Notable Successes

Desmarais LLP announced June 12 that the firm has opened its new office in San Francisco. The office, which represents the firm’s first expansion since Desmarais LLP opened its New York headquarters in 2010, is led by Peter Magic.
 
Magic relocated from New York to San Francisco, and John Desmarais, founding partner of the firm, will now split his time between New York and San Francisco. The new office is located at 101 California St. in the financial district in downtown San Francisco. 
 
“We’re thrilled to be expanding in San Francisco. It’s the center of both the technology and biotech industries, and this provides a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with new and existing clients,” Desmarais said. “We’re pleased to have Peter at the helm of the new office. He is a talented litigator and a strong leader, and we’re confident he will achieve great things in this role.”
 
Desmarais LLP is a leading boutique litigation firm, which focuses on high-end patent litigation, as well as technology-related lawsuits in the antitrust, commercial, technical, and life sciences areas. The firm has 55 attorneys.
 
The firm’s expansion follows a year in which it achieved several high-profile litigation victories. These include an $82.5 million jury verdict on behalf of IBM against Groupon in a patent infringement lawsuit and a $400 million favorable settlement for Cisco Systems with Arista Networks ending antitrust and patent infringement litigation.
 
Magic, a partner at the firm, previously clerked for Judge James Ware in the Northern District of California. Following his clerkship, he joined the San Francisco office of Kirkland & Ellis. Then, in 2014, Magic moved to the New York office of Desmarais LLP where he has been involved in several high-profile matters. His roots in San Francisco made him the logical candidate to lead the new Desmarais LLP San Francisco office. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
 
“This is a great opportunity; I am happy to return to San Francisco, and I look forward to helping the firm grow on the West Coast,” Magic said. “We’ve worked closely with clients in the San Francisco Bay Area for a very long time, so this is an important step for the firm. We are eager to continue to grow and build new relationships with companies in both the technology and biotech sectors in California.” 
 

• The Recorder – “Desmarais Unveils San Francisco Office as Firm Goes Bicoastal” 
   
• Law360 – “IP Boutique Desmarais Expands To West Coast With SF Office” (subscription required)
   
• Bloomberg Law – “IP Litigation Boutique Desmarais Branches Out to San Francisco”
   
• Daily Journal – “NYC patent boutique Desmarais opens office in San Francisco” (subscription required)