PALO ALTO – The VLP Law Group LLC continues to expand its organization. Leaders recently announced that a new partner will be joining the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group based in Silicon Valley, California.
With 27 years of experience in all aspects of patent and trade secret laws, Edward Kwok will be a valuable asset to VLP. Kwok said VLP has an unconventional law practice model whose time has come.
“Over the last few years, the volume of competitor-on-competitor patent litigation seemed to have dropped significantly for me and I found myself doing more transactional work and patent prosecution,” Kwok told the Northern California Record. “VLP’s model allows me greater control and flexibility over that part of my practice.”
Kwok said he finds himself increasingly involved in cross-discipline projects that require two to four lawyers from different specialties, such as corporate, intellectual property and consumer law.
“VLP’s model takes full advantage of technology to support such projects,” he said.
Kwok says that it’s difficult to find all the necessary skill sets to field a team from a single office location. Large firms routinely search geographically for diverse teams for such varied projects.
“VLP takes it one step further and delivers the service at a much lower cost,” he said.
Before Kwok joined VLP, he was a partner with Hogan Lovells US LLP. He earned his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. He also holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
With a varied educational background, Kwok looks forward to working on challenging projects.
“My law practice includes patent prosecution and litigation, technical trade secrets counseling and litigation, opinions regarding patent infringement, validity and freedom-to-operate, intellectual property due diligence in corporate mergers, acquisition and reorganization, licensing of intellectual property, intellectual property portfolio development, and general intellectual property counseling,” he said.
David Roise, co-chair of VLP’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, said the firm was pleased to welcome Kwok to the practice.
“His experience in electrical engineering and computer science, including practical experience as an engineer in Silicon Valley prior to becoming a patent attorney, complements our group and deepens our expertise across all technology sectors,” he said.