August 11, 2009

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By Pat Broderick

PALO ALTO – Jeff Randall, an intellectual property star at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, has joined Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, where he will co-chair the firm’s global IP practice. He brings with him a team that includes Allan Soobert and Jeff Pade, who will be posted in Washington, D.C. Randall will work in Palo Alto, where he is based, and in D.C.

Randall, who specializes in patent litigation, insisted there was no bad blood involved in the move from Skadden Arps, where he had been for five years.

“We were very successful, the partners are terrific, and it’s a fine firm,” he said.

A spokesperson for Skadden Arps declined to comment. Five years ago, when the firm hired Randall away from Cooley Godward, Kenton J. King, managing partner at Skadden’s Silicon Valley office, said Randall’s arrival “means that we truly want to build a patent litigation practice of national, if not global, prominence and stature.”

In the end, Randall said he thought Paul Hastings offered a better platform in the crucial Asian markets. Even though both firms have a presence in Asia, “Paul Hastings already has built a strong brand in Asia for IP work,” said Randall, who is 47.

Randall added, “Paul Hastings has a very consistent vision across the entire partnership, driven by management to build a first-class IP group internationally and domestically. I share that vision.”

Randall will co-chair the firm’s global IP practice along with Joseph M. O’Malley Jr., who is based in New York, and is prominent in the big pharma arena.

It’s not the first time Paul Hastings has come calling on Randall. Jamie Wareham, global chair of Paul Hastings’ litigation practice, said he had missed out nabbing Randall five years ago when he joined Skadden Arps, but was happy to get “a second bite of the apple.”

“He is really one of the very high-end IP lawyers in America,” Wareham said. “We have a growing presence in Asia, and Jeff and his team thought this was a big benefit to them.”

As for the prospect of netting the team’s former clients, Wareham said, “Our history is that clients tend to follow.” Randall said, “We’ve reached out to clients. They will make their decisions based on who they think the best team is. We are able to attract business, we have a good team, and we win cases.”

Randall has represented eBay Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., among other companies, and has won more than 30 jury trials, as well as handling appeals all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Among his successful cases, Randall is credited with saving the day for Dell Computers, and Sun Microsystems Inc., in patent infringement cases that had put their core businesses at risk, and, in the latter’s case, carried possible damages of $3 billion.

Randall, who said he has been aggressively courted over the years by rival firms, decided it was time to reconsider his options. He called on Larry Watanabe, a principal in the San Diego-based headhunting firm of Watanabe Nason Schwartz & Lippman, who he has known for some time. Paul Hastings, Randall said, was on his “short list.”

Watanabe ended up placing all three.

“The situation with Paul Hastings enables Randall and his team the opportunity to build a global IP department,” Watanabe said.

But, five years ago, Randall was viewing his options from a different perspective, Watanabe said.

“Skadden is one of the world’s best law firms. At the time, by going to Skadden, he had a tremendous opportunity and challenge to build something from scratch. Mission accomplished”, Watanabe said.