Barbara Barath Joins Debevoise as Firm Further Builds Intellectual Property Capabilities in San Francisco

5 December 2022

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced today that Barbara Barath has joined the firm’s San Francisco office as counsel in the Intellectual Property Litigation Group and to help lead the firm’s technology litigation practice in the Bay Area, with a special focus on companies seeking to safeguard proprietary technologies.

Ms. Barath is a seasoned intellectual property litigator and experienced trial lawyer who has represented clients in a range of patent, trade secret, copyright, and trademark disputes involving various technologies, including semiconductors, computer-aided drafting (CAD) software, mobile device user interfaces, mobile device management, and other niche software. She has led the case strategy for numerous notable IP disputes, including for Fortune 500 and multinational technology clients.

“With her considerable experience leading IP matters across a myriad of technologies, Barbara is a key addition to our San Francisco office as we continue to expand in this market,” said Jay Neukom, Partner in the Intellectual Property Group based in San Francisco. “Given her extensive knowledge of the regional IP landscape, Barbara will be a vital asset to our clients facing high-stakes technology disputes.”

David Bernstein, Partner and Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group added: “Building on the expansion of our intellectual property capabilities in the Bay Area with the addition of Jay Neukom earlier this year, Barbara adds to our deep bench of lawyers who stand ready to support our clients’ most critical IPneeds. We expect that over the coming months and years, Barbara will serve as a key asset to clients on our growing technology litigation docket.”

Prior to joining Debevoise, Ms. Barath was a partner of another international law firm where she practiced in the Intellectual Property Litigation group. Earlier in her career, Ms. Barath served in the Major Crimes Division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office before entering private practice as an associate in the Intellectual Property practice of another premier law firm. Ms. Barath received her J.D. from the University of Southern Californiain 2009, her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 2006 and her B.A. from Stanford University in 2004.

Debevoise’s award-winning Intellectual Property Litigation Group is one of the strongest practices of its kind, consistently ranking in the top tier by Chambers Global and having been selected as Managing Intellectual Property’s “Trademark Contentious Firm of the Year” several years in a row. Named the 2022 IP Law Firm of the Year by Chambers USA and the 2020 IP Practice Group of the Year by Law360, the Group advises on a wide variety of cases, including trademark, trade dress and advertising disputes, copyright matters in media and entertainment, right of publicity issues, and unfair competition and trade secret cases. Many of the firm’s cases have cross-border components, and the group has deep experience across a wide range of industries.