Mr Gilliland was a prominent intellectual property litigator who served as chairman of legacy firm Townsend & Townsend & Crew for almost a decade prior to its 2010 merger. Most recently, he served chairman of Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton’s litigation department. A statement from the firm’s managing partner Susan Spaeth described Mr Gilliland as ‘an absolute pillar of our law firm’ and a ‘truly great lawyer’ who would be sorely missed as a colleague and a friend. ‘He was a truly great lawyer, and his many clients trusted him with their most difficult cases,’ she said of Mr Gilliland, whose clients included Apple, Oracle and Sony.

Motive unclear

It is not yet clear to police whether Mr Gilliland’s attacker was known to him in any way, or whether he may have been the victim of a robbery. Reports say only that the lawyer had returned to his home in El Cerrito around 9pm on Thursday evening and was shot dead on his front porch as he was entering his house.   

Sources: ABA Journal; Above the Law