Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has hired a five-partner team from Latham & Watkins to boost its intellectual property litigation coverage in the US.

The incoming quintet include Clement Naples, Bert Reiser, Giri Pathmanaban, Greg Sobolski and Thomas Yeh, who will be based across the firm’s New York, Washington DC and Bay Area offices. The group bring extensive IP trial experience, having led on many high-profile patent and trade secrets cases over the past decade.

Victor Hou, co-practice group leader of Americas litigation, said: “Clem, Bert, Giri, Greg and Thomas have worked closely shoulder to shoulder for over a decade to deliver exceptional results for clients facing high-stakes IP disputes on both sides of the ‘v.’. The arrival of this team of trial lawyers – alongside our other litigation partners in our antitrust, enforcement and commercial practice groups – reinforces Cleary’s commitment to be the go-to firm for bet-the-company litigation.”

Naples is a nationally recognised first chair trial lawyer with a background in physics. He spent just short of 18 years at Latham, where he was a partner. He previously worked at Kenyon & Kenyon and started his career as an associate at Wiggin and Dana. He will be based in New York.

Reiser spent 14-and-a-half years at Latham and has represented companies as complainants and respondents in more than 70 International Trade Commission investigations. He previously spent more than 15 years at defunct firm Howrey. He will be based in Washington.

Pathmanaban joins after just over 13 years at Latham, eight of them as partner. He was previously an associate at Vinson & Elkins and Weil Gotshal & Manges. He is a trial lawyer with experience in patent, trade secret and IP contractual disputes, and will be based in the firm’s Bay Area offices.

Sobolski spent almost 11 years at Latham, becoming a partner in 2018. That was his second spell at the firm having previously worked there for three years before spending just over a year clerking in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He represents clients including venture capital-backed growth startups and Fortune 100 companies in patent and trade secret matters. He will also be based in the Bay Area.

Yeh arrives after just over 12-and-a-half years at Latham, bringing with him experience on large-scale global patent and trade secret matters, particularly in the semiconductor and the computer hardware industries. He will join Pathmanaban and Sobolski in the Bay Area offices.

Naples said: “Cleary is well known for its client-first culture. We are thrilled to join the firm’s platform which boasts an unmatched commitment to excellence, and look forward to working alongside the highest quality lawyers in the business as we help our clients solve their most pressing IP challenges.”

Last month, Perkins Coie boosted its IP litigation practice in Palo Alto with a twin partner hire from Finnegan.