Simpson Thacher came to Silicon Valley because we believed that the numerous leading technology and financial organizations in the region would appreciate local access to the experience, sophistication and diversity of legal talent the Firm had been offering its clients from its New York office for more than 100 years. Since 1999, when we opened our doors with nine attorneys, the Palo Alto office has experienced remarkable growth in response to the needs of the expanded client base. We now have over 60 attorneys and 16 partners, practicing in a wide range of corporate and litigation areas, as well as in the areas of executive compensation and employee benefits, intellectual property and technology law, and tax.The objective of our office is simple: to provide the highest-quality legal services available to our clients. Simpson Thacher measures its success by the achievements of its clients, and by this calculus the Palo Alto office has enjoyed extraordinary success. Today, the office advises leading technology companies, private equity firms, and financial institutions, not only in Northern California but around the world. The office has helped these clients engage in complex corporate transactions and resolve some of the most complicated and challenging legal disputes in the country.
Our corporate attorneys focus on mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, private equity transactions and a variety of other corporate matters. For example, the Firm has handled transactions involving Abgenix, Accenture, Agilent Technologies, Becton Dickinson, Bedford Property Investors, CB Richard Ellis, Celera Genomics Group, drugstore.com, The Clorox Company, Google, Intellisync, Maxim Integrated Products, Memec Group Holdings, McKesson, Nu Skin Enterprises, Robert Half International, Seagate Technology, and Veritas Software.
The Palo Alto corporate group is frequently called upon to represent the major investment banking firms active in the high technology and bio-technology areas. The Firm has represented the underwriters in numerous offerings, including those of Amis, Avnet, Cardiome, ClearWire, Diodes Inc., Expedia, Fastclick, FEI, FormFactor, Gateway, Google, Genomic Health, Ikanos, LSI Logic, Micron Technologies, Oracle, Quantum, SanDisk, Semantec, Shutterfly, Smart Modular Technologies, Tessera, and Tibco Software.
The office has also handled private equity transactions involving American Industrial Partners, Babcock & Brown, Blum Capital Partners, Castle Creek Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Elevation Partners, Evercore Capital Partners, Fremont Group, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, KSL Capital, Pantheon Ventures, Platinum Equity, Prides Capital, Rosewood Capital, Silver Lake Partners, and Texas Pacific Group.
The litigation practice concentrates primarily on intellectual property, securities, antitrust and commercial matters. The Palo Alto litigation group has represents local, national, and international clients in a broad array of matters, including multi-venue/multi-patent litigations, internal investigations, securities class action suits, antitrust cases, and ERISA litigations. We have litigated intellectual property cases covering disparate technologies on behalf of such companies as 3Com, Avistar Communications, Daiichi Pharmaceutical, E-TEK Dynamics, Intel, JDS-Uniphase, Navitaire Inc. (an Accenture subsidiary), NEC, Nidek Co., and Synopsys. Our securities litigation group has handled matters involving BEA Systems, Cendant Corporation, Clorox Corporation, Intel, MCI-Worldcom, Oracle, Peak International, Veritas Software (now part of Symantec), and Westar Energy. Our antitrust practice covers both criminal and civil cases and has included matters involving Elpida Memory, Nidek, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, and Weyerhauser. We routinely handle litigation for major investment banks and private equity firms, including Blum Capital Partners, C.B. Richard Ellis, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Silver Lake Partners, and The Blackstone Group. We also represent high-tech firms such as Xilinx, United Microelectronics and Net2Phone in a variety of complex commercial disputes.
The lawyers of our Palo Alto office, like those in other Simpson Thacher locations, are committed to a vibrant pro bono practice on behalf of individuals and non-profit organizations and actively participate in public service. The Palo Alto office was recognized recently by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley’s Public Interest Law Firm as its Public Interest Counsel award winner for 2006.
We visit more than a dozen law schools each fall to interview students for our Palo Alto summer program and invite law students with exceptional academic records to work with us during the summer. Our summer associates not only assume significant responsibility on high-level and challenging legal transactions and litigations, they also experience the friendly, supportive atmosphere of our Palo Alto office and enjoy the active lifestyle the Bay Area offers.
Attorneys in the Palo Alto office work closely together to provide the highest-quality legal services to clients in an environment that promotes excellence, professional growth, strong mentoring relationships, and deep loyalty to both clients and colleagues. We accept the challenges of our clients, celebrate their successes, and stand ready to support them with integrity, professionalism, and dedication.
To learn more about the Palo Alto office please click here.
