Oct. 16, 2014
Agility IP Law LLP
See more on Agility IP Law LLPMenlo Park | Patent, intellectual property litigation
"That's an extraordinary number of patent cases to actually go to trial," said James Otteson, who founded Agility in 2010 and was lead counsel on three of the four trials the firm won. "In my entire 18 years at Wilson Sonsini I never had more than one patent infringement trial in a year and a half period."
David Caine, whom Otteson recruited to join Agility from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC in 2011, said he thinks the trials Agility has handled will prove to be the firm's "calling card."
"We're relatively small to have done as many trials as we've done, but I think that's a significant area of strength," Caine said. "If you're going to look to a firm to take your case all the way from beginning through trial it's nice to have people who have experience doing that and who've had success doing that, and we've had both."
In one of the trials, the nine-lawyer firm represented Innovention Toys LLC in alleging patent infringement of laser-based strategy game Khet.
"The thing that I liked right off the bat with Jim was he obviously has a firm command of arcane patent law," Khet co-developer Michael Larson said. "Yet clearly [he] was someone who was ready to get passionate about my plight."
Larson said that combination of legal knowledge and passion helped Agility win all 14 counts presented to the jury in the trial. The case was deemed exceptional and the judge awarded attorney fees, "which are both rare things in a patent case," Larson said.
Though Agility hasn't had any trials in the past year, which Otteson said has enabled "a little bit of a breather," it is likely to defend angioplasty balloon manufacturer TriReme Medical LLC in a patent infringement trial this spring.
Agility attorneys are "agnostic" about which side of a case they represent, Otteson said.
As Caine put it, "Our view is we're going to provide quality service whether you're a patent holder or a party accused of patent infringement."
Agility strives to provide the same high-quality representation as bigger firms, "but with a little bit of a smaller footprint and some efficiencies that go along with it," Caine said.
In terms of payment, despite not being "in vogue," Caine said "a lot of times what makes sense is the tried and true hourly billing arrangement," but with lower rates than big firms'. And when that doesn't work, Agility gets creative with its fee arrangements.
Brandon Baum, a former state prosecutor and current adjunct professor at UC Hastings College of the Law who joined Agility after almost 15 years at Cooley LLP and Mayer Brown LLP, said he likes having a reasonable rate.
"That way I can do the work I like, which is kind of hands-on," he said. "I can read the patents and study the documents and not feel like I really can only helicopter in at the last minute."
Baum also praised the family environment at Agility.
Otteson is a "family guy" who invites "everyone from his gardener" to his coworkers and friends from church to "really low key and welcoming" barbecues at his house, Baum said. "It's not like a stuffy law firm partner party."
According to Caine, that family dynamic transfers over to collegiality at work, and clients can sense it.
"They really work together well," Larson said. "And, at every point, I really felt like they had my interests at heart and I wasn't just another client on the docket."
Baum said that, even in the high stress of trial, he and his colleagues from Agility have had fun and laughs.
"There are headaches with fighting with opposing counsel, but never a headache here," Baum said. "Somebody asks you to help out and you drop what you have and you'll do whatever it takes."
"I really like that," Baum added. "And that was kind of how I always thought law firms would be - a partnership not in name only."
- Alison Frost
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