San Francisco Lawyers - Top US Firm

* Work in a cosmopolitan atmosphere with that ‘real life’ touch
* Starting salaries of USD$160,000 for 1st years
* National and Multinational clients

Imagining yourself in a top US firm but enjoying the lifestyle of one of America’s most relaxed and cosmopolitan cities? US firms are taking an unprecedented interest in hiring Australian lawyers, and our client is currently on the lookout for up to 5 Australian lawyers to join their expanding San Francisco team. With a strong position in the US market and a truly global network of offices, our client works with US and multinational clients, including a significant percentage of Fortune 500 corporations, investment banks and government bodies.

The firm was one of the first national law firms to enter the Bay Area legal market, opening its San Francisco office in 1979. In its early years, the office worked primarily with financial institution clients, including the major investment banks and private equity clients, in capital markets and merger and acquisition transactions both in the Bay Area and across the Western United States. In the last decade the firm has expanded its operations into Silicon Valley, and is now at the cutting edge of innovative transactional work.

Our client is looking for lawyers with 2 – 7 years PQE in all areas of general corporate, capital markets, private finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and employment law. The Bay Area’s extensive intellectual property practice handles complex patent and trade secret litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution, among other IP transactions.

To be considered for one of the current openings, you will have 2 – 7 years’ post-qualification experience gained within a top-tier group. Pre-requisites include an excellent academic record from a highly regarded university, excellent technical skills and a confident, innovative approach. You will also possess the ability to effectively and efficiently manage work priorities, meet deadlines and maintain client relationships with minimal supervision.

Candidates do not have to be admitted to the California bar but will be required to study and sit the exam as soon as possible. Ready to take your career to one of the most innovative legal markets in America? Put your forward-thinking approach to the test, and work on groundbreaking transactions with a dynamic and industry-leading firm! To confidentially apply for this role or to find out more information, please contact Cam Thomson on +61 2 9233 7977 or nc@naimanclarke.com.au, quoting reference number CT11677/MC

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Director of Litigation (Santa Clara) - O2 Micro 5-8+ years Patent Litigation

O2 Micro is looking for a Director of Litigation to work in their Santa Clara, California corporate office. This attorney will have between 5-8+ years of patent litigation experience at a national law firm well-known for patent litigation.

Candidates will:
• Direct, review and manage case development, discovery and trial strategy (this is a hands-on role);
• Manage the outside counsel selection process and act as a point person for outside litigation counsel;
• Develop and execute litigation, settlement and licensing strategy;
• Forecast future legal expenses and manage current legal expenditures; and
• Train and supervise junior in-house lawyers in litigation, including motion and brief writing, claim construction, witness preparation for deposition and trial, etc.

Candidates will also have the opportunity to supervise and manage the contract review team, manage the trademark portfolio and negotiate and draft license agreements. Depending on interest, candidates may also broaden their skills in the areas of securities, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions.

Requirements:

• 5-8+ years patent litigation experience at a top national law firm well-known for patent litigation;
• Strong academic credentials;
• Engineering background helpful. Must at least have a high comfort level with technology.
• Ability to communication effectively with engineers, and business and legal professionals, internal and external to the company, including senior management;
• Self-starter and assertive;
• Demonstrated commitment to in-house role.

Why this is a great opportunity:

• The position offers a great deal of responsibility and autonomy;
• This is the perfect chance for a patent litigator to branch out and gain experience in areas such as licensing, corporate governance, M&A and securities and other areas of litigation; and
• There is an opportunity for upward career advancement.

Legal Department:

The legal department is headed up by GC, Joe Lin (J.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 1993), who is based in Santa Clara, CA. Mr. Lin joined O2 Micro as General Counsel in July 2002. Prior to O2 Micro, Mr. Lin was Vice-President, Corporate Development and General Counsel at Silicon Genesis Corporation, a pre-IPO wafer process company. Mr. Lin has worked with high technology companies for over seventeen years both as a lawyer and briefly, as an engineer. Prior to his roles as General Counsel, Mr. Lin practiced with Morrison & Foerster LLP specializing in corporate, securities and licensing and with Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor and Zafman focusing in patents. The legal department has additional offices in Asia and totals 27 employees.

Current IP Litigation:

O2 Micro has on-going IP litigation, with which the successful candidate will become immediately engaged.

The Company (from Hoover’s):

Oh to make mobile microchips like O2Micro does! O2Micro International makes integrated circuits used in mobile products such as cell phones and notebook computers. Its products include energy-saving chips that connect a computer’s microprocessor to plug-in cards, chips that let a notebook computer play a CD without powering up the main processor, products that manage and maximize battery usage, and inverters for converting battery power for use by LCDs. O2Micro’s products have been used by equipment makers such as Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, and Siemens. The fabless semiconductor company is domiciled in the Cayman Islands but derives most of its sales from customers in Asia.

We don’t mean to suggest that O2Micro is litigious — is that an injunction in your pocket? — but the company did spend more than $10 million on patent litigation in 2005, nearly double what it spent on legal fees the year before. (O2Micro also spends prodigiously on R&D to generate all those patents, at more than $25 million a year.) The company is carrying on litigation to protect its interests in Taiwan and the US. O2Micro has about 175 issued patents, with more than 400 patent applications pending around the world.

O2Micro International’s principal chip-making contractors are Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), and X-FAB Semiconductor Foundries. Wasatch Advisors owns about 17% of O2Micro International. FMR (Fidelity Investments) holds 15% of the company. Capital Research has an equity stake of around 9%, while RS Investment Management owns nearly 6%. The company has approximately $500 million in market capitalization and $160 million in revenues for 2007. Over 1000 employees worldwide work at O2Micro.

