Paul Hastings hires AI expert from Fried Frank in New York to head up new tech practice

Amir Ghavi is a leading practitioner on AI and other disruptive technologies

Amir Ghavi has joined the New York office of Paul Hastings

Leading technology lawyer Amir Ghavi has joined Paul Hastings from Fried Frank to help launch a global technology transactions practice.

Ghavi, who is joining Paul Hastings as a New York-based partner, is known for his expertise at the intersection of intellectual property law and technology, particularly AI.

He spent more than eight years at Fried Frank in New York, where he co-led the firm’s technology practice; before that he was at Willkie Farr & Gallagher for nearly six years.

His work has included representing AI model developers as defendants in multiple AI litigations that raise issues of first impression around copyright related to AI technology.

He advises broadly across the technology ecosystem, including representing AI foundation model developers and corporations adopting AI on product development and counselling, data procurement, AI governance and strategy, regulatory and government affairs, IP and M&A matters.

Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez said Ghavi was “highly recommended” by shared clients, and his hire was “reflective of our focus on attracting premier talent in areas where we believe we can increase our market share with our clients and in parts of the legal sector that provide an opportunity for meaningful growth driven by industry trends”.

For his part, Ghavi said he was looking forward to collaborating with the “exceptional” corporate and IP lawyers at Paul Hastings, helping build a “best-in-class technology transactions practice”.

His technology-focused clients include Microsoft, Bloomberg, Snowflake, T-Mobile and AI product development companies G42 and Mistral AI.

As well as his disruptive technology practice, he has been involved in a variety of technology transactions, such as corporate and asset acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings and financings and IP-centric joint ventures.

Ghavi is a frequent speaker, panellist and commentator on AI. He is also a lecturer at Cornell Tech and MIT Sloan School of Management, where he teaches seminars on AI and the law.

The new technology transaction group aims to coalesce the expertise of the firm’s transactional, regulatory and litigation practitioners with experience advising technology companies, investors and financial institutions throughout the tech ecosystem.

Several international law firms have been expanding their AI capabilities to match the increasing demand from clients for AI-related advice. In September, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher hired Google’s former chief privacy officer Keith Enright to bolster its AI and tech coverage in the US. In May, Sullivan & Cromwell launched a dedicated AI practice, which is being co-led by Nader Mousavi, Medhi Ansari and Presley Warner.

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