our IP transactions practicum as well as strengthening our presence in key markets, including the West Coast,” Ropes & Gray said in a statement.
Ropes & Gray has over 1,500 attorneys in 16 offices worldwide.
“We are grateful for the contributions of our former colleagues and look forward to opportunities for continued collaboration with them,” the company continued.
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