Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year Finalists: Adam Alper and Michael De Vries, Kirkland & Ellis

Adam Alper and Mike De Vries were recognized as finalists for the California Legal Awards in the "Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year" category and participated in a Q&A. 

What's your proudest professional achievement of the past year and why?

Mike: We're very proud of achieving our seventh straight jury trial win for Samsung in litigation against Demaray. We were thrilled with the jury's ruling and proud of the achievements of our team, which, in addition to Adam and me, included Sharre Lotfollahi, Akshay Deoras, and Kat Li, who each played a crucial role in all aspects of the trial. We know that our greatest strength as trial lawyers is the quality of the team that we put together, and this trial was no exception.

Adam: The stakes could not have been higher in this trial. Demaray presented a very sympathetic story to the jury, led by one of the preeminent trial lawyers in our field, asking for a headline-shattering $4 billion damages award, which could have been enhanced to $12 billion by the judge. But, as is our usual approach, we focused on explaining what really happened, and showed the jury through evidence and common sense who was right and who was wrong in this dispute. With this amount on the line we had to hit our marks, which Mike and I feel we and our partners were able to do.

What advice would you give to new attorneys specializing in intellectual property?

Adam: There is nothing more important that having a good team and surrounding yourself with the best, and I feel strongly that is what Mike and I have in our teams. That leads to great results in and out of the courtroom, and it is incredibly rewarding to bounce ideas and strategies off members of your team and growing a case strategy from that.

Mike: You also have to care deeply about your clients and understand their needs and goals. Really get to know their business, their technologies and the story of what happened. That allows you to really connect with some of the smartest, most accomplished engineers, technicians and inventors in their fields, and is a component of a great result as well.

How is the practice of IP law changing?

Adam: At least in our practice, we continue to see more competitors using IP to protect their markets, and jury trials are continuing to be a primary way to resolve those disputes. We've also seen a broad scope of IP assertions, including an uptick in trade secret assertions. And, to the extent patent rights in the U.S. are curtailed by the courts and legislature, companies will continue to increasingly look toward trade secrets and similar IP to protect and enforce their rights, which is one of Mike and my key practice areas in addition to patents.

Mike: There has been a significant increase in the number of trade secrets cases being filed and the number of attorneys who are now specializing in this area of the law. We're seeing a large wave of big competitor cases where instead of, or in addition to, patent rights, trade secrets are being used in critical technologies. And, because advancements in technology allow bad actors to surreptitiously download massive amounts of information, there is now more than ever a focus on forensic expertise in discovery and court before juries.