City Santa Clara
State CA
Country USA
Web Address www.o2micro.com
MLA Job ID: 358434
Position Type: InHouse
Min Experience (yrs): 5
Practice: IP Licensing, IP Transactions, IP Lit-Enforcement, Intellectual Property
Listing Office: San Francisco
Email Address: o2micropatent@mlaglobal.com
Location: Santa Clara, CA

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Corporate Counsel (San Diego) - DivX Inc In-House

Our client, DivX, Inc., a cutting edge digital media format technology company, has retained Major, Lindsey & Africa on an exclusive basis to conduct their search for two corporate counsel. Both positions will be located in San Diego, California. The scope of the job duties will be fairly broad; however, there will be a focus on licensing and the negotiating and drafting of commercial contracts. All of the licensing is done internally. The team processes approximately 180 contracts a quarter. They deal with a lot of “one off” situations and so their deals are rarely standard.

In addition, this attorney will be called upon to work on a wide range of day-to-day matters, including litigation management, employment, securities compliance, acquisitions, financings, and a wide range of intellectual property issues.

Travel is minimal unless the candidate requests otherwise.

Candidates must have at least two years of legal experience; top law school credentials required; excellent law firm training; experience negotiating and drafting licensing agreements, software in particular; experience negotiating and drafting a wide variety of commercial contracts; exceptional written and verbal communication and excellent negotiating skills, and a demonstrated interest in technology and consumer electronics. Desired experience includes familiarity with consumer electronics sales, licensing and distribution; experience with patent, trademark and copyright licensing; litigation and/or litigation management experience; experience with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; experience with employment law and SEC compliance and background in software and/or technology. Fluency in French, Mandarin Chinese or Japanese is a big plus.

DivX offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. Please submit resumes to the attention of Deb Ben-Canaan via email to: divxcc@mlaglobal.com.

Company ” DivX, Inc. ”
City San Diego
State CA
Country USA
Web Address http://www.divxnetworks.com

MLA Job ID: 358444
Position Type: InHouse
Min Experience (yrs): 2
Practice: IP Licensing, IP Transactions, Intellectual Property, Commercial Contracts
Listing Office: San Diego
Contact Name: Deborah Ben-Canaan
Email Address: divxcc@mlaglobal.com
Location: San Diego, CA

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Associate Patent Counsel (California) - 2-4 years BioMarin Pharmaceutical

The Associate Patent Counsel will report directly to Luisa Bigornia, Senior Director – Intellectual Property. This position will be responsible for managing the intellectual property portfolio of BioMarin. On a day-to-day basis, this attorney will work closely with various departments with the aim to advance BioMarin’s long-term business objectives while ensuring maximum protection of its legal rights and interests.

Responsibilities include:

• Life cycle management of assigned IP portfolio for specific company programs, including development and implementation of patent strategy, patent prosecution and maintenance.

• Supervision of outside counsel.

• Assist with the formation and implementation of policies, procedures/guidelines (scientific record-keeping), and committees (Patent Review Committee) related to developing and implementing an IP strategy.

• Assist Legal/Corporate with review of agreements affecting assigned IP portfolio, including licensing.

• Oversight of trademarks relevant to assigned IP portfolio.

• Analyses related to licensing, patentability, freedom to operate, and infringement issues.

• Provide legal support (IP Status Reports, due diligence, etc.) for other groups within the Company, eg. Business Development, Commercial Planning, and Regulatory.

Position Requirements:
• Two to four years overall patent prosecution experience, including at least one year in patent prosecution with a law firm.
• PhD in Immunology or a Biological Science, with emphasis or experience in Immunology.
• Foundation in chemistry a plus.
• Trademark and/or litigation experience a plus.
• J.D., licensed to practice law before any State Bar or the Bar of the District of Columbia (admission to the State Bar of California is not required).
• Registered to practice with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills. Ability to work independently while interacting with and advising employees of all levels of the organization.

Company ” BioMarin Pharmaceutical ”
City Novato
State CA
Country USA
Web Address www.biomarinpharm.com

MLA Job ID: 3561
Position Type: InHouse
Min Experience (yrs): 2
Practice: IP Licensing, IP Transactions, Patent with Bar, Intellectual Property
Listing Office: San Francisco
Contact Name: MLA Recruiter
Email Address: biomarinpatent@mlaglobal.com
Location: Novato, CA

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European IP Patent Counsel - UK, France, Germany or Switzerland

Founded in California, our client is a successful worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of advanced semiconductors. A requirement has now arisen for a qualified patent attorney or a qualified lawyer with extensive patent experience to join the company. Location is flexible: you can be based in the UK, France, Germany or Switzerland.

Primary responsibilities are IP Management, especially patents and certain transactions, including supporting and implementing global IP strategies, specifically for EU, supporting the development of patent and trademark portfolio, including filing, prosecution and patent/trademark dockets, supporting the drafting and negotiating of commercial and technology agreements with customers, suppliers, consultants etc, performing patent analysis. The role includes advising and coordinating IP issues.

You will report to the Chief Legal Officer, based in France. Clients are spread throughout Europe and the scope of work will be to apply your competences across the areas in question. This role will require frequent travel and substantial contact with European and business and legal functions as well as US based personnel. If you are interested, please contact Cecile Blackett on +31 205 206812 or e-mail cecile@laurencesimons.com, quoting Ref. 17074

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