Foley & Lardner has hired a team of six litigators including four partners from Stoel Rives to beef up its recently-launched office in Salt Lake City.

Partners Ken Black, Monica Call, David Jordan and David Mortensen have joined Foley’s business litigation and dispute resolution practice along with senior counsel Jordan Bledsoe and Wesley Harward from the local office Stoel Rives, an Am Law 200 firm based in Portland, Oregon.

Foley launched in Salt Lake City last October with the hire of a quartet of IP litigators including office head David Wright from local litigation boutique Maschoff Brennan. The firm said at the time that the office, its 25th worldwide, was intended to strengthen its offering in the tech and life sciences sectors.

Foley said the team from Stoel Rives will work across its health care and life sciences, energy manufacturing and innovative tech sectors, enabling it to provide a full-service offering in the region.

The team focuses on complex business litigation, advising on areas including IP, securities, commercial contracts, business tort, antitrust and professional liability. They have represented business and individual clients in civil matters including environmental cases and mining cases, as well as IP litigation involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and trade dress.

“We are pleased to add such a stellar team of lawyers to our growing office in the Salt Lake City market,” said Jay Rothman, Foley’s chairman and CEO. “The team brings a sophisticated and holistic approach to complex business litigation in our key sectors and will enhance our client service both in the Salt Lake City area and across the country.”

The team includes a number of Stoel Rives veterans; collectively they spent more than 80 years at their former firm.

Ken Black’s practice is based on complex business litigation, with an emphasis on IP, securities and professional liability. Monica Call, meanwhile, joined Stoel Rives almost 16 years ago from Hunton & Williams and represents clients in government investigations and corporate control cases. She has also litigated license agreements, trademark and patent disputes.

David Jordan was US Attorney for the District of Utah before joining Stoel Rives back in 1993 and was a senior partner at the firm when he left for Foley; he represents clients in civil matters including antitrust cases, IP cases, mining cases, securities cases and government investigations.

David Mortensen focuses his practice on complex business litigation, IP, breach of contracts, business torts, fraud, negligence and defamation. Before joining Stoel Rives 22 years ago he was a judicial clerk for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Other prominent US firms have also looked to Salt Lake City in recent months. Among them is Kirkland & Ellis, which last September set up shop there to establish stronger ties with Utah schools like Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School and the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of law as part of its continued strategy to recruit leading legal talent. 

And in November, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati announced it had added Utah Supreme Court justice Deno Himonas to launch an office to tap into Utah’s emerging technology and life sciences markets.