September 11, 2006

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By Robert Iafolla

ORANGE COUNTY – James William Hill joined McDermott Will & Emry’s Orange County office as a partner Sept. 1, becoming one of the few partners to leave Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear laterally for another firm.

Hill said he was motivated by the wide range of practice areas and the global offices at McDermott Will, compared to the exclusive focus on intellectual property and California-only offices at his former firm.

In addition, he said he was attracted by the compensation system at McDermott Will.

Knobbe Martens uses a modified lock-step system that doesn’t reward partners specifically for business development. Managing partner James Bear has said the teamwork encouraged by this system has contributed to the fact that he can “count on one hand the number of partners who have left here to practice at another firm” during his 38-year tenure.

“McDermott offers a hybrid system that fosters cooperation and reduces adverse competition yet rewards business development,” Hill said.

In an email message, Bear wrote, “The partners of Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear wish James all the best in his new endeavors.”

Hill, whose practice focuses on patent prosecution and intellectual property litigation involving medical devices, biotechnology and medical software, said he brought a majority of his clients to McDermott Will.

His clients include Micardia, Ellipse Technologies, the University of California, the University of Rochester and the University of Utah.

Hill said he will refer clients to Knobbe Martens when conflicts arise.

Fay Morisseau, managing partner for the Orange County office, said Hill is “a tremendous addition to our O.C. office and to the firmwide I.P. group.”

McDermott Will, a 1,000-attorney firm headquartered in Chicago, has 200 intellectual property lawyers. Half of its 40 attorneys in Orange County focus on intellectual property.

The legal search firm Watanabe Nason Schwartz & Lippman brokered the move.

In addition to being impressed by Hill’s successes at Knobbe Martens, Morisseau said he was impressed by his resume.

“How many people out there are doctors, lawyers and engineers all rolled into one?” he said.

Hill, a radiologist, began practicing medicine in 1987 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, then moved to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.

In 1990, he began studying law at USC’s Gould School of Law. He continued his studies sporadically for the next eight years, before graduating and moving into intellectual property law.

Hill is working on a master’s degree in electrical engineering at USC, where he also serves as a clinical assistant professor in the medical school’s radiology department.

“It’s been fun,” he said of his many pursuits, “but the challenge is trying to find time for all of it.”