Faegre Baker Daniels to Expand Operations to Silicon Valley

Faegre Baker Daniels LLP is expanding its operations to Silicon Valley effective July 1, 2013. The office, which will be located at 1950 University Circle in East Palo Alto, Calif., is being opened by intellectual property partners Calvin L. Litsey and David J.F. Gross. Litsey will relocate to Silicon Valley and lead the office. He will continue to serve his existing Minnesota-based clients through the Minneapolis office. Gross will split his time between the Silicon Valley and Minneapolis offices.

"This is an exciting development for Faegre Baker Daniels and is responsive to our clients," said firm Managing Partner Andrew Humphrey. "We have been privileged to work with a number of clients with operations in California for several years. Establishing an office in Silicon Valley will allow us to serve them even better."

The new office will initially provide intellectual property services including patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark litigation, as well as IP transactions. The firm is building a team of IP attorneys for the location, including current FaegreBD partners and associates. FaegreBD plans to expand its offerings in Silicon Valley over time, and has identified food and agriculture litigation, immigration and privacy as second phase emphases in the market. In addition, the firm will provide an increased focus on information technology led by FaegreBD Consulting Senior Vice President and former member of Congress Mary Bono.

"The strategy of seeding this office with existing firm partners was very important," said Litsey. "Faegre Baker Daniels' culture and client focus are key differentiators for us, and we didn't want to lose those aspects of the firm's identity in this expansion."

Litsey is the former group leader for the firm's intellectual property practice and is a senior litigator handling complex IP cases. He has been with FaegreBD for nearly 30 years. Gross is a partner and nationally recognized trial lawyer, and currently leads the firm's intellectual property litigation practice. He is a member of FaegreBD's Management Board and has been with the firm for nearly 20 years.