Goodwin Nabs Top Tech Litigator From Orrick

After nearly 20 years at Orrick, technology litigator Neel Chatterjee has picked up and moved on to Goodwin Procter.

Chatterjee, who is also well known for his law firm diversity initiatives and creative Halloween costumes , has represented some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies, including Facebook in complex litigation related to patents, trade secrets and technology transactions.

Big Law Business had the chance to speak with him on his first day at the new office. He said he made the switch to get back to his “entrepreneurial roots” and rediscover the excitement of building out a new practice area, which he will do at Goodwin.

“It wasn’t for any malaise with Orrick,” he said. “It was me wanting to get some new challenges. I was getting too comfortable where I was.”

[Image “chatterjee” (src=https://bol.bna.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/chatterjee-e1487709183117.jpg)]

Goodwin already has a substantial technology litigation practice based out of Boston, but Chatterjee said he plans to build out the firm’s West Coast version.

He will be joining San Francisco-based litigators Shane Brun and Brett M. Schuman to do that. “They’re both first chair lawyers in their own right but they really know how to collaborate,” Chatterjee said of his new partners.

While at Orrick, Chatterjee represented technology heavyweights including Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Oracle, LinkedIn and others. He couldn’t say for certain which clients he’d be keeping, but he said there would be “a lot of matters” he would remain deeply involved in.

“I have my mitts in a lot of different things, and a lot of clients will hire me to lead certain portions of their case and to quarterback the rest of their case,” he said.

Chatterjee said he’ll also continue to do work on the sidelines to protect civil rights abuses under the Trump Administration. After Donald Trump was elected president in November, Chatterjee reportedly founded a “Stick It to the Man” group , a platform for lawyers to discuss filing civil rights and First Amendment lawsuits against the new administration. He was unable to provide any details about his current projects however.

Chatterjee said he also plans to maintain his commitment to improving diversity in the legal profession. While at Orrick, he founded the Bay Area Diversity Career Fair, one of the best-known diversity career fairs in the U.S. He is also a member of the National Advisory Committee of the National South Asian Bar Association.

“My goal, and I think Goodwin shares this goal, is to be able to demonstrate the world that we can have a world class market leading technology litigation and trial team that’s also the most diverse this country has ever seen,” he said.

Chatterjee joined Orrick in 1997 after clerking for Magistrate Judge Patricia V. Trumbull in the Northern District of California. He graduated from Vanderbilt Law School after earning his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.

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